Aider vs Cline
Choose between a terminal-first and editor-integrated coding agent for day-to-day repository work.
AiderPair programming in the terminal, committing as it goesOfficialApache-2.0
ClineAutonomous coding agent living inside your editorOfficialApache-2.0At a glance
| At a glance | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Languages | Python | TypeScript |
| Deployment | Runs locally | Runs locally |
| Maturity | Established | Established |
| Stars | 48.6k | 67.1k |
| Star growth over the last 7 days | +168 ★ | +473 ★ |
| Forks | 4.9k | 7.2k |
| Open issues | 1.8k | 1.1k |
| Last commit | 22 May 2026 | 28 Aug 2026 |
| Activity | Active | Active |
What each one does
Aider
Every change lands as a git commit, which makes an AI edit exactly as reviewable and revertible as a colleague's. Its repository map lets it work on codebases far larger than a context window. Terminal-only by design — a strength if you live there, a non-starter if you want it inside an editor.
Full entry →Cline
Runs in VS Code and asks for approval before each file write or terminal command, which keeps a human in the loop without breaking flow. MCP support lets it reach tools beyond the editor. The approval prompts are the safety mechanism — turning them all off removes the main reason to prefer it.
Full entry →What you can do
Aider
- Undo an AI edit with git — Aider commits every change with a generated message, so
git diffandgit revertwork on its edits exactly as they do on a colleague's. - Ask for changes from your editor — Watch mode picks up comments you add to your source files and starts working from them, so a request does not have to be typed at the aider prompt.
- Fix its own lint failures — Aider runs your linters and test suite after every change it makes and repairs the problems they report.
- Give it a screenshot or a doc page — Images and web pages can be added to the chat, so a mockup, an error screenshot or a reference page becomes context for the edit.
- Point it at any model — The model is a flag —
aider --model sonnet --api-key anthropic=KEY— and a copy/paste mode shuttles context and edits through a browser web chat for LLMs you have no API access to.
Cline
- Plan first, then act — Plan mode explores the codebase and proposes a strategy before Act mode executes it, with every file edit and terminal command gated by approval and recorded as a reviewable diff with checkpoints to roll back.
- Run it headless in CI — git diff origin/main | cline "Review these changes for issues" pipes input straight in, and cline --json emits machine-readable events for jq to consume.
- Encode conventions in .clinerules — Coding standards, architecture rules and deployment procedures written into .clinerules files are picked up automatically by the CLI, VS Code extension and JetBrains plugin.
- Run many agents unattended — cline schedule create with --cron "0 9 * * MON-FRI" handles recurring jobs, and the Kanban board gives each task card its own git worktree with auto-commit.
- Reach external systems via MCP — cline mcp manages MCP server connections to databases and APIs, and createTool from @cline/sdk registers custom tools and lifecycle hooks in the same agent.