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Strong fit, narrower lane · Coding assistants
Cline
Open-source coding agent for VS Code.
The open-source agent to try before you pay for a dedicated AI IDE.
- Vendor
- Cline
- Pricing tier
- Free
- Best for
- Agentic edits in VS Code with your own model key
- Open source
- Yes
What it is
Cline is an open-source agent that runs in VS Code. It can read the project, edit files, and use the terminal. You connect a model API key. The project is also published on GitHub.
The extension is free and open source. You pay for the model you connect. Confirm the current license in the repository.
Why it ranks
- Agent loop inside VS Code, including terminal commands
- Open source, with a public GitHub project
- You choose the model
Watch outs
- Autonomous terminal access needs your own guardrails
- Quality tracks the model and the permissions you grant