Installing Cline

Get Cline up and running in your favorite IDE or terminal with these simple installation steps

Before You Begin

1. Create your account at app.cline.bot for access to multiple AI models, seamless setup without managing API keys, and occasional free inferencing.

2. Choose your platform: VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains IDEs, CLI (macOS/Linux preview), VSCodium, or Windsurf.

Installation Instructions

VS Code/Cursor

1. Open VS Code or Cursor

   Launch the editor on your computer.

2. Open Extensions

   Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X or click the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar.

3. Search for Cline

   Type “Cline” in the search bar.

4. Install

   Click the Install button on the Cline extension.

5. Access Cline

   Click the Cline icon in the Activity Bar, or open Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P) and type “Cline: Open In New Tab”.

If VS Code shows “Running extensions might…” dialog, click Allow. If you don’t see the Cline icon, restart VS Code.

JetBrains IDEs

Cline for JetBrains works almost identically to VS Code, with all core features: diff editing, tools, multiple API providers, MCP servers, Cline rules/workflows, and more.

1. Open your JetBrains IDE

   Launch IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, or any JetBrains IDE.

2. Open Settings

   Press Ctrl+Alt+S (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+, (macOS).

3. Navigate to Plugins

   Go to Plugins → Marketplace tab.

4. Install Cline

   Search for “Cline” and click Install.

5. Restart IDE

   Restart your IDE to complete the installation.

Find Cline in View → Tool Windows → Cline (usually on the right side).

Alternative Installation Methods

Browser Install:

1. Go to the JetBrains Marketplace
2. Click Install to IDE
3. Confirm in your IDE and restart

Manual Install:

1. Download from the marketplace page
2. Go to Settings → Plugins → gear icon → Install Plugin from Disk
3. Select the downloaded .zip file and restart

Terminal Integration Difference

JetBrains shows terminal output differently than VS Code. In VS Code, output streams directly to chat. In JetBrains, output appears in collapsible “Command Output” sections.

Commands execute successfully in both. Expand the section to see results in JetBrains.

CLI

Preview Release: Cline CLI is currently in preview and only available for macOS and Linux. Windows support is coming soon.

Cline CLI runs AI coding agents directly in your terminal. Use it for automated code reviews in CI/CD, multi-instance development, or shell workflow integration.

1. Install Node.js 20+

   Check your version with node --version. If needed, visit nodejs.org or use nvm.

2. Install Cline CLI

   Run npm install -g cline in your terminal.

3. Authenticate

   Run cline auth to sign in and configure your AI model provider.

4. Run Cline

   Run cline to start an interactive session, or cline "Your task here" for headless execution.

Want to learn more? See the Cline CLI documentation for advanced usage patterns like multi-instance development and CI/CD integration.

VSCodium/Windsurf

These editors use the Open VSX Registry instead of the VS Code Marketplace, but the installation process is nearly identical.

1. Open your editor

   Launch VSCodium, Windsurf, or another Open VSX-compatible editor.

2. Open Extensions

   Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X.

3. Search for Cline

   Type “Cline” in the search bar.

4. Install

   Select “Cline” by saoudrizwan and click Install.

5. Reload

   Reload your editor if prompted.

Look for the Cline icon in your Activity Bar or use the Command Palette.

Sign In & Start Building

CLI users: If you installed via CLI, you already authenticated during setup with cline auth. You’re ready to go!

1. Open Cline in your editor:

   • VS Code/Cursor/VSCodium/Windsurf: Click the Cline icon in the Activity Bar
   • JetBrains: Go to View → Tool Windows → Cline

2. Sign in by clicking the Sign Up button in the Cline interface. You’ll be redirected to app.cline.bot to authenticate.

3. Start building! After signing in, you’ll automatically return to your editor—Cline is ready to help.

Setting Up Cline in the Right Sidebar

For the best coding experience, we recommend moving Cline to the right sidebar. This keeps your project files visible on the left while you chat with Cline on the right, giving you full visibility of your codebase as Cline works.

VS Code

1. Align Extension View

   Make sure your extension view is aligned vertically to the left.

2. Open Right Side View

   Click the button that opens the right side panel (typically used for GitHub Copilot chat), or use Option + Cmd/Ctrl + B.

3. Drag Cline Icon

   Drag the Cline icon over to the nav panel at the top of that right view.

Cursor

1. Set Vertical Activity Bar

   Cursor uses a horizontal activity bar by default. To switch to vertical:

   1. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
   2. Search for “Preferences: Open Settings (UI)”
   3. Search for workbench.activityBar.orientation
   4. Set the value to vertical
   5. Restart Cursor
2. Open the AI Pane

   Click the Cursor cube icon (AI Pane) to open the right side view panel.

3. Drag Cline to the AI Pane

   Drag the Cline icon directly into the AI Pane sidebar.

Troubleshooting

Can’t Find Cline in the Marketplace

Sometimes Cline doesn’t show up in search results if you’re looking in the wrong tab or using an incompatible IDE version. Make sure you’re searching in the Marketplace tab (not Installed), try searching for “Cline AI” instead, and verify your IDE is up to date. If installation fails, restart your IDE and check your internet connection.

Cline Icon Not Appearing After Install

The most common fix is a full restart—close your IDE completely (File → Exit) and reopen it. In VS Code/Cursor/VSCodium, you can also open the Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P) and type “Cline: Open In New Tab”. In JetBrains, check View → Tool Windows → Cline. If it’s still missing, verify the plugin is enabled in your Extensions/Plugins settings.

CLI: Node.js or Permission Errors

Cline CLI requires Node.js 20 or higher. Run node --version to check—if you need to upgrade, use nvm (nvm install 22 && nvm use 22) or download from nodejs.org. For permission errors on npm install -g, either prefix with sudo on macOS/Linux or configure npm to use a user-owned directory for global packages.

Plugin Installed But Not Working

If Cline appears installed but doesn’t respond, try disabling and re-enabling the extension in your IDE’s settings. Check the Developer Console (VS Code: Help → Toggle Developer Tools) or Event Log (JetBrains) for error messages. Also ensure you’re using a supported IDE version and close any resource-intensive extensions that might interfere.

Need Help?

• Join our Discord community for support, tips, and discussions.
• Read the docs to explore model selection guides and advanced features.