# Cline vs Qwen Code

> Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cline leads on reliability. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.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: 2026-10-08

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cline leads on reliability. Both do agent harness.

- Cline: grade C, 60.4/100, rank #400 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json
- Qwen Code: grade BB, 72.4/100, rank #93 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-code.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.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 80 against 69

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

### Qwen Code (BB)

Good for: Developers and CI jobs that want an open-source harness tied to no single model vendor, with run budgets and SDKs.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 91 against 77
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 67
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 50

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

Watch for: The default approval mode is Auto, where an LLM classifier approves tool calls, and sandboxing and folder trust are both off by default


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cline | Qwen Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 69 | Cline +11 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 91 | Qwen Code +14 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 85 | Qwen Code +18 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 53 | Cline +4 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | Qwen Code +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 88 | Qwen Code +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 63 | Qwen Code +2 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.4 · C** | **72.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cline | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Cline Bot Inc. | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-09-25 | 2026-10-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-24 | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 68k stars | 28k stars, 105k 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.

**Qwen Code.** Apache-2.0 with no account of its own, any OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini-compatible endpoint, and headless runs bounded by turn, tool-call and wall-time budgets with distinct exit codes. Out of the box, Auto mode lets an LLM classifier approve tool calls, with the sandbox and folder trust both off. Usage statistics are on by default.

## 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

### Qwen Code

1. Pass `--approval-mode` on every run. The settings default is `auto`, and one docs page says headless runs default to asking, so don't rely on either
2. Add `--max-session-turns`, `--max-wall-time` and `--max-tool-calls`. All three are unlimited by default. Exit 53 is the turn limit and 55 a budget
3. `--yolo` doesn't turn on a sandbox. Add `--sandbox`, or on Linux set `tools.executionSandbox` with `network` set to `closed`
4. Set `QWEN_USAGE_STATISTICS_ENABLED=false` to stop usage statistics
5. Authenticate with `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and `OPENAI_MODEL` in CI. The browser sign-in is discontinued

## Questions

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

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Cline's 60.4 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cline leads on reliability.

### Are Cline and Qwen Code open source?

Yes. Cline is open source (Apache-2.0). Qwen Code is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Cline or Qwen Code

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