Cline CLI
Run Cline in your terminal. Interactive chat for paired sessions, or fully headless for CI/CD and scripting. The CLI shares its agent core with the Cline VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, and SDK, so plan/act modes, MCP servers, checkpoints, rules, skills, and provider configuration all behave the same across surfaces.
Install
npm install -g cline
For nightly builds:
npm install -g cline@nightly
Platform binaries are published for macOS, Linux, and Windows on arm64 and x64. The cline package resolves the correct binary for your platform via optional dependencies, so no Node, Bun, or Zig runtime is required at install time.
Quick start
Run interactively:
cline
Run a single prompt:
cline "Audit this package and propose fixes"
Pipe input:
cat file.txt | cline "Summarize this"
See cline --help for the full flag reference.
Use any provider
Cline supports the same providers as the VS Code extension. You can sign in to Cline directly, use your ChatGPT Subscription through openai-codex, or bring an API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex, Cerebras, Groq, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
cline auth
cline auth cline
cline auth --provider anthropic --apikey sk-... --modelid claude-sonnet-4-6
cline auth without a provider opens the interactive auth setup TUI with the same options as the old CLI flow (Sign in with Cline, Sign in with ChatGPT Subscription, Sign in with OCA, or use your own API key).
OAuth-supported providers (cline, openai-codex, oca) do not auto-launch a browser on normal startup. Authenticate explicitly first with cline auth <provider>. For non-interactive runs, if an OAuth provider is selected and no saved credentials are available, cline fails fast with an authentication message instead of launching a hidden browser flow.
Modes
Cline CLI runs in a few different shapes depending on what you need:
- Interactive TUI:
cline or cline -i opens a full terminal UI with plan/act toggle, slash commands, file mentions, and live tool approvals
- One-shot:
cline "your prompt" runs a single turn and exits
- JSON:
cline --json "..." streams NDJSON events for piping into other tools
- Yolo:
cline --yolo "..." skips approval prompts and exits when the turn finishes
- Zen:
cline --zen "..." fires the task to the background hub daemon and exits immediately (see below)
Headless mode for CI/CD
Run Cline with zero interaction for scripting and automation. Pipe input, get JSON output, chain commands, integrate into CI/CD pipelines.
cline --yolo "Run tests and fix any failures"
git diff origin/main | cline "Review these changes for issues"
cline --json "List all TODO comments" | jq -r 'select(.type == "agent_event" and .event.text) | .event.text'
Features
- Streaming TUI built on OpenTUI with markdown rendering, syntax-highlighted diffs, scrollable chat, and mouse support
- Plan/Act mode toggle for switching between planning and execution
- Native MCP support for connecting custom tools
- Checkpoints with
/undo to rewind workspace state
- Sub-agent spawning and agent teams for parallel work
- OAuth login for Cline, ChatGPT Subscription (
openai-codex), and OCA
- Configurable thinking budgets per run
- Cron and event-driven schedules for recurring agent work
- Chat connectors for Telegram, Google Chat, and WhatsApp
Usage
cline
cline "Audit this package and propose fixes"
cline -i "Let's work on this together. First, analyze the current state."
cline -i -s "You are a pirate" "Tell me about the sea"
cline --auto-approve false "Inspect and modify this repository"
cline --yolo --retries 5 "Refactor this package"
cline --retries 5 "Fix failing tests"
cline --team-name my-team "Plan, implement, and verify release checklist"
cline --team-name my-team "Continue yesterday's team workflow"
cline -v "Explain quantum computing"
cline -P openrouter -m google/gemini-3-pro -k sk-... "Set up a storybook"
cline -m anthropic/claude-opus-4-6 "Explain string theory"
cline --json "Summarize this repository"
cline auth --provider anthropic --apikey sk-... --modelid claude-sonnet-4-6
cline auth --provider openai-native --apikey sk-... --modelid gpt-5 --baseurl https://api.example.com/v1
MCP servers
Manage MCP servers with the interactive wizard:
cline mcp
cline config mcp
Open the add-server wizard with the name, transport, and command or URL already filled in with cline mcp install (cline mcp add also works). Stdio servers use everything after -- as the command and arguments:
cline mcp install fs -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /tmp
Remote HTTP and SSE servers take a name, transport, and URL. The wizard still asks for auth details before saving:
cline mcp install ctx7 --transport http https://mcp.context7.com/mcp
cline mcp install events --transport sse https://example.com/sse
Because this command opens the wizard, it requires a TTY.
