> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.notatechguy.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Cline open-source coding agent hits 70,000 GitHub stars - URL: https://www.notatechguy.com/cline-open-source-coding-agent-hits-70-000-github-stars/ - Published: 2026-10-19T22:58:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-19T22:58:42.000Z - Description: Cline, an open-source coding agent for IDEs, terminals, and desktops, crossed 70,000 GitHub stars while parts of its platform remain in transition. - Author: Marcello Babbili - Tags: Technology & AI Cline maintainer saoudrizwan pushed the open-source coding agent past 70,000 GitHub stars this week, with the project landing on the platform's daily trending list [S²](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The project promises autonomous coding across five surfaces, but its own documentation shows at least two are incomplete or closed-source [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). **My read:** The multi-surface bet is what stands out. Most coding agents pick one surface and stick to it. But I'm skeptical of the autonomy claim. Approval-by-default means the agent pauses on every file edit and terminal command, which is a safety feature, not autonomy. The closed JetBrains plugin is the real tension: a project billing itself as open-source while keeping one surface proprietary is a split model worth watching. ### Cline ships on five surfaces, but two remain unfinished or proprietary The README lays out five ways to run Cline: a VS Code extension, a JetBrains plugin covering IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and GoLand, a CLI tool installed via `npm i -g cline`, a native desktop app for macOS and Windows, and a Node.js SDK installed via `npm install @cline/sdk` [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The CLI can run in interactive chat mode or fully headless for CI/CD pipelines [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The desktop app is built on a Tauri shell with a Bun sidecar and a Next.js UI [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). Two surfaces carry caveats the README does not headline. The project's documentation index marks the VS Code extension as "WIP migrating" [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The JetBrains plugin is explicitly not open-sourced, per the same docs [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The rest of the repository ships under Apache License 2.0 [P³](https://github.com/cline/cline/?ref=notatechguy.com). The VS Code marketplace README credits Claude Sonnet's agentic coding capabilities for Cline's step-by-step task handling [P⁵](https://github.com/cline/cline/blob/main/apps/vscode/README.marketplace.md?ref=notatechguy.com), tying the project to Anthropic's model rather than a proprietary one. ### Every edit needs a human sign-off unless users flip the auto-approve switch According to the README, Cline scans the project layout, edits multiple files in sync, and flags linter or compiler problems, presenting each change as a diff for review [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). It runs shell commands in the terminal and tracks their output live, including responding to fresh output from long-running processes such as dev servers [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). Every file edit and terminal command requires user approval by default [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). An auto-approve toggle switches Cline to autonomous mode [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). Project-specific rules go in `.clinerules` files, picked up automatically across the CLI, VS Code, and JetBrains surfaces [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). These capability claims come from the maintainers' own README — no independent benchmarks have been published, no test code has been released for third-party verification, and the star count is a vendor-side figure with no error bars [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The repository was created on 6 July 2024 and has grown to 70,539 stars, 7,708 forks, and 1,695 open issues as of the latest reading [P³](https://github.com/cline/cline/?ref=notatechguy.com). Its top contributor, saoudrizwan, has 2,824 contributions [P³](https://github.com/cline/cline/?ref=notatechguy.com). A platform engineer evaluating Cline today could install the CLI with `npm i -g cline` on a non-critical repository and see whether the approval-by-default workflow slots into their existing code-review queue, or whether the auto-approve toggle survives a headless CI/CD pipeline run with no human watching [S¹](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com). The 1,695 open issues on the repo are the place to check what other users have already found broken [P³](https://github.com/cline/cline/?ref=notatechguy.com). --- *Sources: [S1 — cline/cline: Autonomous coding agent as an SDK, IDE extension, or CLI ](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com) · [S2 — cline/cline: Autonomous coding agent as an SDK, IDE extension, or CLI ](https://github.com/cline/cline?ref=notatechguy.com) · [P3 — cline/cline](https://github.com/cline/cline/?ref=notatechguy.com) · [P4 — Trending repositories on GitHub today · GitHub](https://github.com/trending?ref=notatechguy.com) · [P5 — apps/vscode/README.marketplace.md](https://github.com/cline/cline/blob/main/apps/vscode/README.marketplace.md?ref=notatechguy.com) · [P6 — microsoft/vscode](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode?ref=notatechguy.com)* --- *Written from 6 sourced items, 4 of them primary.* ![Cline repository metrics (latest reading)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6e/89/6e896869-22ef-4281-a213-b4c462c17cff/content/images/2026/10/chart_382ee2ae0f06b4e1dc3b.png) ## More from Not A Tech Guy - [Meta and Google AI shopping agents hunt bargains, skip labour checks](https://www.notatechguy.com/meta-and-google-ai-shopping-agents-hunt-bargains-skip-labour-checks/) - [Microsoft Playwright targets AI agents, hits GitHub trending](https://www.notatechguy.com/microsoft-playwright-targets-ai-agents-hits-github-trending/) - [ByteDance's OpenViking agent context database hits 40,000 GitHub stars](https://www.notatechguy.com/bytedance-s-openviking-agent-context-database-hits-40-000-github-stars/)