Rating · evidence to 26 Sept 2026
67
- No. 7 of 16 in category
- Medium confidence
- Trust B
- Open source
The Register / Coding agents / Cline
Register entry · Coding agents · updated 26 Sept 2026
Cline
Cline Bot Inc. · Coding agents
Cline is an Apache-2.0 coding agent that reads and edits files, runs terminal commands and uses MCP tools, asking for approval unless auto-approve is enabled. It ships as a VS Code extension, a JetBrains extension, a CLI, a TypeScript SDK (@cline/sdk), a Kanban app for running agents in parallel git worktrees, and since July 2026 a desktop app. Users bring their own model keys or buy inference through Cline at cost; ClinePass is an optional $9.99/month subscription for open-weight models. Version 4.0 (June 2026) moved the extension onto the new SDK runtime.
What reviewers and users praise
- Model freedom: bring your own API keys and switch to any provider, including local and open-weight models (tech-insider.org review; HN users running local Qwen/DeepSeek)
- Diff review and approval workflow in VS Code that users find easier to follow than terminal agents (r/CLine)
- No seat fee for the open-source tier; pay only for inference
What they criticise
- Variable, sometimes high per-task cost with pay-per-token models (PromptQuorum)
- Tool-calling reliability complaints, especially with local or non-frontier models (HN, Aug-Sep 2026)
- Regressions reported after the v4.0 SDK migration, including Plan mode editing files (GitHub issues #11906, #13140)
- Long sessions degrade as context fills (HN)
Experts vs the crowdcrowd cooler by 11
Experts64
Crowd54
| Price | Free, paid from $9.99 |
|---|---|
| Use it via | IDE extension, CLI, Desktop app, API, MCP server |
| Runs on | macos, linux, windows |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Updated | Evidence collected 26 Sept 2026 |
How the rating was worked out
Weights for Coding agents: adoption 35%, experts 40%, crowd 25%. Pillars without enough evidence are left out and the others re-weighted. The method.
| Adoption & momentumweight 35% | 81 | GitHub stars 69k → 86 · npm weekly downloads 54k → 47 · VS Code / Open VSX installs 5.4M → 74 · Reported users 11M → 82 · 136 releases in 90 days → 100reach × 0.7 + momentum × 0.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Expertsindependent reviews · weight 40% | 64 | 4 independent reviews (2 positive · 2 mixed · 0 negative), averaged toward 50 for small samples. |
| Crowdcommunity sample · weight 25% | 54 | 8 dated posts from hackernews, reddit: 4 positive · 1 mixed · 3 negative (positive + ½ mixed) ÷ n, averaged toward 50 for small samples |
| Rating | 67 | medium confidence (3 of 3 pillars, 8 community posts). |
Evidence checks. 2 GitHub issues not counted as sentiment. How evidence is checked.
Editorial adjustment. Incident-history re-grade under methodology revision 2 (see the trust section).
Trust & safety
Seven dimensions graded A–D from documented facts. Overall: B.
B
Permission model
Per-tool-call approval with documented auto-approve categories (read/edit project files, read/edit outside workspace, safe/all commands, browser, MCP) and an opt-in YOLO mode; docs recommend leaving edits/commands off. No default sandbox for the IDE extension (Kanban isolates tasks in git worktrees, which is not a sandbox). source
A
Data access scope
Read and edit permissions are scoped to the workspace; access outside the workspace is a separate opt-in toggle. Docs note .clineignore is not a security boundary and recommend an enforcing PreToolUse hook. source
A
Data storage
Client-side execution; enterprise docs state code is processed locally with no uploads and no codebase indexing (prompts still go to the chosen model provider). source
B
Data retention & training
Docs state code and prompts are not used for model training. No stated retention period found for inference routed through Cline's own provider or ClinePass; with BYOK, retention follows the chosen provider. source
C
Incident history (24 months)
Three security advisories in 2026: the Feb 2026 npm supply-chain compromise (cline@2.3.0), a critical cross-origin WebSocket hijack in the Kanban server (CVE-2026-44211, May 2026) and a high-severity cross-origin WebSocket hijack in the Cline Hub dashboard (CVE-2026-59723, June 2026). Each was disclosed. Regraded from D: Revision 2: serious issues that were each fixed and publicly disclosed grade C; D is kept for unresolved issues or slow or undisclosed fixes. source
n/e
Compliance
A trust center exists at trust.cline.bot but renders client-side and could not be read; no SOC 2/ISO 27001 attestation found on cline.bot pricing or enterprise docs. A third-party page (search snippet) says Cline had no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 as of Q2 2026 — unverified. source
A
Transparency
Apache-2.0 source on GitHub with public release notes for every release. source
The experts
4 named independent reviews found; dated reviews from the last 12 months are scored.
