Cline
by Cline
Open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code with file editing, terminal commands, and bring-your-own-key model support. Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is an open-source AI coding agent built as a VS Code extension, originally released in 2024 by Saoud Rizwan. The project is MIT-licensed on GitHub at cline/cline and reached more than 1.
Key Facts
| Attribute | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free MIT-licensed extension; users pay model providers directly (BYOK) | Apr 2026 | Cline |
| Install Base | 1.5M+ VS Code Marketplace installs as of April 2026 | Apr 2026 | VS Code Marketplace |
| Released | 2024 (originally released as Claude Dev) | Apr 2026 | GitHub cline/cline |
| Key Differentiator | Open-source autonomous agent with human-in-the-loop checkpoints and MCP server support | Apr 2026 | Cline docs |
About Cline
Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is an open-source AI coding agent built as a VS Code extension, originally released in 2024 by Saoud Rizwan. The project is MIT-licensed on GitHub at cline/cline and reached more than 1.5 million installs in the VS Code Marketplace by April 2026.
The agent reads and edits files in the active workspace, runs terminal commands with user approval, and works through tasks autonomously while pausing for human checkpoints. Cline is bring-your-own-key: users connect their own Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, or Azure credentials and pay model providers directly, so the extension itself is free. The MCP (Model Context Protocol) server framework adds custom tools for browsing, search, and external APIs. Cline is favoured by developers who want full transparency over agent actions and direct control of model spend.
Integrations (4)
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Questions About Cline
Is Cline worth it in 2026? A detailed review
Cline scores 7.7/10 in 2026. The MIT-licensed VS Code agent, released in 2024 as Claude Dev, reached 1.5M+ installs by April 2026 and runs on bring-your-own-key Claude, GPT-4, or Bedrock credentials.
How much does Cline cost in 2026?
Cline is free and MIT-licensed; users pay model providers directly. Typical Claude Sonnet usage runs $5-$30/day for active developers as of April 2026.
Is Aider worth it in 2026? A detailed review
Aider scores 7.6/10 in 2026. The Apache 2.0 CLI pair programmer by Paul Gauthier supports Claude, GPT-4, DeepSeek, Gemini, and local Ollama models with Git auto-commits and a public code-edit benchmark.
How much does Aider cost in 2026?
Aider is free and Apache 2.0 licensed; users pay only for model API calls. Typical daily Claude or GPT-4 spend runs $3-$25/day for active developers in April 2026.