{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "cline",
      "name": "Cline",
      "vendor": "Cline Bot Inc.",
      "vendorUrl": "https://cline.bot",
      "kind": "harness",
      "category": "agent-harnesses",
      "summary": "Open-source coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension, a JetBrains plugin, a CLI and a desktop app, all on one TypeScript SDK since extension 4.0.0 (26 June 2026).",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/cline/cline",
      "license": "Apache-2.0",
      "transports": [],
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "cline"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "Your own provider keys (kept in ~/.cline/data/settings/providers.json for the CLI), a local model, or a Cline account (Google, GitHub or email sign-in) for the Cline provider and ClinePass. The CLI's default provider is Cline's own, so it needs `-P` and a key, or `cline auth`, to use anything else.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "The extension, CLI and SDK are free and Apache-2.0. You pay your model provider, or buy Cline credits for pay-as-you-go access to 100+ models through the Cline provider, or ClinePass at $9.99 a month for higher limits on selected open models. Free models rotate for signed-in users. Enterprise (SSO, role-based access, audit logs, SLA) is priced by sales. We found no public per-token price list for Cline credits.",
      "priceSummary": "$9.99 / mo",
      "where": "local",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the source (checked 2026-10-01).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 67600,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-01"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://docs.cline.bot",
      "llmsTxt": "https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "agent.harness",
        "agent.mcp-client",
        "agent.multi-agent"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "open-source",
        "local",
        "freemium",
        "typescript",
        "llms-txt",
        "telemetry-default-on",
        "enterprise",
        "no-card"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-10-01",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 60.4,
        "grade": "C",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 353,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 629,
        "categoryRank": 10,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 67,
          "maintenance": 85,
          "payments": 50,
          "reliability": 80,
          "schema": 77,
          "security": 57,
          "transparency": 61
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": -8,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "2026-02-17. GHSA-9ppg-jx86-fqw7. An attacker used a compromised npm publish token to release cline@2.3.0 with a postinstall script that ran `npm install -g openclaw@latest`. It was live for about eight hours before 2.4.0 and a deprecation, the token was revoked and publishing moved to OIDC. A supply-chain incident that reached users, fixed and documented and seven months old, -4. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-9ppg-jx86-fqw7",
          "2026-05-08. GHSA-5c57-rqjx-35g2 (CVE-2026-44211, 9.6). The kanban server the CLI uses accepted WebSocket connections on 127.0.0.1:3484 without checking Origin, so any website could read workspace data and inject commands. Affects kanban before 2.13.0. Inside six months, -2. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-5c57-rqjx-35g2",
          "2026-06-23. GHSA-3cj3-hqcr-g934 (CVE-2026-59723, 8.8). The Cline Hub dashboard's `/browser` WebSocket accepted cross-origin connections when ROOM_SECRET was unset, the local default, letting a website add MCP servers to the settings file and run commands. NVD lists versions before 3.0.30 as affected. Inside six months, -2. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-3cj3-hqcr-g934"
        ],
        "verdict": "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.",
        "bestFor": "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.",
        "strengths": [
          "Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0",
          "Checkpoints that restore files and task state, and sessions that resume by ID",
          "`CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` allow and deny globs for shell commands, with deny taking precedence and redirects blocked",
          "Your own key for about 200 providers, or a local model, with no Cline account",
          "29 extension and 34 CLI releases since 3 July 2026, with tests passing on main"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider",
          "Extension telemetry on by default, and the CLI's telemetry undocumented",
          "A compromised npm token shipped cline@2.3.0 with an unwanted global install in February 2026",
          "Two cross-origin WebSocket flaws in its local servers in May and June 2026",
          "About 700 open issues and 525 open pull requests"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default",
          "Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in",
          "Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task",
          "Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish",
          "Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "local",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 2,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "C",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 60.4
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 67,
          "maintenance": 85,
          "payments": 50,
          "reliability": 80,
          "schema": 77,
          "security": 57,
          "transparency": 60
        },
        "provenanceScore": 61
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npm i -g cline   # Node 22+; or the VS Code extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev",
        "headless": {
          "command": "cline --json -P anthropic -k \"$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY\" \"$TASK\"",
          "env": {
            "CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS": "{\"allow\": [\"npm test\", \"git diff *\"], \"deny\": [\"rm *\", \"sudo *\"]}"
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/cline"
      },
      "area": "frameworks",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "ClinePass",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 9.99,
          "note": "higher limits on selected open coding models"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Cline Bot Inc.",
        "domain": "cline.bot",
        "domainRegistered": "",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": null,
        "terms": "https://cline.bot/tos",
        "privacy": "https://cline.bot/privacy",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "https://github.com/cline/cline/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-10-01",
        "notes": [
          "The pricing page and the CLI's package.json name Cline Bot Inc.",
          "cline.bot/.well-known/security.txt lists security@cline.bot and the Bugcrowd programme, and expires on 2027-12-31.",
          "The privacy and terms pages render only with JavaScript, so we couldn't read them."
