Cline Review 2026: AI Coding Agent Inside VS Code

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that runs inside VS Code, letting you connect any LLM (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or local models via Ollama) and give it the ability to read files, write code, and execute terminal commands in your project. Unlike Copilot’s inline autocomplete, Cline operates as an autonomous agent that can plan and execute multi-step tasks. This review tests whether Cline’s agent-first approach delivers real productivity gains for developers who want more control over their AI assistant. ...

Mar 23, 2026 · 13 min · DevToolbox Team