--- title: "Cline: open-source coding agent for VS Code, free tier and alternatives" canonical_url: https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cline last_updated: 2026-10-03T15:11:25+02:00 type: tool summary: "Cline is an open source coding agent by Cline Bot Inc. that runs as a VS Code or JetBrains extension and a CLI, using your own model keys or local models." --- # Cline Cline is an open source coding agent by Cline Bot Inc. that runs as a VS Code or JetBrains extension and a CLI, using your own model keys or local models. | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Made by | Cline Bot Inc. | | Type | Editor extension | | License | Apache-2.0 | | Source | https://github.com/cline/cline | | GitHub stars | 69,680 on 2026-10-02 | | Runs on | VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, Antigravity, JetBrains, CLI, Desktop app (macOS, Windows) | | Free tier | Free plan | | Website | https://cline.bot | | Page updated | 2026-10-03 | | Facts checked | 2026-10-02 | ## What it does Cline is an open source coding agent that lives in your editor. It reads files, makes edits and runs terminal commands. Plan mode discusses and plans without touching files; Act mode carries out the plan. Checkpoints let you roll code back to an earlier step while keeping the conversation. Cline runs in VS Code and its forks (Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, Antigravity), in JetBrains, as a CLI installed with npm, and as a desktop app. A Kanban view runs several agents in parallel in separate git worktrees, and an SDK and Agent Client Protocol support bring it to Zed, Neovim and Emacs. Cline does not lock you to one model. You can bring keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Vertex and others, run local models through Ollama or LM Studio, or buy credits from Cline. The pricing page says Cline is free for individual developers with no subscription. ## Who it is for - Developers who want an agent inside VS Code with a separate read-only Plan mode and checkpoints to roll back - People who want to choose and pay their own model provider, or run local models - Teams that want an open source agent they can review and self-manage - Working across VS Code forks such as Cursor or Windsurf with the same agent ## Who should pick something else - People who want a flat subscription that includes frontier models; GitHub Copilot or Cursor bundle model usage - Users who want installs from the open skills CLI to just work: its Cline folder (.agents/skills) is not one Cline's docs list - Developers who prefer a terminal-first agent; OpenCode or Claude Code are built around the terminal Strength: Cline is free and Apache-2.0 licensed with 69,653 GitHub stars (2026-10-01), and runs in VS Code, five VS Code forks, JetBrains, a CLI and a desktop app with any model provider you choose. Limit: Cline's own pages disagree in places: the pricing page lists the JetBrains extension under Enterprise while the install docs show it for everyone, and the desktop app is documented for macOS and Windows (beta) but advertised for Linux too. ## What it costs Free tier: Free plan. Free and open source under Apache-2.0 for individual developers; you pay model providers or buy Cline credits, and an optional flat plan and an Enterprise plan are sold separately. Current prices: https://cline.bot/pricing (we do not list prices; vendors change them often). ## Agent skills and MCP Skills: Cline supports Agent Skills natively since version 3.48.0 (January 2026). Its docs list project folders .cline/skills (recommended), .clinerules/skills and .claude/skills, and the global folder ~/.cline/skills; skills are toggled in the Skills tab. The open skills CLI 1.7.0 installs Cline skills into .agents/skills, a folder Cline's skills docs do not list (checked 2026-10-01). MCP: Cline adds MCP servers from the MCP Servers icon in its panel: Configure tab, then Configure MCP Servers, which opens a JSON file with an mcpServers key (command, args and env for a local server; type streamableHttp and url for a remote one). The Remote Servers tab adds a URL directly. The CLI uses ~/.cline/mcp.json and a wizard, cline mcp. ## Alternatives - [Kilo Code](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/kilo-code): Kilo Code is an open source coding agent by Kilo Code, Inc., acquired by Anaconda in 2026, that runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, a CLI and cloud agents with 500+ models. - [GitHub Copilot](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/github-copilot): GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant by GitHub that works in VS Code, JetBrains and other editors, in a CLI, and as a cloud agent that opens pull requests on GitHub. - [OpenCode](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/opencode): OpenCode is an open source terminal coding agent by Anomaly that works with 75+ model providers, local models included, and also ships as a desktop app and IDE extension. - [Cursor](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cursor): Cursor is an AI code editor by Anysphere that pairs a desktop editor with an agent, a CLI and cloud agents, using models from several vendors plus its own Composer models. ## Questions people ask ### Is Cline free? Yes. Cline's pricing page says it is free for individual developers with no subscription. You pay only for model usage, through your own API keys, Cline credits or the optional ClinePass flat plan, or nothing with local models (read 2026-10-01). ### Does Cline support MCP and agent skills? Yes. Cline has an MCP Marketplace and a JSON config under mcpServers, and supports Agent Skills from .cline/skills, .clinerules/skills or .claude/skills since version 3.48.0.