# Cline vs Kilo Code CLI

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harness.

- Cline: grade C, 60.4/100, rank #464 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json
- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #47 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json

## Which one, for what

### Cline (C)

Good for: Developers who want an agent inside VS Code or JetBrains that asks before acting and can roll back, with the same engine in a CLI.

Watch for: The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider

### Kilo Code CLI (BB)

Good for: Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 80
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 77
- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 67
- Security & auth, 66 against 57
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No incidents deducted, where Cline loses 8 points for them

Watch for: Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, and the privacy policy and PRIVACY.md don't mention it


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cline | Kilo Code CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 85 | Kilo Code CLI +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 90 | Kilo Code CLI +13 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 72 | Kilo Code CLI +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 66 | Kilo Code CLI +9 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 50 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 87 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 76 | Kilo Code CLI +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.4 · C** | **75.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cline | Kilo Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Cline Bot Inc. | Kilo Code Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-09-25 | 2026-09-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-24 | 2026-05-29 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 68k stars | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Cline.** Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0. The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider.

**Kilo Code CLI.** Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default and the sandbox is off, so an unattended `kilo run --auto` approves everything not denied unless both are configured first.

## Before you call either

### Cline

1. Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default
2. Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in
3. Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task
4. Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish
5. Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later

### Kilo Code CLI

1. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true in the global `kilo.jsonc` before `kilo run --auto`. `--auto` approves every permission request not explicitly denied
2. Set `experimental.openTelemetry` to false, or `KILO_TELEMETRY_LEVEL` to a value other than `all`, to stop telemetry
3. Add needed hosts to `sandbox.allowed_hosts` in global config. MCP tool calls are unavailable while network restriction is on
4. Without `--auto` a non-interactive run rejects every permission prompt and exits 1
5. Put provider keys in global config or the environment. `{env:VAR}` in a project `kilo.json` is ignored

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cline or Kilo Code CLI?

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Are Cline and Kilo Code CLI open source?

Yes. Cline is open source (Apache-2.0). Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "cline", "b": "kilo-code-cli"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cline kilo-code-cli`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json

## Other comparisons with Cline or Kilo Code CLI

- [Aider vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.md)
- [Aider vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)
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- [Devin vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)
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- [goose vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)
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