        ],
        "score": 61
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "cline",
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "cline/cline",
            "version": "desktop-v0.0.45",
            "released": "2026-10-08",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:05:43.225899402Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "cline",
            "version": "3.0.70",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:05:40.021205578Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 70026,
        "npmWeekly": 95033,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://cline.bot/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "valid",
          "expires": "2027-12-31T23:59:00z",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:39:00.499934829Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:11.542837422Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "cline.bot",
          "registered": "2024-09-30",
          "source": "https://rdap.nominet.uk/bot/domain/cline.bot",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:10:22.024872209Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cline/cline/main/CHANGELOG.md",
            "kind": "deprecations",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:03.804390431Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:09:02.66614484Z",
            "fingerprint": "afe1a35c4bbd"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://cline.bot/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:11.11005196Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:11.11005196Z",
            "fingerprint": "7c5e50c585e0"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://cline.bot/tos",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:13.372700135Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:13.372700135Z",
            "fingerprint": "9f6fe5247cb8"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:24:03.804390431Z"
      }
    },
    "answer": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "paperclip",
      "name": "Paperclip",
      "vendor": "Paperclip Labs, Inc.",
      "vendorUrl": "https://paperclip.ing",
      "kind": "harness",
      "category": "agent-harnesses",
      "summary": "Paperclip is an open-source, self-hosted server and web interface that organises AI agents into a company with an org chart, tasks, budgets and approvals. It drives Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw and other harnesses through adapters.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json",
      "repo": "https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip",
      "license": "MIT",
      "transports": [],
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "paperclipai"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@paperclipai/mcp-server"
        },
        {
          "registry": "oci",
          "name": "ghcr.io/paperclipai/paperclip"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "No Paperclip account. The default `local_trusted` mode needs no login on loopback. Authenticated mode uses browser sessions for people, board API keys for scripts, and agent API keys or short-lived run JWTs as bearer tokens.",
      "pricing": "free",
      "pricingNotes": "Free and MIT, self-hosted, with nothing to buy. The owner pays each harness's model provider or subscription. Paperclip Cloud is a waitlist with no published price.",
      "priceSummary": "Free · OSS",
      "where": "local",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the site or the server source (checked 2026-10-08). The only mention in the repository is a link to a third-party skill in a planning note.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 98666,
        "npmWeekly": 59684,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-08"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://docs.paperclip.ing",
      "llmsTxt": "https://paperclip.ing/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "agent.multi-agent",
        "agent.mcp-client"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "open-source",
        "self-hosted",
        "local",
        "free",
        "no-card",
        "llms-txt",
        "docker",
        "mcp",
        "typescript"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-10-05",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 59,
        "grade": "C",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 390,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 629,
        "categoryRank": 12,
        "methodology": "0.4",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 70,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 60,
          "reliability": 66,
          "schema": 81,
          "security": 64,
          "transparency": 65
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-08"
        },
        "negative": -10,
        "negativeNotes": [
          "2026-04-10 to 2026-04-16. Ten advisories published in a week, four of them critical, among them GHSA-68qg-g8mg-6pr7 (CVE-2026-41679, 10.0, unauthenticated remote code execution through an import authorisation bypass) and two cross-tenant agent key flaws rated 9.9. All ten list 2026.416.0 as the fix. Fixed and published, a little under six months old, -5. https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/security/advisories",
          "2026-07-22. GHSA-x8hx-rhr2-9rf7 (9.6), drive-by remote code execution against the default `local_trusted` mode through DNS rebinding. The advisory names no patched version. The current source applies the hostname guard to `local_trusted` private deployments, so we read it as fixed without a documented version, -3. https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/security/advisories/GHSA-x8hx-rhr2-9rf7",
          "2026-04-16. GHSA-gqqj-85qm-8qhf (8.7), a `codex_local` agent inherited a Gmail connector from the owner's ChatGPT account and sent real email. The advisory names no patched version, and `codex_local` still defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, -2. https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip/security/advisories/GHSA-gqqj-85qm-8qhf"
        ],
        "verdict": "Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026.",
        "bestFor": "Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.",
        "strengths": [
          "One deployment runs agents on Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Pi, Hermes, Grok Build, Kimi Code and OpenClaw through adapters, under one org chart",
          "Board approvals gate agent hires and the CEO agent's strategy, and connection actions can be set to Allowed, Ask first or Off",
          "Budgets by company, agent and project pause an agent at 100 per cent of recorded spend",
          "The running server publishes its REST surface as OpenAPI at `/api/openapi.json`, and the docs site answers every page as Markdown at `.md`",
          "Eleven stable releases between 20 July and 5 October 2026, each with dated notes and an upgrade guide"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "`claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host",
          "Twelve published security advisories since April 2026, five critical, including CVE-2026-41679 (unauthenticated remote code execution, fixed in 2026.416.0)",
          "Anonymous usage telemetry is on by default and goes to telemetry.paperclip.ing until an opt-out is set",
          "2,849 open issues on 8 October 2026, 1,396 of them with no comment, and 78 closed in 30 days against 686 opened",
          "Calendar versions with no 1.0, and release 2026.916.0 carried five breaking changes"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Set `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start. Telemetry is on by default",
          "Set `dangerouslySkipPermissions` and `dangerouslyBypassApprovalsAndSandbox` to false on agents that read untrusted input, or run them in a sandbox provider",
