gemini-cli - 💡(How to fix) Fix Bug: `--list-sessions` ignores saved `/auth` state and strictly requires `GEMINI_API_KEY` env var [1 pull requests]

What happened?

When running the gemini --list-sessions command, the CLI ignores the internally saved authentication state. If the GEMINI_API_KEY environment variable is not explicitly exported in the current shell, the command crashes.

What did you expect to happen?

The --list-sessions command should use the exact same authentication resolution logic as the main gemini command. It should recognize the saved internal /auth state, authenticate successfully without strictly requiring the environment variable, and correctly list the existing local sessions.

Client information

CLI Version: 0.41.2

Git Commit: b0c7a1722

Model: Auto (Gemini 3)

Sandbox: no sandbox

OS: darwin (macOS)

IDE Client: Antigravity

Login information

API Key

Anything else we need to know?

There appear to be two distinct issues happening simultaneously here:

1. Inconsistent Auth Loading: The --list-sessions flag seems hardcoded to check only the environment variable or local .env file, completely bypassing the internal config loader that standard commands use.
2. Poor Error Handling Sequence: The No previous sessions found for this project. message prints prematurely. It checks for files, hits an auth failure, and assumes no files exist rather than waiting to catch and report the auth failure cleanly.