Connectors
Bridge a chat surface into RPC-backed Cline sessions. Each conversation thread maps to a session with full context. Supported platforms: Telegram, Slack, Google Chat, WhatsApp, and Linear.
cline connect telegram -k 123456:ABCDEF...
cline connect slack --bot-token $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN --signing-secret $SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET --base-url https://your-domain.com
cline connect slack --bot-token $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN --app-token $SLACK_APP_TOKEN
cline connect gchat --base-url https://your-domain.com
cline connect whatsapp --base-url https://your-domain.com
cline connect linear --api-key $LINEAR_API_KEY --base-url https://your-domain.com
cline connect --stop
cline connect --stop telegram
In chat surfaces, connector slash commands include /help, /start, /new, /clear, /whereami, /tools, /yolo, /cwd <path>, /schedule, /abort, and /exit. Run cline connect <adapter> --help to see the full flag list for any adapter.
Schedules
Schedule agents on cron-like intervals or external events.
If --provider and --model are omitted, schedules use the last configured
provider and model. If only --provider is given, the schedule uses that
provider's saved model.
cline schedule create "Daily code review" \
--cron "0 9 * * MON-FRI" \
--prompt "Review PRs opened yesterday and summarize issues." \
--workspace /path/to/repo \
--timeout 3600 \
--tags automation,review
cline schedule list
cline schedule get <schedule-id>
cline schedule trigger <schedule-id>
cline schedule history <schedule-id> --limit 20
cline schedule export <schedule-id> > daily-review.yaml
cline schedule import ./daily-review.yaml
Schedules can route results back to chat surfaces with --delivery-adapter, --delivery-bot, and --delivery-thread.
Options
| Flag | Description |
|---|
-s, --system <prompt> | Override the system prompt |
-P, --provider <id> | Provider id (default: cline) |
-m, --model <id> | Model id (default: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6) |
-k, --key <api-key> | API key for this run, also saved as the provider's key |
-p, --plan | Run in plan mode (default is act mode) |
-i, --tui | Interactive TUI multi-turn mode |
-t, --timeout <seconds> | Optional run timeout in seconds |
-c, --cwd <path> | Working directory for tools |
--config <path> | Configuration directory (used for CLI home resolution) |
--hooks-dir <path> | Additional hooks directory hint for runtime hook injection |
--acp | ACP (Agent Client Protocol) mode |
--thinking [none|low|medium|high|xhigh] | Model thinking level when supported. Defaults to medium when the flag is provided without a level. Without the flag, the CLI uses the level you last chose with /model, or the provider default. |
--compaction <agentic|basic|off> | Context compaction mode. Defaults to agentic; use basic for local truncation or off to disable. |
--retries <count> | Maximum consecutive mistakes (retries) before halting (default: 3) |
--json | Output NDJSON instead of styled text |
--data-dir <path> | Use isolated local state at <path> instead of ~/.cline/data (enables sandbox mode automatically) |
--auto-approve [true|false] | Set tool auto-approval for all tools |
--kanban | Run the external kanban app |
-y, --yolo |
--json is non-interactive and requires either a prompt argument or piped stdin. --key takes precedence over environment variables.
Top-level commands
cline config - Open the interactive config viewcline history|h [options] - List session history or manage saved sessionscline version - Show CLI versioncline update [options] - Check for CLI and kanban updatescline auth <provider> - Authenticate or seed provider credentialscline connect <adapter> - Run a chat connector bridge (telegram, gchat, whatsapp)cline connect --stop [adapter] - Stop connector bridge processes and their sessionscline schedule <command> - Create and manage scheduled runscline doctor - Inspect local CLI health and stale processescline doctor fix - Kill stale local RPC listeners and old CLI processescline doctor log - Open the CLI runtime log file (CLINE_LOG_PATH when set)cline hook - Handle a hook payload from stdincline hub - Manage the local hub daemoncline kanban - Run the external kanban app, installing it first when needed
Hub dashboard
Run cline hub to list hub subcommands. To start the browser dashboard:
cline hub dashboard
The dashboard opens in your default browser and stays running until you press Ctrl+C. Use --no-open to print the URL without opening a browser, or --port to change the dashboard's HTTP/WebSocket port (default: 8787):
cline hub dashboard --port 9090 --no-open
cline hub dashboard --help
Dashboard options also include --cwd, --config, --data-dir, --host, --public-url, and --room-secret. For LAN or tunnel access, see the Cline Hub configuration and security guidance. The old cline dashboard invocation remains a hidden compatibility alias; use cline hub dashboard in new scripts.