          "Install with Node.js 24.11 or newer, and install and sign in to each harness CLI on the host first. Paperclip assumes they are there",
          "Use `--bind lan` or `--bind tailnet` at onboarding for anything beyond one machine. The default `local_trusted` mode treats every request as the board admin",
          "Treat 409 on task checkout as owned by another agent and pick different work. The API docs say not to retry"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "local",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 0,
        "avgRating": 0,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "C",
            "methodology": "0.4",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 59
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 70,
          "maintenance": 78,
          "payments": 60,
          "reliability": 66,
          "schema": 81,
          "security": 64,
          "transparency": 73
        },
        "provenanceScore": 56
      },
      "connect": {
        "install": "npx paperclipai@latest onboard --yes   # Node.js 24.11 or newer",
        "http": "curl http://localhost:3100/api/health",
        "headless": {
          "command": "npx paperclipai issue create --title \"$TASK\" --json",
          "env": {
            "PAPERCLIP_API_KEY": "\u003cboard or agent key\u003e",
            "PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED": "1"
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.multi-agent",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/paperclip"
      },
      "area": "frameworks",
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Paperclip Labs, Inc.",
        "domain": "paperclip.ing",
        "domainRegistered": "2026-03-02",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": null,
        "terms": "https://paperclip.ing/terms/",
        "privacy": "https://paperclip.ing/privacy/",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "https://paperclip.ing/changelog/",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-08",
        "notes": [
          "The terms (effective 1 April 2026, updated 23 July 2026) and the privacy policy (effective 23 July 2026) name Paperclip Labs, Inc. and Delaware law. The licence file in the repository reads Copyright (c) 2025 Paperclip AI.",
          "RDAP at the .ing registry gives a registration date of 2026-03-02 for paperclip.ing, with Cloudflare as registrar. The GitHub repository was created the same day.",
          "paperclip.ing/.well-known/security.txt and docs.paperclip.ing/.well-known/security.txt returned 404 on 8 October 2026. SECURITY.md sends reports to GitHub private advisories.",
          "The software is self-hosted, so there is no vendor endpoint or status page to check. status.paperclip.ing did not answer.",
          "The privacy policy says it governs the hosted services, and that a self-hosted deployment processes data on the owner's infrastructure."
        ],
        "score": 56
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "paperclip",
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "github",
            "name": "paperclipai/paperclip",
            "version": "v2026.1005.0",
            "released": "2026-10-06",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:44.149648743Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@paperclipai/mcp-server",
            "version": "2026.1005.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:42.049344463Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "paperclipai",
            "version": "2026.1005.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:24:41.941235603Z"
          }
        ],
        "githubStars": 98744,
        "npmWeekly": 59684,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://paperclip.ing/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:39:09.089543926Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://paperclip.ing/changelog/",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:47.072089969Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "4d68b2d18041"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://paperclip.ing/privacy/",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:49.382016209Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "d75ac8f8733e"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://paperclip.ing/terms/",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:51.246933771Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "1b2a133e6446"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:51.246933771Z"
      }
    },
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "Agent harness",
        "b": "Agent harness",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "Cline Bot Inc.",
        "b": "Paperclip Labs, Inc.",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "no (local only)",
        "b": "no (local only)",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "OAuth or key",
        "b": "OAuth or key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Freemium",
        "b": "Free",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
      },
      {
        "a": "Apache-2.0",
        "b": "MIT",
        "name": "Licence"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "Read-only variant documented"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "llms.txt"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-10-01",
        "b": "2026-10-05",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "2025-09-25",
        "b": "2026-07-23",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "2025-09-24",
        "b": "2026-07-23",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "yes, with an opt-out",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "not found in the text",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "68k stars",
        "b": "99k stars, 60k npm/wk",
        "name": "Popularity"
      },
      {
        "a": "2/5 (2)",
        "b": "none",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Cline or Paperclip?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Yes. Cline is open source (Apache-2.0). Paperclip is open source (MIT).",
        "question": "Are Cline and Paperclip open source?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 80 against 66",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 78"
        ],
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "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.",
        "slug": "cline",
        "watchFor": "The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Security \u0026 auth, 64 against 57",
          "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50"
        ],
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.",
        "slug": "paperclip",
        "watchFor": "`claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host"
      }
    ],
    "job": {
      "capability": "agent.multi-agent",
      "name": "Agent multi agent"
    },
    "others": [
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.json",
        "title": "Aider vs Cline",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline.json",
        "title": "Amp vs Cline",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline.json",
        "title": "Claude Code vs Cline",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Cursor CLI",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Devin",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Pi",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Gemini CLI",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli.json",
        "title": "Cline vs GitHub Copilot CLI",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose.json",
        "title": "Cline vs goose",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Kiro CLI",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.json",
