Cline is an open-source (Apache-2.0) coding agent from Cline Bot Inc. that began as a VS Code extension and now ships a CLI, a JetBrains plugin, a web-based kanban board, and an SDK off one runtime. Facts below verified as of 2026-09-13.
Cline is proof that the IDE-extension generation grew up into a full harness: about 5.2 million installs on the strength of one extension, and the closest thing to a vendor-neutral default inside VS Code.
What it is #
One agent runtime, four delivery surfaces.
The cline CLI (npm) runs interactive or fully headless with JSON output for CI.
The VS Code extension and the JetBrains plugin host the same agent in the editor, and @cline/sdk embeds it in your own tools.
The separate kanban app runs task cards in parallel, each in its own worktree with auto-commit and dependency chains.
Core mechanics: Plan and Act modes, per-edit terminal command approval with opt-in auto-approve, checkpoints, .clinerules project rules, skills, MCP servers, SDK plugins, multi-agent teams, cron-scheduled agents, and connectors for Slack, Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, and Linear.
Any provider works: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Azure, Vertex, Cerebras, Groq, Ollama, LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
Status #
Active and large. The repository shows about 67.9k stars and 7.3k forks as of 2026-09-13, with 250+ contributors and an Apache-2.0 license held by Cline Bot Inc. The VS Code Marketplace page shows 5,307,119 installs and a 4.1/5 average rating as of 2026-09-13; the product site claims 8M+ installs across the marketplace and Open VSX. The project started as the “Claude Dev” extension in late 2024 and has been renamed and corporatized since.
Strengths #
- The default open agent inside the world’s default editor, with an install base no terminal-first rival matches.
- One runtime across IDE, CLI, CI, and SDK, so approval flows and rules stay consistent.
- Human-in-the-loop by default rather than autonomy by default.
- BYOK breadth including local models, with usage-billed inference if you want zero key setup.
Cautions #
- The JetBrains plugin is not open-sourced, so “open source agent” is true of the core, not of every client.
- Token consumption is the recurring community complaint; this
Ask HN thread on reducing Cline’s token usage captures the pattern.
- The 8M+ install figure is the vendor’s own; the marketplace verifiable number is 5.2M.
- ClinePass means a company now sells subscriptions on top; watch where the open core stops.
Pricing #
Free and open source for individuals; you pay inference per use or bring keys. ClinePass ($9.99/month, currently sold at a promotional rate) bundles access to open-weight labs: Z.ai, Moonshot AI, DeepSeek, MiniMax, MiMo, and Qwen. Enterprise is custom (SSO, SLA, dedicated support).
Compared to #
- OpenCode: terminal-first and MIT with no extension history; choose it when the terminal is the primary surface.
- Claude Code: subscription platform with deeper orchestration; Cline is the open, model-neutral counterweight.
- goose: foundation-governed generalist; Cline is the coding-specialized, IDE-native pick.
Bottom line #
Recommended for VS Code-first engineers who want one open agent from editor to CI on their own keys. It is also the harness I hand non-terminal teammates first. Not for teams that require every client binary open or a coding-agnostic automation agent.
Changes #
- 2026-08-24 - Created in a new-entrant scan that added three harness notes, recording ClinePass and the closed-source JetBrains plugin.
- 2026-08-26 - Linked the Ask HN token-usage thread inline and in references, and added a first-person Bottom line.
- 2026-09-08 - Revised ClinePass wording to “promotional rate” after the $4.99 first-month promo left the page.
- 2026-09-10 - Dropped the unverifiable ratings count from the marketplace figures.
See also #
- Agentic Coding Tools Landscape - where Cline sits in the harness layer
- Harness Feature Matrix - capability rows for the harness field
- Vibe Kanban - the orchestration pattern Cline’s kanban app bakes in
- my-ai-workflow - rotating an open agent into daily practice
References #
https://github.com/cline/cline - surfaces, rules, SDK, license, repository scale as of 2026-09-13
https://cline.bot/ - product overview, install and star claims
https://docs.cline.bot/ - agent overview and configuration documentation
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=saoudrizwan.claude-dev - verifiable install count and ratings