Overview
Cline is an open-source autonomous AI coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension, a command-line tool, and an embeddable SDK. Where a completion assistant suggests the next lines, Cline takes on whole tasks: you describe what you want, it reads the codebase, proposes a plan, and - with your approval - edits files, runs terminal commands, and iterates until the change works. It is bring-your-own-key and model-agnostic, so the same agent works against Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, or a local Ollama endpoint. The extension itself is free and Apache 2.0 licensed, with 8M+ installs across marketplaces and a large contributor community.
Key Features
- Plan and Act modes: draft a strategy without touching files, then execute with approval at every irreversible step
- Multi-file coordinated edits with linter-aware fixes, diffs, and one-click checkpoints/undo
- Terminal execution: runs builds, tests, and deploys and reacts to live output
- Native MCP support plus a marketplace for databases, APIs, and infrastructure tools
- CLI and SDK for scripts, cron jobs, and CI; coordinator agents delegate to specialists
- Per-task token cost tracker so you see exactly what each request spends
Pricing
| Plan | Price | For |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | $0 | VS Code / CLI / SDK, bring your own model key |
| ClinePass | $9.99/mo | Low-cost model access without wiring keys |
| Enterprise | Custom | SSO, RBAC, audit logs, JetBrains support |
Comparison
Compared to Cursor, Cline is fully open-source and lets you bring any model via your own key, while Cursor is a forked editor on a managed subscription. Against GitHub Copilot, Cline runs whole tasks across files and a live terminal rather than inline completions. Next to Windsurf, both are agentic and free-tier friendly, but Cline’s native MCP support and SDK make it easier to embed inside your own products.
Hands-on Verdict
Cline is the VS Code agent I use for autonomous coding tasks inside the editor — it reads the project, plans, edits files, and runs commands with your approval. It’s more agentic than GitHub Copilot on multi-file work and lighter than Aider for IDE users. For quick completions I use Codeium.
Who it’s for: developers in VS Code. Tip: give it a clear plan and approve steps as it goes — Cline executes broadly, so keeping it to one feature at a time avoids large, hard-to-revert changes.