The open-source autonomous coding agent that lives in your terminal and can use your browser
Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is for developers who want the power of a "full agent" without being locked into a specific IDE like Cursor. It’s an open-source extension that allows an LLM to read your files, run terminal commands, and even open a browser to test your UI.
### The "Plan and Act" Workflow
Unlike simple autocomplete, you give Cline a high-level goal: *"Refactor the auth flow to use Supabase and verify it works by trying to log in via the browser."*
1. **Planning**: Cline writes out a step-by-step plan.
2. **Execution**: It creates files, installs packages, and runs the dev server.
3. **Verification**: It can actually "see" the website it just built to confirm the buttons work.
### Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Cline is one of the first major tools to embrace **MCP**, meaning you can plug in custom "tools" (like a Jira connector or a database explorer) that the AI can then use autonomously.
**Best for**: Power-user developers who want full transparency and the ability to switch between models (Claude, GPT, or local Llama) while maintaining an autonomous workflow.