Cline Open source

What it is

Cline is an open-source (Apache-2.0) autonomous coding agent. It started as a VS Code extension and now also runs as a JetBrains plugin, a terminal CLI (npm i -g cline) with an interactive TUI and a headless mode, native desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and an SDK (npm install @cline/sdk). It plans work, edits files and runs terminal commands, asking for your approval along the way, and you can bring your own API key or use Cline's own provider.

Key features

• Plan and Act modes: think through an approach first, then execute it
• Diff review for every change, plus checkpoints to roll back code without losing the conversation
• Terminal command execution that watches output and reacts to errors
• Works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, local models and many more providers, including through OpenRouter
• Scheduled runs, messaging integrations (Slack, Telegram, Discord) and a headless mode with JSON output for CI
• A Kanban view for creating tasks, running agents and reviewing changes

Skills, subagents and MCP

Cline has an MCP Marketplace for adding servers in a few clicks, and MCP servers can also be configured by hand. Project rules live in .clinerules, and Cline also detects .cursorrules, .windsurfrules and AGENTS.md (including a global ~/.agents/AGENTS.md). Agent Skills load on demand from SKILL.md files and can be triggered with slash commands. Subagents run parallel research without filling the main agent's context, and plugins add custom tools and hooks.

Pricing

Cline is free and open source for individuals; you pay only for model usage, either to your own provider or through Cline's inference credits, with no subscription or seat fee. Enterprise adds SSO, role-based access control, centralised billing and a team dashboard at custom pricing. Check the pricing page for current details.

Who it is for

Developers who want an open-source agent inside VS Code or JetBrains with full visibility into each step, and teams that want to choose their own models.

Verdict

Cline is transparent, flexible and now supports rules, AGENTS.md, skills, subagents, hooks and MCP. API costs can climb on large tasks, and step-by-step approvals slow long runs unless you loosen them.