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Cline
VerifiedOpen-source AI coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains, works with any model.
4.5 (1,800 reviews)
About Cline
Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that runs as an extension inside VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. Its defining feature is a Plan/Act workflow: it proposes a plan and shows exactly what it intends to change before applying anything, giving you an approval step most autonomous coding agents skip. It supports Claude, GPT-4, and local models, and has grown into one of the most active open-source coding-agent communities. It's a good fit for developers who want agentic help without giving up review control over every change.
Key Features
- Plan/Act mode for reviewing changes before they're applied
- Works with Claude, GPT-4, and local models
- VS Code and JetBrains support
- Approval flow for every proposed change
- Large, actively maintained open-source community
Best For
- Reviewing AI-proposed changes before they're applied
- Coding with your own model of choice inside your existing editor
- Teams wanting more oversight over agentic code edits
Pros
- Free and open-source
- Bring-your-own-model flexibility
- Approval-based workflow gives more control than fully autonomous agents
- Frequent updates and active development
Cons
- Requires your own API key — model costs are separate (a paid Cline.bot hosted tier exists as an alternative, but the core extension is free)
- Approval steps can feel slower than fully autonomous tools
- More setup/configuration than a plug-and-play commercial tool
