Alternatives to Cline
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and a standalone desktop app. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Cline
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and a standalone desktop app.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Cline.
Kilo Code
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud, with model usage at cost, and was recently acquired by Anaconda.
GitHub Copilot
An AI coding assistant from GitHub that suggests code and carries out coding tasks in editors and terminals.
GitHub Copilot is a closed-source assistant for VS Code, a macOS app and a CLI, tied to GitHub accounts, with code processed on GitHub's hosted service.
Cursor
An AI code editor built on VS Code, with coding agents that plan and carry out tasks.
Cursor is a closed-source VS Code-based editor with built-in agents and codebase indexing, relying on hosted models with paid plans for heavier use.
Open Interpreter
A command-line coding agent built to work with open language models such as Kimi and GLM.
Open Interpreter is a terminal coding agent built around open-weight models such as Kimi and GLM, with no editor extension or desktop app.
Kiro
An AI coding IDE and CLI that turns prompts into specs, designs and tasks for agents.
Kiro is a closed-source IDE and CLI that turns prompts into specs and tasks for agents, relying on cloud models and an account.
Google Antigravity
Google's agent-first development platform with a desktop IDE and a terminal CLI for AI-assisted coding.
Google Antigravity is a closed-source agent-first IDE and CLI that runs parallel agents, tied to Google's AI services.
Trae
An AI-powered code editor with built-in chat and agent modes for writing and changing code.
Trae is a proprietary code editor for Windows and macOS with built-in AI chat and agent modes that depend on a remote service.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Cline as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Amazon Q Developer
AWS AI coding assistant that writes, debugs and refactors code in your IDE.
Cline is a free, open-source Apache-2.0 coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and desktop that works with many model providers, whose costs you pay directly.
Codex CLI
OpenAI's open source coding agent that runs in your terminal.
Cline is an Apache-licensed agent working with many model providers across VS Code, a CLI and a desktop app, with Plan and Act modes before changes.
Cody Enterprise
Enterprise AI coding assistant grounded in Sourcegraph's codebase context.
Cline is a free Apache-licensed agent for VS Code, the terminal and desktop, working with many model providers whose costs you pay directly.
Gemini CLI
Google's open source AI agent for the terminal, powered by Gemini.
Cline is an Apache-licensed coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and desktop that works with many model providers, with costs set by the provider you connect.
OpenHands
Self-hosted control centre for running coding agents against your projects.
Cline is an open-source coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and a desktop app, working with many model providers rather than orchestrating several agents from one interface.
Windsurf Plugins
AI autocomplete and chat plugins for JetBrains, VS Code and other editors.
Cline is a free, Apache-licensed coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and desktop, and it works with many model providers whose costs you pay directly.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Replit
A browser-based AI app builder and coding workspace for creating and publishing apps and websites.
AIChat
A command-line tool for chatting with language models, with a shell assistant, RAG and agents.
Qodo
An AI code review service that checks pull requests and IDE changes against full codebase context.
bolt.new
A browser-based AI builder that creates websites, apps and prototypes from written prompts.
v0
An AI assistant from Vercel that generates full-stack web apps from text prompts and publishes them.
Fabric
A command-line tool for running a crowdsourced library of reusable AI prompts against language models.
