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Cline

Open-source autonomous coding agent as an SDK, IDE extension, CLI, or desktop app.

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About

Cline is an open-source autonomous coding agent available as a VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, desktop app, and Node.js SDK, all built on the same agent engine.

It edits files across a project, runs terminal commands, and uses browsers and MCP servers, with human-in-the-loop approval required for every action by default (auto-approve is opt-in).

It is provider-agnostic — bring your own key for any supported model, or use the Cline Provider (pay-as-you-go) or ClinePass subscription — is Apache-2.0 licensed, and had roughly 70k GitHub stars as of October 2026.

What it can do

  • Edits code across a whole project with linter/compiler-aware corrections and checkpointed diffs
  • Runs bash commands in the terminal and reacts to background process output
  • Plan mode and Act mode for explore-then-execute workflows
  • Human-in-the-loop approval for every file edit and command (auto-approve optional)
  • Project rules via `.clinerules` files and on-demand skills
  • Headless browser integration for web testing and verification
  • MCP server support for databases, APIs, and cloud infrastructure
  • Multi-agent teams with a coordinator and specialist subagents
  • Scheduled agents on cron schedules for recurring automations
  • Headless CLI (`cline "..."`, JSON output) for CI/CD and scripting
  • Node.js SDK (`@cline/sdk`) for building custom agents and integrations

Setup

  1. Choose an install path: VS Code/Cursor/Windsurf/VSCodium extension (Extensions panel, search Cline), JetBrains plugin (Settings → Plugins → Marketplace), desktop app (download from cline.bot/desktop, macOS and Windows), or CLI.
  2. For the CLI: install Node.js 20+ (22 recommended), then run npm install -g cline.
  3. Authenticate and pick a model provider: run cline auth, then in settings choose the Cline Provider (pay-as-you-go), ClinePass (flat monthly subscription), or bring your own provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama/local, Bedrock, and more).
  4. Run cline for interactive chat or cline "your task"; in the IDE, open the Cline sidebar panel and start a task.
  5. Review and approve each file edit and terminal command (default). Use Plan/Act modes, .clinerules files, MCP servers, and scheduled agents as needed.

Prerequisites

VS Code / JetBrains / Node.js 20+ (depending on install path); a model provider key or Cline account

Use cases

codeautomationdevopstesting

Works with

Generic APIAny agent (.md)

Trust score — 9/10

/10 trustVerified

Very active (~70k stars, commits Oct 12, 2026), Apache-2.0, ships across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, desktop, and SDK surfaces. Caveats: a commercial layer now sits on top (Cline Provider pay-as-you-go, ClinePass subscription); telemetry is opt-out (PostHog, no code/prompts collected per docs) and the client still phones home for sign-in/feature flags even with telemetry off (disclosed in official docs). Metrics-v1 score 9/10 — adoption 8.7, maintenance 9.1, openness 10, manual 9.

★ 70,224 GitHub stars

How the trust score is built

Full methodology →
Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
8.7/10
Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
9.1/10
Openness · license + docs
10.0/10
Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
9.0/10
  • · 70,224 GitHub stars (log-scaled vs catalog peers)
  • · blended with ~340,857 monthly package downloads
  • · last push 0d ago; 100 releases/12mo; 1653 open issues
  • · manual review: commercial layer on top; telemetry opt-out but client phones home for sign-in (disclosed)

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.