9 Best Cline Alternatives in 2026 (and How to Test Them)

1. Kilo Code

Kilo Code is an open-source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI, with MCP server support.

It is the closest match to Cline's setup on this list: an editor extension plus a terminal agent, running whichever model you bring.

• License - MIT, with about 27.6k GitHub stars; the Kilo CLI is a fork of OpenCode.
• Models - 500+ models through the Kilo Gateway at the provider's rate with zero markup, your own keys, or local models through Ollama or LM Studio.
• Approvals - each rule resolves to allow, ask, or deny, but most tools default to allow, and edits ask by default only in JetBrains.
• Carries over - AGENTS.md replaced Kilo's memory bank feature, and a built-in MCP marketplace installs servers.
• Pricing - the extension and CLI are free and usage is billed separately; Teams and Enterprise plans are available.
• Watch for - the --auto flag runs with no prompts for CI/CD, and Kilo's docs warn that auto-approve can result in data loss or file corruption; set edit and bash rules to ask if you want Cline's prompts.

2. GitHub Copilot Agent Mode

Copilot agent mode in VS Code uses Manual permissions by default, so any action that is not auto-approved requires your confirmation.

That matches Cline's default, so a Cline user already in VS Code changes the least by moving here.

• Other levels - Assisted permissions use an LLM judge for each tool call, Allow all runs every tool call without confirmation, and Autopilot is an agent mode that also auto-approves.
• Models - bring-your-own-key models work without a GitHub account or a Copilot plan, including local Ollama models through the Ollama extension.
• Carries over - reads .github/copilot-instructions.md or AGENTS.md, and MCP servers appear as tools.
• Pricing - signing in without a plan enrolls eligible accounts in Copilot Free; paid plans run from Pro to Enterprise, and every plan includes Copilot CLI.
• Open source - the Copilot Chat extension went MIT-licensed in June 2025 and has since moved into the main VS Code repository.
• Watch for - semantic search, inline suggestions, and embedding-based features still require a GitHub account.

3. OpenCode

OpenCode is an open-source AI coding agent available as a terminal interface, desktop app, or IDE extension.

It is the most-starred project on this list and the strongest open-source pick for teams that already work in the terminal.

• License - MIT, with about 213k GitHub stars.
• Models - 75+ LLM providers plus local models through Ollama, LM Studio, or llama.cpp.
• Agents - build has full access, while plan is read-only, denies file edits, and asks before bash commands.
• Approvals - most permissions default to allow, doom_loop and external_directory default to ask, and .env files are denied.
• Carries over - reads AGENTS.md, falling back to CLAUDE.md, and supports local and remote MCP servers.
• Automation - opencode run executes a prompt non-interactively, and /opencode in a GitHub comment runs a task on your Actions runner.
• Pricing - free; optional OpenCode Zen and OpenCode Go subscriptions sell model access.
• Watch for - the IDE integration runs the terminal agent inside the editor's terminal, not as a chat sidebar like Cline's.

4. Claude Code

Claude Code starts recent interactive terminal and VS Code sessions in auto mode, where a classifier model reviews actions instead of you. In Manual mode it stops and asks before most actions that edit files, run shell commands, or reach the network.

• Runs in - the terminal, IDE extensions for VS Code and JetBrains, a desktop app, and the web.
• Modes - Manual runs only reads without asking, and acceptEdits adds file edits and common filesystem commands.
• Models - Claude only; Anthropic does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models, though Claude itself is available through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Foundry.
• Carries over - reads AGENTS.md when the repository has no CLAUDE.md, and connects to MCP servers.
• Automation - claude -p runs non-interactively, and @claude in a pull request or issue runs it through GitHub Actions.
• Pricing - needs a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, or Console account; the free Claude plan does not include Claude Code.
• Watch for - not open source; the public GitHub repository's license reserves all rights to Anthropic.

Setup, hooks, and subagents are covered in the Claude Code guide.

5. OpenAI Codex

OpenAI Codex uses an Auto preset by default: it reads files, makes edits, and runs commands in the workspace without asking, and needs approval only to edit outside the workspace or run commands that need network access.

That default is the opposite of Cline's.

• Runs in - the CLI and IDE extensions for VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains IDEs, and Xcode.
• Match Cline - run Codex with --sandbox read-only --ask-for-approval on-request and it requests permission for anything beyond reading.
• License - the CLI is Apache-2.0 with about 128.8k GitHub stars; the IDE extension is not open source.
• Models - OpenAI models, custom providers, or local models through Ollama or LM Studio with --oss.
• Carries over - reads AGENTS.md before doing any work and connects to MCP servers.
• Automation - codex exec for scripts and pipelines, plus the openai/codex-action GitHub Action.
• Pricing - included with ChatGPT plans, with CLI and IDE access listed from Plus upward, or billed at standard API rates with an API key.

Sandbox modes and output checks are covered in Codex CLI.

6. Aider

Aider is AI pair programming in your terminal: whenever it edits a file, it commits the change with a descriptive message, so every step can be reviewed or reverted.

Git history takes the place of Cline's approval prompts.

• License - Apache 2.0, with about 49.5k GitHub stars.
• Models - almost any LLM, including local models through Ollama.
• Tests - --test-cmd with --auto-test runs your suite after each edit and tries to fix failures; --no-auto-commits turns off the commits.
• Editor - --watch-files picks up AI coding comments you add in any editor; there is no sidebar extension.
• Carries over - load AGENTS.md as a conventions file with --read; MCP support is not documented.
• Watch for - the last tagged GitHub release, v0.86.0, dates from August 2025, and the newest PyPI version, 0.86.2, from February 2026.