Zen mode
--zen (alias -z) runs a task in the background hub daemon and exits the CLI immediately. It is intended for long-running tasks you want to fire off and walk away from.
cline --zen "Refactor the authentication module and add unit tests"
Behavior:
- The CLI starts (or reuses) the local hub daemon, submits the task, then exits. It does not stream output or stay attached to the session.
- Because there is no human in the loop once the CLI exits, zen sessions run with full tool auto-approval (same semantics as
--yolo). spawn/team tools are disabled by default for safety, consistent with yolo-mode defaults.
- If the Cline menubar app is running, it subscribes to hub
ui.notify events and will surface a system notification when the task completes.
- If the menubar app is not running, there is no live UI for the task. Use
cline history later to find the session and inspect the result.
--zen is incompatible with --data-dir (the implicit sandbox requires a local backend that exits with the CLI) and with --tui (there is no terminal UI to render into).
Tool approval
Tool calls are auto-approved by default. Use --auto-approve false to require review before tool execution.
cline --auto-approve false "Inspect and modify this repository"
When approval is required, the CLI prompts in TTY mode:
Approve tool "<tool_name>" with input <preview>? [y/N]
- Enter
y or yes to approve.
- Enter anything else (or press Enter) to reject.
- If stdin/stdout is not a TTY, required-approval calls are denied in terminal mode.
Desktop-integrated approval mode is also supported via env wiring (CLINE_TOOL_APPROVAL_MODE=desktop and CLINE_TOOL_APPROVAL_DIR=<path>). In desktop mode, CLI writes a request JSON file and waits for a matching decision JSON file.
Environment variables
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY - API key for AnthropicCLINE_API_KEY - API key for Cline (when using -P cline)OPENAI_API_KEY - API key for OpenAI (when using -P openai)OPENROUTER_API_KEY - API key for OpenRouter (when using -P openrouter)AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY - API key for Vercel AI Gateway (when using -P vercel-ai-gateway)V0_API_KEY - API key for v0 (when using -P v0)CLINE_DATA_DIR - Base data directory for sessions/settings/teams/hooksCLINE_SANDBOX - Set to 1 to force sandbox modeCLINE_SANDBOX_DATA_DIR - Override sandbox state directoryCLINE_TEAM_DATA_DIR - Override team persistence directoryCLINE_BUILD_ENV - Runtime build mode for SDK-owned subprocess launchesCLINE_DEBUG_HOST - Host for development inspector listeners (default 127.0.0.1)CLINE_DEBUG_PORT_BASE - Base inspector port for development child processesCLINE_TOOL_APPROVAL_MODE - Approval mode (desktop uses file IPC; unset uses terminal prompt)CLINE_TOOL_APPROVAL_DIR - Directory for desktop approval request/decision filesCLINE_LOG_ENABLED - Set to 0/false to disable runtime file loggingCLINE_LOG_LEVEL - Runtime log level (trace|debug|info|warn|error|fatal|silent, default info)CLINE_LOG_PATH - Runtime log file path (default <CLINE_DATA_DIR>/logs/cline.log)CLINE_LOG_NAME - Logger name embedded in runtime log recordsCLINE_DEBUG - Set to 1/true to print wrapper diagnostics (e.g. the CA bundle summary)
--key takes precedence over environment variables.
Certificate trust
The CLI automatically trusts your operating system's certificate store, so it
works behind corporate TLS-inspecting proxies and with self-signed/internal
endpoints without any setup. On launch the cline wrapper harvests the OS trust
anchors and writes them to ~/.cline/cli-node-extra-ca-certs.pem, then points
the runtime's NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS at that bundle. The file is regenerated when
it changes and is safe to delete (it is rebuilt on the next run).
If you set NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS yourself, your certificates are merged into
that bundle alongside the system store rather than replacing it. Run with
CLINE_DEBUG=1 to see how many OS and user CAs were loaded and where the bundle
was written.
Contributing
See DEVELOPMENT.md for local development setup, monorepo structure, and TUI architecture. See DISTRIBUTION.md for how the CLI is packaged and distributed.
License
Apache 2.0 © Cline Bot Inc.
