🇺🇸 USA · Cline (open-source)
Status: 🟩 COMPLETE 🟦 LIVING Last updated: 2026-06-26 Plain-English tagline: Open-source VS Code agent — install as an extension, bring your own API key (Claude, GPT, etc.), get autonomous coding agent inside your editor. Auditable code, MIT-licensed.
Front-matter facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Cline Bot Inc (USA) — primary maintainer; open-source community |
| Country / origin | 🇺🇸 USA (open-source) |
| Recommended for Australian users? | ✅ Yes — open-source, no region restrictions; you provide your own model API key |
| Privacy summary | Cline itself sends nothing to a Cline server (it’s just a VS Code extension); your data flows to whichever model API you configure (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc.) under their own privacy terms |
| Free tier | The extension itself is free; API costs are pay-per-token to whichever model provider you choose |
| Paid tiers | None for Cline itself; model API costs apply (typically Anthropic $US 3-25/million tokens, etc.) |
| First released | 2024 (initially as “Claude Dev”; renamed to Cline) |
| Last reviewed | 2026-06-26 |
| Official site | https://cline.bot (and https://github.com/cline/cline) |
What it is
Cline is an open-source VS Code extension that provides autonomous AI coding agent capabilities. You install it from the VS Code marketplace, configure it with an API key from any major AI provider (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, Mistral, etc.), and it becomes a Cursor-Composer-style agent inside standard VS Code.
Cline was originally released as “Claude Dev” in 2024, then renamed to Cline as it expanded support beyond Claude. It’s released under the Apache 2.0 license — fully open-source, auditable, forkable.
Distinguishing features:
- Open-source — full source on GitHub, MIT/Apache license
- Bring your own API key — no subscription to Cline; just pay your chosen model provider directly
- Multi-model support — Claude, GPT, Gemini, Mistral, plus self-hosted via Ollama / LM Studio
- Works in standard VS Code — no separate IDE to install (unlike Cursor / Windsurf)
- Tool-use mode — can read / write files, run terminal commands, browse web (with permission)
- Plan / Act modes — Plan mode discusses approach before taking actions
- MCP support — connects to MCP servers
- No tracking — extension doesn’t phone home
Analogy: Cline is the open-source alternative to Cursor Composer / Claude Code. If you want a Cursor-Composer-shaped experience but inside your existing VS Code and on your existing API budget — Cline.
What you’d use it for
- You already use VS Code and don’t want to switch to Cursor / Windsurf
- You want to use your existing Anthropic / OpenAI / Google API budget rather than pay for another subscription
- You’re an open-source-purist — want to inspect / fork / contribute
- You want to run with local self-hosted models via Ollama / LM Studio
- You’re an educator / employer training developers — open-source is easier to deploy widely
- You’re testing different model providers — easy to switch via config
How to use it
Install
- Open VS Code → Extensions → search “Cline” → Install
- Get an API key from your chosen model provider:
- Anthropic: console.anthropic.com → Settings → API Keys
- OpenAI: platform.openai.com → API Keys
- Google: aistudio.google.com → Get API Key
- Or local: install Ollama / LM Studio first
- Open Cline sidebar in VS Code → enter API key → pick model
- Start a task — Cline interactively plans then executes
Try it out
- “Create a Next.js page that fetches data from /api/users and renders a table”
- “Refactor this function to use async/await”
- “Add tests for the auth middleware”
What it costs — what you actually get
Cline extension: free
- MIT/Apache 2.0 open-source
- Pay nothing to Cline itself
- Source: github.com/cline/cline
API costs (you pay your chosen provider)
- Anthropic Claude Sonnet ~US15 per million input/output tokens — most-used for Cline
- Anthropic Claude Haiku ~US5 per million — cheaper, faster
- OpenAI GPT-5 — similar pricing
- Google Gemini 3 — varies
- Local (Ollama / LM Studio) — free (just your hardware)
- Heavy daily use can run US$5-50 per day depending on model + task complexity
Cline doesn’t take a cut
- 100% of your spend goes to the model provider
- This is the key difference vs Cursor / Windsurf (which include a markup on API costs in the subscription price)
How it compares to alternatives
| Capability | Cline | Cursor Pro | Roo Code | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source | Yes (Apache 2.0) | No | Yes (Cline fork) | No |
| Surface | VS Code extension | Standalone IDE | VS Code extension | Terminal CLI |
| BYO API key | Yes | No (subscription) | Yes | Subscription includes |
| Multi-model | Yes (broadest) | Yes | Yes | Claude-focused |
| Cost model | Pay-per-API-token (no markup) | Subscription | Pay-per-API-token | Subscription |
| Plan / Act modes | Yes | Composer modes | Yes | Native agent |
| Local model support | Yes (Ollama / LM Studio) | Limited | Yes | Limited |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Best (native) |
| Best for | OSS-purist, BYO-budget, education | Tab autocomplete UX | Cline alternative | Terminal-first workflow |
Privacy / data handling
- Cline as extension does not send your code or prompts anywhere except to your configured model provider
- No telemetry to Cline servers (unlike many commercial extensions)
- Privacy posture entirely depends on your chosen model provider — Anthropic API is no-training-by-default; OpenAI API is no-training-by-default; local models keep everything on your hardware
- Open-source means you can audit the network calls yourself
Recent changes
- 2026: Plan / Act mode refined; MCP support matured
- 2025: Renamed from “Claude Dev” to “Cline” (broader multi-model support)
- 2024: Initial release as “Claude Dev” VS Code extension
Gotchas
- You need an API key. Cline doesn’t include one. Sign up at the chosen provider first.
- Direct API billing is metered — heavy use can cost more than a flat subscription. Watch usage carefully; set provider-side spend limits.
- Local model performance varies dramatically — Ollama / LM Studio with Llama 70B is much weaker than Claude Sonnet for serious coding. Try the smaller / cheaper paid models before going local.
- Permission prompts can be aggressive — Cline asks before taking risky actions (writing files, running commands). You can configure auto-approve for trusted commands.
- Doesn’t have Cursor’s tab autocomplete — Cline is agent-mode-focused; if you want autocomplete, pair Cline with GitHub Copilot completion in the same VS Code install
- Roo Code is a Cline fork that some users prefer — try both, they share most features
- The community version has been quite stable but moves fast — update regularly for new model support
See also
- Roo Code 🟥 — open-source Cline fork
- Aider 🟥 — open-source CLI alternative
- Continue.dev 🟥 — another open-source IDE agent
- Claude Code deep dive 🟩 🟦
- Cursor 🟩 🟦
- Windsurf 🟩 🟦
- GitHub Copilot 🟩 🟦
- Ollama 🟥 — for local model support
- LM Studio 🟥
- Claude API overview 🟩 🟦
- OpenAI API 🟥
- MCP — Model Context Protocol 🟩 🟦
- Decision frameworks — Cursor vs Claude Code vs Windsurf 🟥