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Cline

Open-source AI coding agent that plans and makes multi-file changes, runs commands and uses MCP tools, as an extension for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, a CLI or a desktop app, with your own model keys or Cline's credits.

Visit cline.bot ↗Alternatives
Works with AI agents:llms.txtCLI
Ask your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗

Where it fits

AI Coding Assistants · Editor pluginAn open-source agent inside VS Code, JetBrains IDEs or other VS Code-based editors that plans and makes multi-file changes, running commands with your approval, on the model provider of your choice.Trade-off: Result quality and cost depend on the model you connect, and long agent tasks on API keys can get expensive.

How Cline itself is built

17 tools, from its own code, website and Product Hunt page.

AI SDKAmazon BedrockClaudeFirebaseGemini APILangfuseMistral AINext.jsOpenAI APIOpenRouterPostHogReactSendGridSQLiteVercelVercel AI GatewayVertex AI

Who uses it

3 makers' products, each linked to the source that shows it.

The maker says so 3How evidence is collected →
MakeHub.aiLLM Provider arbitrage to get the best performance for the $

“Cline is simply the best AI coding agent out there. Part of my team's job is to test them all, and the Cline / Roo paradigm is great, and has been shaping the industry for the last 6 months, hence why Claude Code and other are copying them. The single alternative is Claude Code, but you can only use their. models, which are not currently SOTA, and it would be a mistake to bet that they will be SOTA all the time in the future.”

AI Coding AssistantsMaker says so · source ↗

What makers say

1 makers on why they use Cline, in their own words on Product Hunt.

Cline is simply the best AI coding agent out there. Part of my team's job is to test them all, and the Cline / Roo paradigm is great, and has been shaping the industry for the last 6 months, hence why Claude Code and other are copying them. The single alternative is Claude Code, but you can only use their. models, which are not currently SOTA, and it would be a mistake to bet that they will be SOTA all the time in the future.
MakeHub.aiJun 2025 ↗

Loved and watch-outs

Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises, with how Product Hunt tags its reviews.

On Product Hunt 4.7★ · 7 reviews
fast performance 2
Read the reviews on Product Hunt ↗

Reliability and open issues

Most wanted on GitHubOpen on 2026-10-04 in cline/cline, with activity in the last year — issues and feature requests by 👍.

Alternatives to Cline

All alternatives by situation →
CursorA VS Code-style editor with AI completions, chat and agents built in, keeping your VS Code extensions.Free tier538 makers · AI coding assistants
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)A VS Code-style editor with unlimited Tab completions, an in-editor agent, and one place to manage local and cloud Devin agents.Free tier43 makers · AI coding assistants
Claude CodeHanding off multi-step tasks — features, refactors, bug hunts — to an agent that reads the repo, edits files and runs commands.738 makers · AI coding assistants
OpenAI CodexDelegating tasks to an agent in the terminal, IDE or desktop app, or to cloud tasks that run in the background and open pull requests.Open sourceFree tier136 makers · AI coding assistants
OpenCodeAn open-source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, local models, or an existing Copilot or ChatGPT subscription.Open sourceFree tier42 makers · AI coding assistants
GitHub CopilotAdding AI completions, chat and agents to the editor you already use, including VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, plus pull request reviews on GitHub.Free tier26 makers · AI coding assistants
ZedA fast, open-source native editor with built-in AI edit predictions and agent chat, and a choice of models.Open sourceFree tier31 makers · AI coding assistants
Kilo CodeAn open-source agent for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs and the terminal with access to 500+ models, through your own keys, local models or Kilo's gateway at provider rates.Open sourceFree tier11 makers · AI coding assistants
Gemini CLIAn open-source terminal agent on Gemini models with a free tier, for reading the repo, editing files and running commands.Open sourceFree tier

On Product Hunt, people weigh it against: Cursor, Claude Code, Kilo Code, Google Antigravity, OpenAI Codex, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf), GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, Augment Code.

Questions makers ask about Cline

Is Cline free?

Yes — there is a free tier a small product can run on; paid use starts at $9.99/mo. source ↗

Is Cline open source or self-hostable?

Open source. source ↗

Can AI coding agents work with Cline?

It serves an llms.txt docs index; it has an official CLI (cline).

Who uses Cline?

3 makers' products we track, each with a source. source ↗