        "title": "Cline vs OpenAI Codex",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.json",
        "title": "Cline vs OpenHands",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Prime Agent",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.json",
        "title": "Cline vs Qwen Code",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-paperclip.json",
        "title": "Amp vs Paperclip",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-paperclip"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-paperclip.json",
        "title": "Claude Code vs Paperclip",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-paperclip"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-paperclip.json",
        "title": "Devin vs Paperclip",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-paperclip"
      },
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-paperclip.json",
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        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-paperclip.json",
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.json",
        "title": "Kiro CLI vs Paperclip",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-paperclip.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-paperclip"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent.json",
        "title": "Paperclip vs Prime Agent",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code.json",
        "title": "Paperclip vs Qwen Code",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code"
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    ],
    "scores": [
      {
        "by": 14,
        "cline": 80,
        "edge": "cline",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "paperclip": 66,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 4,
        "cline": 77,
        "edge": "paperclip",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "paperclip": 81,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 3,
        "cline": 67,
        "edge": "paperclip",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "paperclip": 70,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 7,
        "cline": 57,
        "edge": "paperclip",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "paperclip": 64,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "by": 10,
        "cline": 50,
        "edge": "paperclip",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "paperclip": 60,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 7,
        "cline": 85,
        "edge": "cline",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "paperclip": 78,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "by": 4,
        "cline": 61,
        "edge": "paperclip",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "paperclip": 65,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent multi agent.",
    "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.",
      "paperclip": "Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026."
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  "markdown": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent multi agent.\n\n- Cline: grade C, 60.4/100, rank #353 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json\n- Paperclip: grade C, 59/100, rank #390 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Cline (C)\n\nGood 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.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 80 against 66\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 78\n\nWatch for: The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider\n\n### Paperclip (C)\n\nGood for: Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 64 against 57\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50\n\nWatch for: `claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Cline | Paperclip | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 66 | Cline +14 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 81 | Paperclip +4 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 70 | Paperclip +3 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 64 | Paperclip +7 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | Paperclip +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 78 | Cline +7 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 65 | Paperclip +4 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | -10 | |\n| **Total** | | **60.4 · C** | **59 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Cline | Paperclip |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Cline Bot Inc. | Paperclip Labs, Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports |  |  |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-05 |\n| Terms last updated | 2025-09-25 | 2026-07-23 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-24 | 2026-07-23 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes, with an opt-out |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | 68k stars | 99k stars, 60k npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**Paperclip.** Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Cline\n\n1. Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default\n2. Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in\n3. Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task\n4. Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish\n5. Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later\n\n### Paperclip\n\n1. Set `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start. Telemetry is on by default\n2. Set `dangerouslySkipPermissions` and `dangerouslyBypassApprovalsAndSandbox` to false on agents that read untrusted input, or run them in a sandbox provider\n3. Install with Node.js 24.11 or newer, and install and sign in to each harness CLI on the host first. Paperclip assumes they are there\n4. Use `--bind lan` or `--bind tailnet` at onboarding for anything beyond one machine. The default `local_trusted` mode treats every request as the board admin\n5. Treat 409 on task checkout as owned by another agent and pick different work. The API docs say not to retry\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Cline or Paperclip?\n\nCline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Are Cline and Paperclip open source?\n\nYes. Cline is open source (Apache-2.0). Paperclip is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cline\", \"b\": \"paperclip\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cline paperclip`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Cline or Paperclip\n\n- [Aider vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.md)\n- [Amp vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline.md)\n- [Cline vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin.md)\n- [Cline vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [Cline vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose.md)\n- [Cline vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Cline vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Cline vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Amp vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Devin vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [goose vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [OpenCode vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [OpenHands vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Paperclip vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Paperclip vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code.md)\n",
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    "description": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on security \u0026 auth and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent multi agent. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.",
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