Developer Features and Capabilities

2 min read

Core developer capabilities

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Function Calling

Declare function schemas and let Gemini generate structured calls to connect with any external API or tool.

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Google Search Grounding

Ground responses in real time search results with source citations for factual, up to date answers.

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Code Execution

Gemini writes and runs Python in a sandbox for math, data processing, and logic verification.

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Structured Outputs

Force JSON responses matching your schema. Eliminates parsing issues in automated pipelines.

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Context Caching

Cache large prompts and reuse them across requests at 90% reduced input cost.

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Batch API

Submit bulk requests at 50% off. Ideal for offline processing and data pipelines.

Step 1: Define function schemas

Declare your tools as JSON schemas describing parameters, types, and descriptions

Step 2: Send prompt with tools

Include the function declarations alongside your user prompt in the API call

Step 3: Gemini generates a call

The model decides which function to call and returns structured parameters

Step 4: Execute and return

Your code runs the function, returns the result, and Gemini incorporates it into the final response

Combine caching with batch for maximum savings

Context caching (90% off input tokens) and the Batch API (50% off all tokens) can be combined. For repetitive long context workloads, this can reduce effective costs by up to 95% compared to standard pricing.