Cline is the open source AI coding agent for VS Code that goes beyond autocomplete: it reads and edits files, runs terminal commands, browses the web, and executes multi-step coding tasks across your entire repository, with your explicit approval at each step before anything is written.
The Problem
GitHub Copilot and similar tools suggest the next line or function. They cannot autonomously create a file, update a config, run your test suite to verify the change, and fix what broke, all in one continuous task. Agentic file-editing is either absent or locked behind expensive enterprise tiers in commercial tools.
How Cline Solves It
Cline's Plan/Act mode separates reasoning from execution. In Plan mode it lays out what it intends to do before touching any file; in Act mode it executes with per-step human approval. Every file write, terminal command, and browser action is shown to you before it runs, making it safe to use on production code. It works with any model, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
Key Features
- Reads and writes files, runs shell commands, and browses the web as part of a task
- Plan mode: proposes a step-by-step plan before any code is touched
- Model-agnostic: works with Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, Ollama, and local models
- Diff view for every file change with one-click approve/reject
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) support for connecting external tools and APIs
Self-Hosting
Install from the VS Code Marketplace by searching for 'Cline', or build from source via the GitHub repository. Cline runs entirely within your VS Code instance; there is no server component. Bring your own LLM API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini) or configure Ollama for fully local operation.
License
Apache 2.0. Free to use, modify, and distribute for personal or commercial projects without restriction.
Who It's For
Cline is best for developers who need an AI agent capable of multi-file refactors, full-feature scaffolding, and test suite execution, without surrendering control over what gets written to disk.
Compared to GitHub Copilot
Unlike GitHub Copilot, Cline operates as a full coding agent: it plans multi-step tasks, edits multiple files, runs terminal commands, and verifies results, all with your approval at each step, rather than just suggesting the next line in the editor.