7. Devin

Devin Local, the agent harness that Devin Desktop shares with the Devin CLI, uses Deny, Ask, and Allow rules for file reads, file writes, command execution, HTTP fetches, and MCP tools. By default it prompts for approval before calling any MCP tool, and its Plan mode asks for your approval before implementing anything.

Devin fits teams that want a Cline-style local loop and Cognition's cloud agents for delegated tickets in one product.

• Surfaces - Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf), the Devin CLI, Devin Cloud for delegated tasks, and Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations.
• Models - Cognition's own SWE-2 plus frontier models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI and leading open-source models on paid plans.
• Carries over - Devin Local supports rules and AGENTS.md files, and MCP servers are configured in .devin/config.json.
• Pricing - Free, Pro, Max, and Teams plans with usage quotas; newer Enterprise plans are billed in Agent Compute Units (ACUs).
• Open source - no.
• Watch for - Devin Desktop replaces your editor, and the Windsurf JetBrains plugin is in maintenance mode.

Cognition's agent is compared with its own replacements in Devin alternatives.

8. Cursor

Cursor agents can modify workspace files without approval, except configuration files, while terminal commands need approval by default.

That puts Cursor furthest from Cline's model on this list.

• Run modes - Auto-review, Allowlist, or Run Everything for tool calls, and Cursor notes that auto-review is not a security boundary.
• Models - OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, SpaceXAI, and Cursor's own Composer models; your own keys work for chat models only.
• Carries over - project rules live in .cursor/rules as .mdc files, AGENTS.md works as a simpler alternative, and MCP connects external tools.
• Cloud and CLI - Cloud Agents run in isolated cloud VMs, and the Cursor CLI has a print mode for scripts.
• Ownership - acquired by SpaceX in August 2026.
• Pricing - a free Hobby tier, then Pro, Pro+, Ultra, Teams, and Enterprise plans.
• Source - not public; the cursor/cursor GitHub repository holds only a README.

Terminal workflows are covered in Cursor CLI.

9. Eigent

Eigent is an open-source cowork desktop app that runs a task with a multi-agent workforce, and its recommended local setup needs no cloud account.

It sits furthest from Cline's editor workflow on this list, but it is open source and handles coding beside browser and document work.

• License - Apache 2.0, with about 15.5k GitHub stars; v1.0.5, the latest release, shipped in September 2026.
• Coding - its DeveloperAgent writes and executes code, runs terminal commands, and verifies solutions, while a coordinator agent routes subtasks and a task planner agent breaks work down.
• Models - any model you choose, including local models served through vLLM, Ollama, or LM Studio.
• Carries over - MCP integration with an MCP registry; AGENTS.md support is not documented.
• Pricing - free with your own keys or local models; Plus and Pro plans add monthly task credits, and Teams is listed as coming soon.
• Watch for - it is a desktop workspace rather than an editor extension, and the workforce docs describe runs as fully automated rather than approved step by step.

Test What the Agent Built With Kane CLI

Kane CLI takes a plain-English objective, drives a real Chrome browser, and returns a pass or fail with a sealed evidence pack; in agent mode it streams NDJSON that a coding agent or CI job can read. Form validation is a common feature to hand an agent, so this check submits a form empty, then filled:

kane-cli run "go to https://www.testmuai.com/selenium-playground/input-form-demo/, click Submit with every field empty and assert that no success message appears, then fill Name with 'Ada Lovelace', Email with 'ada@example.com', Password with 'Test@12345', Company with 'TestMu', Website with 'https://example.com', select 'United States' in the Country dropdown, City with 'Austin', Address 1 with '1 Main Street', Address 2 with 'Suite 2', State with 'Texas', Zip code with '73301', click Submit, assert a success message is displayed, store the success message text as 'confirmation'" --agent --headless

On the TestMu AI Selenium Playground form, the run passes in 21 steps: the empty submit shows no success message, Kane CLI fills eleven fields and submits, and the final run_end event stores the confirmation text.

{
  "type": "run_end",
  "status": "passed",
  "one_liner": "submitted an input form on testmuai.com",
  "duration": 123.6,
  "final_state": {
    "url": "https://www.testmuai.com/selenium-playground/input-form-demo/",
    "confirmation": "Thanks for contacting us, we will get back to you shortly."
  }
}

• Exit codes - 0 for pass, 1 for fail, 2 for setup or auth errors, and 3 for timeout, so a CI job can stop a merge without parsing prose.
• Called by the agent - any agent that runs terminal commands, Cline included, can call kane-cli with --agent and read the result, as Cline app testing shows.
• Agent skills - one install teaches Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Gemini CLI when to call Kane CLI on their own changes.

Test What the Agent Did With Agent Assurance

Agent Assurance tests how your agents actually behave across workflows, tools, and actions, and it runs from your terminal as rook. Point a command profile at the candidate agent's CLI and rook invokes it for real, records the files that changed, and grades each criterion as Pass, Fail, or Unable to Verify against that evidence rather than the agent's own summary.

• Discover and generate - rook explore reads the repository to find agents and their tools, and rook generate writes functional and adversarial scenarios by default, with non-functional ones on request.
• Gate on the report - a finished run exits 0 whether its scenarios passed or failed, so CI reads rook report --json rather than the exit code.
• From inside a coding agent - npx @testmuai/rook-skill installs the skill for Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Gemini CLI, as described in Rook with coding agents.

Agent Assurance is pre-alpha, so its commands can still change; point it at a staging target, because the agent's own writes are real.