Cline

Frequently asked questions

What is Cline?

Cline is a CLI / Desktop / IDE / Cloud covered in the agents.dancingteeth 2026 catalog. Native Desktop app (no editor required) plus first-party CLI (`npm i -g cline`) for interactive terminal sessions or headless CI/automation — same agent core across all surfaces; Cline Cloud agents run tasks from the browser (mobile-friendly) in isolated cloud sandboxes — connect GitHub, pick a repo/branch, get a `cline/` branch or PR back; up to 10 parallel sessions, repo-scoped GitHub token, switch models mid-session, same Plan/Act and approvals; highly autonomous in VS Code/JetBrains with terminal and browser research; Connectors (beta) in Desktop and CLI (Gmail, Slack, Calendar, Linear, Sentry, Notion; `cline connect`); ClinePass (~$10/mo) is strong open-weight subscription value — curated models with 2–5× usage vs API rate across Desktop/CLI/IDE and via Cline API/SDK.

Who is Cline best for?

Autonomous coding via Cline Desktop (no editor required), CLI (interactive or headless), VS Code/JetBrains plugins, or Cline Cloud browser agents that return a branch/PR; ClinePass (~$10/mo) adds curated open-weight models with elevated quotas across Desktop/CLI/IDE/API.

When should I skip Cline?

You hate token burn on pure BYOK/usage-billing or want a full IDE fork instead of a Desktop + CLI + plugin agent, or need cloud agents on non-GitHub hosts.

What are the main trade-offs of Cline?

Pros: Native Desktop app (no editor required) plus first-party CLI (`npm i -g cline`) for interactive terminal sessions or headless CI/automation — same agent core across all surfaces; Cline Cloud agents run tasks from the browser (mobile-friendly) in isolated cloud sandboxes — connect GitHub, pick a repo/branch, get a `cline/` branch or PR back; up to 10 parallel sessions, repo-scoped GitHub token, switch models mid-session, same Plan/Act and approvals; highly autonomous in VS Code/JetBrains with terminal and browser research; Connectors (beta) in Desktop and CLI (Gmail, Slack, Calendar, Linear, Sentry, Notion; `cline connect`); ClinePass (~$10/mo) is strong open-weight subscription value — curated models with 2–5× usage vs API rate across Desktop/CLI/IDE and via Cline API/SDK. Cons: High token burn on BYOK or Cline usage-billing without ClinePass; managing keys if you skip the subscription; Desktop app still early (0.

Does Cline support AGENTS.md, SKILL.md, or MCP?

This card lists AGENTS.md as Full Support, SKILL.md as Via Prompts, and rules/memory as .clinerules, persistent memory bank.. Free options: Free Desktop, CLI, and IDE downloads (BYOK or Cline usage-billing); ClinePass (~$10/mo, often ~$5 first month) adds bundled open-weight models with elevated quotas. Cline Cloud offers free models to try cloud agents without spending credits..