Cline is an open-source coding agent that runs in your editor or terminal. One agent engine sits behind a VS Code extension, a JetBrains plugin, a CLI with interactive and headless modes, a Node.js SDK, and Kanban, a web-based board that runs many agents in parallel with a git worktree, auto-commit, and dependency chains per card.
The agent reads the project structure, makes coordinated edits across files, and watches linter and compiler output as it works, fixing missing imports, type mismatches, and syntax errors. It runs shell commands and reacts to their output, including long-running processes such as dev servers. In the IDEs, every edit appears as a reviewable diff, changes are tracked with checkpoints for undo, and each file edit or command needs approval unless you turn on auto-approve. Plan mode explores the codebase and lays out a strategy before Act mode executes it.
Project conventions live in .clinerules files that the CLI, VS Code extension, and JetBrains plugin all pick up, and skills load specific rules on demand. The agent is not tied to one model provider.
| Provider | Models |
|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude Opus, Sonnet, Haiku |
| OpenAI | GPT series |
| Gemini series | |
| OpenRouter | 200+ models |
| Vercel AI Gateway | many providers through one gateway |
| AWS Bedrock | Claude, Llama, and more |
| Azure / GCP Vertex | hosted models |
| Cerebras / Groq | inference-focused models |
| Ollama / LM Studio | local models |
| Any OpenAI-compatible API | self-hosted or third-party endpoints |
Features
- Multi-surface agent: VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, SDK, and the Kanban board share one engine
- Plan and Act modes: plan with clarifying questions first, then execute with per-step approval or auto-approve
- Terminal execution: runs commands, streams output, and keeps working in the background on long-running processes
- Rules and skills: .clinerules files define standards and procedures; skills load rules when needed
- Plugins and MCP: register tools and lifecycle hooks through the SDK, or connect MCP servers managed with cline mcp
- Multi-agent teams: a coordinator splits a task among specialist agents, with team state persisted across sessions
- Scheduled agents: cron-based runs such as daily PR summaries that persist across restarts
- Messaging connectors: Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, WhatsApp, and Linear, with one agent session per conversation thread and access control
- Headless CLI: pipe input, receive JSON output, and chain commands in CI/CD pipelines
Extensions & skills
Claude Context Optimizer
Claude Code plugin that tracks context usage, blocks redundant file reads, and learns which files are waste
iFixAi
Catch your AI's mistakes and blind spots before your customers or regulators do..
Laconic
A 300-word brevity skill that makes coding agents answer tersely, cutting output tokens
Rtk
CLI proxy that reduces LLM token consumption by 60-90% on common dev commands. Single Rust binary, zero dependencies
Built with this
Integrated by
9Router
Unlimited AI coding. Connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Cline, Copilot, Antigravity to free Claude/GPT/Gemini via 40+ providers.
Agent Orchestrator
Agentic orchestrator for parallel coding agents — plans tasks, spawns agents, and autonomously handles CI fixes, merge conflicts, and cod
AI DevKit
The control plane for AI coding agents.
Forkd
Agent sandboxes need VM-grade isolation without booting a fresh VM every time.