Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is an open-source AI coding assistant that runs inside VS Code and is capable of creating and editing files, running terminal commands, and using the browser — making it one of the most autonomous AI coding tools available in the VS Code ecosystem. Unlike GitHub Copilot which suggests inline completions, Cline can take a task description and execute multi-step implementations: writing tests, running them, seeing failures, fixing them, and iterating until the task is complete.

The agentic approach is Cline's defining characteristic. You describe what you want ('add authentication to this Express app using JWT and create the corresponding test suite') and Cline reasons about the implementation, creates files, runs commands in the integrated terminal, reads the output, and adjusts. Every action requires your approval unless you configure auto-approve — you stay in control of each file change and command execution, which is important for understanding and trusting the output.

Cline supports multiple LLM backends — Claude (from Anthropic), GPT-4o, Gemini, and local models via Ollama — which lets you optimize for capability vs. cost. The main operational consideration is API cost: agentic loops that involve many files and iterations can consume significant tokens quickly. But for developers comfortable with VS Code and AI APIs, Cline offers more autonomy than most IDE-based alternatives at no subscription cost (you just pay for API usage).

🐱 SAGE SAYS

Enable auto-approve only on tasks you fully understand. Cline's power is its autonomy, but that's also what makes unreviewed approvals risky. The best workflow is task → review → approve → next step.

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