- mixed
Cline wins if you want open-source code, your own API keys, the ability to swap to any frontier model on release day
Sofia Lindström (tech-insider.org) · 28 May 2026 · tech-insider.org - mixed
Not for predictable, fixed-cost budgeting — because it is agentic and bring-your-own-API-key, a single complex task can cost several dollars.
Hans Kuepper (PromptQuorum) · 5 Sept 2026 · promptquorum.com - positive
Cline has earned a permanent spot in my workflow
Build with AI (techfind777 Substack) · 31 Mar 2026 · aiproductweekly.substack.com - positive
Cline does not offer inline completions at all; every Cline interaction is an explicit task request.
baeseokjae (RockB blog) · 28 Apr 2026 · baeseokjae.github.io
The crowd
8 coded posts from hackernews, reddit.
4 positive1 mixed3 negative
- negative
I usually use Cline but I'm giving up on it for this exact reason.
Which tools do Claude, Codex and Cursor choose? · 4 Sept 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - negative
I've noticed 0 improvement. If anything a downgrade. The agents often refuse to use the tools after 1 try because the results are so trash.
Which tools do Claude, Codex and Cursor choose? · 4 Sept 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - negative
The model works perfectly when called directly, but the agent integration doesn't actually execute the tools.
Anomalyco/OpenCode, Aider-AI/aider, and Cline Review · 27 Aug 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - mixed
Cline works well early on in a session but I find I regularly need to start new tasks, past a certain point the context window gets cluttered
DeepSeek Harness developer preview · 13 Aug 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - positive
It works well in one shot with Cline or Opencode.
DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 · 12 Aug 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - positive
But note that you have to use Cline (or other harness) if using vscode. I was shocked at how poor the recent versions of GitHub Copilot are
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · 8 Aug 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - positive
I do turn-based work via Cline + Claude). Case in point: I was able to ship this [1] in one month flat
Never Enough · 22 Jul 2026 · news.ycombinator.com - positive
I find the integrations and the user of Cline far far easier, easier to see my usage, easier to also see the diffs on larger files.
r/CLine · 21 Jan 2026 · search snippet · reddit.com
Pricing
As published, checked 26 Sept 2026.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free | VS Code extension and CLI; pay for inference at cost via Cline or bring your own key. |
| ClinePass | $9.99 / monthly | Optional subscription for curated open-weight models; docs claim 2-5x the usage vs standard API rate. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Contact sales. Adds JetBrains extension, SSO, SLA, RBAC, provider limits, authentication logs, team dashboard. |
Recent changes
- 14 May 2026
Released the open-source Cline SDK (@cline/sdk); CLI and Kanban migrated to it (per MarkTechPost). source
- 26 Jun 2026
Cline v4.0.0 released, moving the VS Code extension onto the SDK runtime. source
- 30 Jun 2026
ClinePass launched: $9.99/month subscription for open-weight coding models (third-party says June 2026; exact date not verified). source
- 22 Jul 2026
Cline for Desktop releases begin on GitHub (desktop-v0.0.2); at v0.0.37 by 2026-09-26. source
Ranked alongside
Other ranked entries in Coding agents.
OpenCodeAnomaly75
Claude CodeAnthropic73
Zed (Agent Panel)Zed Industries73
GitHub CopilotGitHub (Microsoft)72
Codex (CLI and app)OpenAI71Sources
Every figure above traces to one of these, observed up to 26 Sept 2026.