Cline

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that gives developers complete control over their AI-assisted development workflow. With over 8 million installs across all platforms and 64,600+ GitHub stars, it has become one of the most popular open-source coding agents available. It is hosted at github.com/cline/cline under the Apache 2.0 license.

Cline operates across three surfaces: as a VS Code extension for in-editor AI assistance, as a CLI tool for terminal-based workflows and CI/CD integration, and as an SDK for embedding agent capabilities into other products. It uses a plan-and-act architecture where it first analyzes a task, creates a plan, and then executes it with full file system and shell access.

Cline is designed to be model-agnostic, supporting Claude (Anthropic), GPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), open-weight models through ClinePass, and any OpenAI-compatible API. Trusted by engineers at Samsung, Salesforce, Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and Visa, Cline is used for everything from quick code edits to large-scale refactors spanning thousands of files.

• Plan-and-Act Architecture - Cline analyzes tasks, creates a plan, and executes it with automatic error recovery and iterative refinement.
• Edits Across Your Project - Make coordinated changes across large codebases while keeping imports, types, and behavior consistent.
• Bash Command Execution - Run terminal commands, install packages, manage git, and interact with development tools.
• Rules and Skills - Define custom rules and reusable skills that guide how Cline approaches different tasks.
• Every Model, Your Choice - Use Claude, GPT, Gemini, open-weight models, or any OpenAI-compatible API.
• MCP and Plugin Support - Extend capabilities with Model Context Protocol servers and custom plugins.
• Multi-Agent Teams and Schedules - Set up always-on agents that run on schedules or triggers.
• Integration Ready - Connect to Slack, Linear, GitHub, and CI/CD pipelines.

Cline can be installed in multiple ways depending on how you want to use it:

# CLI (recommended for terminal)
npm i -g cline

# VS Code extension
# Install from VS Code Marketplace

# SDK
npm install cline-sdk

Cline works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. For the VS Code extension version, it is available on the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX Registry. The CLI version requires Node.js 18+.

Cline offers three primary usage modes designed for different workflows:

Mode	Best For	Key Differentiator
IDE Extension	In-editor development	Deep codebase awareness, diff-based edits
CLI	Scripting, CI/CD, automation	Headless, pipe-friendly, scriptable
SDK	Embedded agents in products	Custom integrations, white-label

The CLI is the recommended starting point for most users. It provides a complete agent experience directly in the terminal with features like file editing, bash execution, and session management. The IDE extension adds VS Code integration with context menus, inline suggestions, and project-wide awareness.

Cline supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for extending its capabilities with external tools and services. MCP servers can provide Cline with access to databases, APIs, file systems, and specialized tools. The MCP integration is configured through a simple JSON file, and servers can be started as subprocesses or connected over the network.

There is an MCP Marketplace where developers can discover and install community-built MCP servers. Cline also has a plugin system that adds product-specific integrations for Slack, Linear, GitHub, and other development tools.

Cline's Rules and Skills system lets you define how the agent behaves on a per-project basis. Rules are like system prompts that guide Cline's approach to coding - they can specify coding conventions, architecture preferences, testing requirements, and security policies.

Skills are reusable, composable capabilities that can be shared across projects. A skill might define how to run tests, deploy to a specific cloud provider, or perform code review with specific criteria. Skills can be stored in a central repository and installed per project, making it easy to maintain consistent development practices across teams.

Cline competes with other AI coding agents. Here is how it compares to the alternatives:

Criterion	Cline	Cursor	GitHub Copilot
License	Apache 2.0 (open source)	Proprietary	Proprietary
Platform	CLI + IDE + SDK	IDE (custom)	IDE extension
Model Support	Any model	Multiple models	OpenAI only
MCP Support	Full MCP + plugins	MCP support	Limited
Bash Access	Full terminal	Terminal access	No
Multi-Agent	Teams + schedules	Cloud agents	No