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RUNLOCALAI · v38
← Home·/apps·Coding agent

Cline

Hybrid (offline or cloud)

VS Code extension that runs a full agent loop locally — reads, writes, runs commands, asks first.

Editorial verdict: “Best IDE-integrated agent that fully respects 'all local' as a first-class option.”

Coding agent
Free
Apache-2.0
★ 4.6 / 5
GitHub ★ 30,000
↗ Homepage↗ GitHub↗ Docs

Compatibility at a glance

Which runtime + OS combos this app works against. Source of truth for "will it run on my setup?"

§ Runtimes supported
ollamaopenai-compatanthropicopenai
§ OS / platform
macoslinuxwindows
§ Hardware + model hint
Minimum VRAM
24 GB
Recommended starter model
Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B Q4_K_M
→ Build the rest of the stack with /stack-builder→ Pick a GPU for this app

What it is

Cline is the VS Code extension for solo Ollama users who want a full agent loop—plan, read, edit, run, verify—without shipping code to a cloud API. It bridges to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so you can pair it with Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B at Q4_K_M on a 24 GB card and keep every step offline. The permission UX is best-in-class: Cline asks before every file write, which gives you control but also means the loop is token-heavy. Local models with weak context handling will stall on multi-file plans, so the quality of the output depends heavily on the model you bring.

✓ Strengths

  • +Best-in-class permission UX — asks before every write
  • +Solid plan-mode for non-trivial multi-file edits
  • +First-class Ollama support, not an afterthought

△ Caveats

  • −Heavy on tokens — local models with weak context handling struggle
  • −Plan-mode quality depends heavily on the underlying model

About the Coding agent category

Editor-integrated or CLI agent that edits code via your model.

§ Other coding agent apps
Aider

Best terminal-native coding agent for local models. Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B is its sweet spot.

Twinny

Best minimal-surface Copilot-replacement that's been Ollama-native since day one.

Tabby

Best self-hosted server for teams. SSO + audit logs make it the IT-friendly pick.

Continue

Best Copilot replacement that defaults to local. Configurable; pair with Qwen 2.5 Coder.

Where to go from here

Stack Builder →

Pre-filled with this app's recommended use case + budget tier. Get the full rig + runtime + model picks.

Back to /apps →

The full directory — filter by category, runtime, OS, privacy posture, or VRAM.

Runtimes (/tools) →

What this app talks to: Ollama, vLLM, llama.cpp, MLX, LM Studio. The upstream layer.

Community benchmarks →

Did this app work for you on a specific rig? Submit the benchmark — it powers the model + hardware pages.