diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/App.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/App.tsx
index 5860e36e..727450c0 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/App.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/App.tsx
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ export const App = ({
           items={[
             <Box flexDirection="column" key="header">
               <Header />
-              <Tips />
+              <Tips config={config} />
             </Box>,
             ...history.map((h) => (
               <HistoryItemDisplay
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Tips.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Tips.tsx
index 581ba128..b0207246 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Tips.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/Tips.tsx
@@ -7,20 +7,39 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import { Box, Text } from 'ink';
 import { Colors } from '../colors.js';
+import { type Config } from '@gemini-code/server';
 
-export const Tips: React.FC = () => (
-  <Box flexDirection="column" marginBottom={1}>
-    <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>Tips for getting started:</Text>
-    <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
-      1.{' '}
-      <Text bold color={Colors.AccentPurple}>
-        /help
-      </Text>{' '}
-      for more information.
-    </Text>
-    <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
-      2. Ask coding questions, edit code or run commands.
-    </Text>
-    <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>3. Be specific for the best results.</Text>
-  </Box>
-);
+interface TipsProps {
+  config: Config;
+}
+
+export const Tips: React.FC<TipsProps> = ({ config }) => {
+  const geminiMdFileCount = config.getGeminiMdFileCount();
+  return (
+    <Box flexDirection="column" marginBottom={1}>
+      <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>Tips for getting started:</Text>
+      <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
+        1.{' '}
+        <Text bold color={Colors.AccentPurple}>
+          /help
+        </Text>{' '}
+        for more information.
+      </Text>
+      <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
+        2. Ask coding questions, edit code or run commands.
+      </Text>
+      <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
+        3. Be specific for the best results.
+      </Text>
+      {geminiMdFileCount === 0 && (
+        <Text color={Colors.Foreground}>
+          4. Create{' '}
+          <Text bold color={Colors.AccentPurple}>
+            GEMINI.md
+          </Text>{' '}
+          files to customize your interactions with Gemini.
+        </Text>
+      )}
+    </Box>
+  );
+};