Cline

By Cline

Autonomous coding agent inside VS Code — plans, edits files, runs commands, and supports MCP tools.

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v4.0.102026-07-20TypeScriptApache-2.0

#vscode #ide #mcp #plan-act

65.0k Completely free Open source

Doc version 1.0 · Updated June 28, 2026

Overview

Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is a VS Code extension that turns the editor into an agentic workspace.
It proposes a plan, then — with your approval at each step — creates and edits files, runs terminal commands, and can use external tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
You bring your own API key.

flowchart LR
  task[task] --> plan[Cline: plan]
  plan -->|approve each step| act[edit files / run commands]
  act -->|MCP| tools[external tools]
  act --> done[done]

The Code samples tab shows installing it and configuring an MCP server — pick from the selector to compare.

When to use it

Pick Cline when you want an autonomous agent inside your editor with human-in-the-loop approvals and MCP tool access, rather than a separate app or CI-style runner.

Example

Install · VS Code

When to use

Reach for it when you want an agent inside the editor with human-in-the-loop approvals.

How it flows

Cline proposes a plan, then edits files and runs commands with your approval at each step.

Structure

flowchart LR
  task[task] --> plan[Cline: plan]
  plan -->|approve each step| act[edit files / run commands]
  act --> done[done]

# Install the extension from the CLI (or search "Cline" in the Extensions panel)
code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev

After installing, open the Cline panel, pick a provider (e.g. Anthropic) and model, and paste your API key.

When to use

How it flows

Add a command under mcpServers and Cline can call the tools that server exposes.

Structure

flowchart LR
  cline[Cline] -->|MCP| server[MCP server]
  server --> tools[external tools]

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/dir"]
    }
  }
}

Overview

When to use it

Pricing

When to use

How it flows

When to use

How it flows