Cline

Cline: Open-Source AI Coding Agent for VS Code With Plan and Act Modes

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that lives inside VS Code, reads your repo, plans changes, and executes them with full file edit, terminal, and tool access. Trusted by millions of developers, Cline supports Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, and local Ollama models out of the box. You bring the API key, Cline brings the agent loop, MCP tool integrations, Plan and Act modes, and a transparent diff-by-diff workflow that keeps engineers in control.

Key Features:

• Open-source agent that runs inside VS Code with full tool access
• Plan mode and Act mode for safe, reviewable agent steps
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) support for first-class tool integrations
• Bring-your-own-key support for Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Vertex, and local models
• Diff-by-diff approval flow with full file and terminal control
• Project memory and context engineering for repo-aware behavior
• Active Discord community and 5M+ developer installs
• Browser automation, image input, and computer-use style workflows
• Free, transparent, and self-hostable with no vendor lock-in

Ideal Use Case:

Cline is built for engineers who want a powerful agentic coding teammate without leaving VS Code, and who prefer transparent, open-source tooling with model flexibility. It is especially strong for solo developers, OSS contributors, and teams that need to use private or self-hosted models.

Why Use Cline:

• Run an open-source agent inside the IDE you already use
• Pick any model: Claude, GPT, Gemini, Llama, or local Ollama
• Stay in control with Plan mode review before any change
• Wire in MCP servers for first-class tool access
• Avoid vendor lock-in with a transparent, self-hostable agent
• Free to install with no seat charges or usage gates

FAQ

Is Cline free? Yes. Cline is free and open source. You bring your own API key for whichever model provider you want to use.

What models does Cline support? Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, Mistral, Groq, and local models via Ollama.

How is Cline different from Cursor? Cursor is a closed IDE with bundled AI. Cline is an open-source agent inside VS Code that lets you bring any model and any tools.

Can Cline use my own tools? Yes. Cline has full MCP (Model Context Protocol) support so any compliant server can plug in as a first-class tool.

Is Cline safe to run autonomously? Cline includes Plan and Act modes, diff approval, and explicit terminal command approval to keep the human in the loop.

tl;dr:

Cline is an open-source agentic coding teammate that lives inside VS Code, runs any model you bring, and ships changes with Plan/Act review and full MCP tool access. It is the most flexible, transparent, and developer-friendly entry in the agentic coding category.

Related

Looking for more options? Browse the Developer Tools directory or read our best AI coding tools listicle. Cline is also tracked on Crunchbase.