Cline
Autonomous AI coding agent for VS Code that can create and edit files, run terminal commands, and use any LLM API
3M+
VS Code Installs
35K+
GitHub Stars
4.9/5
VS Code Rating
Overview
Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is an open-source autonomous AI coding agent that runs directly in VS Code. Unlike simple autocomplete tools, Cline can create and edit files, run terminal commands, browse the web, and execute multi-step coding tasks autonomously. It works with any LLM API including Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local models via Ollama or LM Studio. The extension is completely free with you paying only for API usage, making it a budget-friendly alternative to subscription-based coding assistants.
The Verdict
Who Should Use Cline?
Best For
- Developers wanting full control over AI model choice
- Budget-conscious teams (pay only for API usage)
- VS Code power users who prefer in-IDE workflows
- Open-source advocates and contributors
- Developers working with local/private LLMs
Not Ideal For
- Teams needing enterprise support/SLAs
- Developers who prefer terminal-based workflows
- Those wanting simple autocomplete only
- Organizations requiring SOC 2 compliance
What's Great
- Completely free and open-source (Apache 2.0)
- Works with any LLM API (Claude, GPT, Gemini, local)
- Pay-per-use API costs instead of subscriptions
- Full autonomous file creation and editing
- Browser automation for web research
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) support
- Active community with rapid feature development
Watch Out For
- API costs can add up with heavy usage
- Requires manual API key setup
- No built-in team collaboration features
- Quality depends on chosen LLM provider
- VS Code only (no JetBrains, terminal, etc.)
Pricing
Free
$0
Open-source, unlimited use
Claude API
~$3-15/MTok
Pay per token used
OpenAI API
~$2.50-15/MTok
GPT-4o, o1, o3 models
Local Models
$0
Ollama, LM Studio
View all features & details
Key Features
- Autonomous file creation & editing
- Terminal command execution
- Web browser automation
- Multi-file refactoring
- Image/screenshot analysis
- MCP server integration
- Custom system prompts
- Task history & checkpoints
Supported Models
- Claude 3.5/4 (Sonnet, Opus, Haiku)
- GPT-4o, o1, o3
- Gemini Pro/Ultra
- DeepSeek Coder
- Llama 3, Qwen, Mistral (via Ollama)
- Any OpenAI-compatible API
Platforms
- VS Code (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- VS Code Web
- Cursor (fork compatibility)
- Windsurf (fork compatibility)
Integrations
- Git operations
- Package managers (npm, pip, etc.)
- MCP servers
- Browser DevTools
- Any CLI tool
Typical API Costs
- Light use: $5-20/month
- Heavy use: $50-200/month
- Local models: Free (compute only)
- Best value: DeepSeek API
How It Compares
| Feature | Cline | Claude Code | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price Model | Free + API | $20-200/mo | $20/mo | $10/mo |
| IDE Support | VS Code | Terminal/Any | Custom IDE | Multi-IDE |
| Model Choice | Any LLM | Claude only | Multi-model | GPT/Claude |
| Local Models | Yes | No | Limited | No |
| Autonomous Mode | Yes | Yes | Composer | No |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Enterprise Support | Community | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP Support | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Best For | Budget/Flexibility | Power users | IDE natives | Quick completions |
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