clineAI coding
Cline
An open-source coding agent for IDEs and terminals that can inspect projects, edit files, run commands, and gate actions through approval controls.
- Frontend
- Backend
- Full stack
- DevOps
- AI coding
- Automation
- Testing
- Code quality
- IDE plugin
- CLI
- API/SDK
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Runs locally
- Popularity
- 66.4k Stars
- GitHub stars
- Recent activity
- 8/18/2026
- Updated in the last 30 days
- License
- APACHE-2.0
- Permissive
Why it matters
We look beyond stars: what problem it solves, whether it creates real utility, and what makes its approach worth noticing.
Problem
As AI coding moves from suggestions to editing files and running commands, the harder problem is giving an agent project-wide context while keeping risky actions under developer control.
Practical value
It combines project inspection, multi-file edits, terminal execution, Plan/Act, diff review, and checkpoints in one workflow across IDE, CLI, and headless CI use.
Innovation / differentiation
Its differentiation is not merely code generation: one agent core spans IDEs, terminal workflows, SDK integrations, rules/skills, MCP, and multi-agent work while retaining approval and rollback controls.
Leverage potential
CLI, SDK, MCP, headless execution, schedules, and external messaging connectors let it act as an execution layer for CI, team automation, and other agent products rather than just an editor plugin.
Why now
As coding models become capable tool users, the competitive focus is shifting from the model itself to how agents safely enter real repositories and development workflows—the layer Cline targets.
Community activity
In the last 90 days there were 548 new issues and 1704 pull requests; the bounded issue/PR samples include 86 issue authors and 20 PR contributors, with at least 50 releases.
Maintainer responsiveness
The 100-issue window sample had a 31% close rate, and the 99-pull-request sample had a 40% merge rate. Maintainer-comment observations covered only 13% of that issue sample, so response rate and first-response speed are not reported.
Key highlights
- Repository inspection and coordinated multi-file edits with lint/build/test feedback
- Diffs, checkpoints, and action approvals for reviewing or reverting agent work
- CLI modes for interactive use, headless scripting, JSON output, and CI/CD
Quick start
How it is installed, how hard it is, and where to start.
Where it runs
Runs locally
Difficulty
Easy — follow the steps
- 01Install the VS Code extension from the Marketplace, or install the
clineCLI globally for terminal use. - 02Configure a hosted or local model endpoint, keep step-by-step approvals enabled initially, and open a Git-managed test project.
- 03After file diffs, commands, and tests behave as expected, add project rules, MCP servers, or narrowly scoped auto-approval settings.
Best for
- Developers who want to try it on their machine
More about it
Cline brings an agentic coding workflow into the editor and terminal. It can inspect project structure, coordinate edits across files, run builds and tests, and keep watching terminal output while it works. In VS Code, edits are presented as diffs with checkpoints so users can review or revert changes, while approval controls determine whether actions are confirmed step by step or allowed automatically. The repository also contains a CLI for interactive, headless, and CI/CD use plus an SDK for custom tools and lifecycle hooks. Model access can use hosted providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, or local/OpenAI-compatible endpoints including Ollama and LM Studio. The README explicitly notes that the JetBrains plugin is not currently open-sourced in this repository, so it should be treated separately from the Apache-2.0 code here.
Sources
Each field shows its status and source — expand to review.
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Sources
Each field shows its status and source — expand to review.
capability tags
Verifiedai_coding, automation, testing, code_quality
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
Latest release
Verifieddesktop-v0.0.13
Source: GitHub API · latest_release=desktop-v0.0.13 · 8/18/2026
License
VerifiedApache-2.0
Source: GitHub API · license.spdx_id=Apache-2.0 · 8/18/2026
needs api key
VerifiedNo
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
One-liner
Verified{"en":"An open-source coding agent for IDEs and terminals that can inspect projects, edit files, run commands, and gate actions through approval controls.","zh":"运行在 IDE 与终端里的开源编程 Agent，可读取项目、修改文件、执行命令，并通过逐步审批或自动批准控制实际操作。"}
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
Platforms
Verifiedwindows, macos, linux
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
Category hint
Inferred from materialsai-apps
Source: Project README · hint=ai-apps · 8/17/2026
product forms
Verifiedide_plugin, cli, api_sdk
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
role tags
Verifiedfrontend, backend, fullstack, devops
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
supports local
VerifiedYes
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
supports self host
VerifiedNo
Source: admin_cms · cms editor · 8/17/2026
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