coursecast 0.2.4 → 0.2.5

package/README.md

@@ -36,14 +36,14 @@ The engine is what writes the content. Pick with `--engine`:
 |---|---|---|
 | `claude-code` *(default)* | your [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) CLI | `claude` on PATH |
 | `codex` | your Codex CLI | `codex` on PATH |
-| `gemini` | Google Gemini API, search-grounded | `GEMINI_API_KEY` ([free key](https://aistudio.google.com/apikey)) |
+| `gemini` | Google Gemini API, search-grounded | `GEMINI_API_KEY` ([free key](https://aistudio.google.com/apikey)) + your `--model` choice |
 
 ```bash
-coursecast "learn rust" --engine gemini
+coursecast "learn rust" --engine gemini --model gemini-3.5-flash-lite
 ```
 
-Gemini extras: `GEMINI_MODEL` overrides the model (default `gemini-3.5-flash-lite`);
-`COURSECAST_RESEARCH=0` skips the web-search research pass (faster, cheaper, less current).
+The gemini engine never picks a model for you — pass `--model` (or set `GEMINI_MODEL`) with
+whatever your key has access to. `COURSECAST_RESEARCH=0` skips the web-search research pass.
 
 ## All flags
 

package/bin/coursecast.mjs

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ USAGE
 
 OPTIONS
   --engine <id>      generation engine: claude-code (default), gemini, codex, stub
-  --model <id>       model hint passed to the engine (e.g. gemini-3.5-flash-lite)
+  --model <id>       model to use (required for gemini, e.g. gemini-3.5-flash-lite)
   --storage <id>     progress storage: local (default, no setup), cloud (sync across devices)
   --provider <id>    deploy target: vercel | netlify (auto-detects what you have installed)
   --lessons <n>      target number of lessons (default ~12)
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ OPTIONS
 
 EXAMPLES
   coursecast "kubernetes basics"                        # default engine (claude-code)
-  coursecast "how DNS works" --engine gemini            # cheap, search-grounded
+  coursecast "how DNS works" --engine gemini --model gemini-3.5-flash-lite
   coursecast "intro to nuclear power" --deploy          # generate + ship to your Vercel
 `);
 }

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "coursecast",
-  "version": "0.2.4",
+  "version": "0.2.5",
   "description": "One prompt → a full interactive course — live widgets, quizzes, a mastery dashboard — rendered to self-contained HTML and deployed live.",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {

package/src/engines/gemini.mjs

@@ -4,14 +4,16 @@
 // schema rather than inventing them from stale training data.
 //
 //   Requires: GEMINI_API_KEY   (free tier works — https://aistudio.google.com/apikey)
-//   Optional: GEMINI_MODEL     (default "gemini-3.5-flash-lite"), COURSECAST_RESEARCH=0 to skip search.
+//             and a model of YOUR choice via --model or GEMINI_MODEL — the CLI never
+//             picks one for you (it's your key, your cost, your quality bar).
+//   Optional: COURSECAST_RESEARCH=0 to skip the web-search research pass.
 
 import { buildSyllabusPrompt, buildLessonPrompt, finalizeLesson, extractJsonObject } from './shared-prompts.mjs'
 
 export const name = 'gemini'
 
 const API = 'https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models'
-const DEFAULT_MODEL = process.env.GEMINI_MODEL || 'gemini-3.5-flash-lite'
+const DEFAULT_MODEL = process.env.GEMINI_MODEL // no baked-in default — the user chooses
 const RESEARCH_ON = process.env.COURSECAST_RESEARCH !== '0'
 
 function apiKey() {
@@ -23,6 +25,11 @@ function apiKey() {
 // One Gemini call. `json:true` forces a JSON body; `search:true` enables Google Search grounding.
 // (Gemini disallows forced-JSON + grounding together, so a call is one or the other.)
 async function callGemini({ model = DEFAULT_MODEL, prompt, json = false, search = false, maxOutputTokens = 8192 }) {
+  if (!model) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'gemini engine: pick a model with --model (e.g. gemini-3.5-flash, gemini-3.5-flash-lite) or set GEMINI_MODEL.'
+    )
+  }
   const body = {
     contents: [{ parts: [{ text: prompt }] }],
     generationConfig: { temperature: 0.7, maxOutputTokens },