cline/cli/man/cline.1.md

---

title: CLINE section: 1 header: User Commands footer: Cline CLI 1.0

date: January 2025

NAME

cline - orchestrate and interact with Cline AI coding agents

SYNOPSIS

cline [prompt] [options]

cline command [subcommand] [options] [arguments]

DESCRIPTION

Try: cat README.md | cline "Summarize this for me:"

cline is a command-line interface for orchestrating multiple Cline AI coding agents. Cline is an autonomous AI agent who can read, write, and execute code across your projects. He operates through a client-server architecture where Cline Core runs as a standalone service, and the CLI acts as a scriptable interface for managing tasks, instances, and agent interactions.

The CLI is designed for both interactive use and automation, making it ideal for CI/CD pipelines, parallel task execution, and terminal-based workflows. Multiple frontends (CLI, VSCode, JetBrains) can attach to the same Cline Core instance, enabling seamless task handoff between environments.

MODES OF OPERATION

Instant Task Mode

: The simplest invocation: cline "prompt here" immediately spawns an instance, creates a task, and enters chat mode. This is equivalent to running cline instance new && cline task new && cline task chat in sequence.

Subcommand Mode

: Advanced usage with explicit control: cline <command> [subcommand] [options] provides fine-grained control over instances, tasks, authentication, and configuration.

AGENT BEHAVIOR

Cline operates in two primary modes:

ACT MODE

: Cline actively uses tools to accomplish tasks. He can read files, write code, execute commands, use a headless browser, and more. This is the default mode for task execution.

PLAN MODE

: Cline gathers information and creates a detailed plan before implementation. He explores the codebase, asks clarifying questions, and presents a strategy for user approval before switching to ACT MODE.

INSTANT TASK OPTIONS

When using the instant task syntax cline "prompt" the following options are available:

-o, --oneshot

: Full autonomous mode. Cline completes the task and stops following after completion. Example: cline -o "what's 6 + 8?"

-s, --setting setting value

: Override a setting for this task

-y, --no-interactive, --yolo

: Enable fully autonomous mode. Disables all interactivity:

- ask_followup_question tool is disabled
- attempt_completion happens automatically
- execute_command runs in non-blocking mode with timeout
- PLAN MODE automatically switches to ACT MODE

-m, --mode mode

: Starting mode. Options: act (default), plan

-w, --workspace path

: Additional workspace paths. Can be specified multiple times to include multiple directories. The current working directory is always included as the first workspace. Example: cline -w /path/to/other/project "refactor shared code"

GLOBAL OPTIONS

These options apply to all subcommands:

-F, --output-format format

: Output format. Options: rich (default), json, plain

When you use **-F json**, the CLI prints each client message as JSON.

Each message is a **ClineMessage** object.

Required fields:

- **type**: "ask" or "say"
- **text**: message text
- **ts**: Unix epoch timestamp in milliseconds

Optional fields (omitted when empty):

- **reasoning**: reasoning text
- **say**: say subtype (present when type is "say")
- **ask**: ask subtype (present when type is "ask")
- **partial**: streaming flag
- **images**: list of image URIs
- **files**: list of file paths
- **lastCheckpointHash**: git checkpoint hash
- **isCheckpointCheckedOut**: checkpoint checkout flag
- **isOperationOutsideWorkspace**: workspace safety flag

-h, --help

: Display help information for the command.

-v, --verbose

: Enable verbose output for debugging.

COMMANDS

Authentication

cline auth [provider] [key]

cline a [provider] [key]

: Configure authentication for AI model providers. Launches an interactive wizard if no arguments provided. If provider is specified without a key, prompts for the key or launches the appropriate OAuth flow.

Instance Management

Cline Core instances are independent agent processes that can run in the background. Multiple instances can run simultaneously, enabling parallel task execution.

cline instance

cline i

: Display instance management help.

cline instance new [-d|--default]

cline i n [-d|--default]

: Spawn a new Cline Core instance. Use --default to set it as the default instance for subsequent commands.

cline instance list

cline i l

: List all running Cline Core instances with their addresses and status.

cline instance default address

cline i d address

: Set the default instance to avoid specifying --address in task commands.

cline instance kill address [-a|--all]

cline i k address [-a|--all]

: Terminate a Cline Core instance. Use --all to kill all running instances.

Task Management

Tasks represent individual work items that Cline executes. Tasks maintain conversation history, checkpoints, and settings.

cline task [-a|--address ADDR]

cline t [-a|--address ADDR]

: Display task management help. The --address flag specifies which Cline Core instance to use (e.g., localhost:50052).

cline task new prompt [options]

cline t n prompt [options]

: Create a new task in the default or specified instance. Options:

**-s**, **\--setting** *setting* *value*
:   Set task-specific settings

**-y**, **\--no-interactive**, **\--yolo**
:   Enable autonomous mode

**-m**, **\--mode** *mode*
:   Starting mode (act or plan)

cline task open task-id [options]

cline t o task-id [options]

: Resume a previous task from history. Accepts the same options as task new.

cline task list

cline t l

: List all tasks in history with their id and snippet

cline task chat

cline t c

: Enter interactive chat mode for the current task. Allows back-and-forth conversation with Cline.

cline task send [message] [options]

cline t s [message] [options]

: Send a message to Cline. If no message is provided, reads from stdin. Options:

**-a**, **\--approve**
:   Approve Cline's proposed action

**-d**, **\--deny**
:   Deny Cline's proposed action

**-f**, **\--file** *FILE*
:   Attach a file to the message

**-y**, **\--no-interactive**, **\--yolo**
:   Enable autonomous mode

**-m**, **\--mode** *mode*
:   Switch mode (act or plan)

cline task view [-f|--follow] [-c|--follow-complete]

cline t v [-f|--follow] [-c|--follow-complete]

: Display the current conversation. Use --follow to stream updates in real-time, or --follow-complete to follow until task completion.

cline task restore checkpoint

cline t r checkpoint

: Restore the task to a previous checkpoint state.

cline task pause

cline t p

: Pause task execution.

Configuration

Configuration can be set globally. Override these global settings for a task using the --setting flag

cline config

cline c

cline config set key value

cline c s key value

: Set a configuration variable.

cline config get key

cline c g key

: Read a configuration variable.

cline config list

cline c l

: List all configuration variables and their values.

TASK SETTINGS

Task settings are persisted in the ~/.cline/x/tasks directory. When resuming a task with cline task open, task settings are automatically restored.

Common settings include:

yolo

: Enable autonomous mode (true/false)

mode

: Starting mode (act/plan)

NOTES & EXAMPLES

The cline task send and cline task new commands support reading from stdin, enabling powerful pipeline compositions:

cat requirements.txt | cline task send
echo "Refactor this code" | cline -y

Instance Management

Manage multiple Cline instances:

# Start a new instance and make it default
cline instance new --default

# List all running instances
cline instance list

# Kill a specific instance
cline instance kill localhost:50052

# Kill all CLI instances
cline instance kill --all-cli

Task History

Work with task history:

# List previous tasks
cline task list

# Resume a previous task
cline task open 1760501486669

# View conversation history
cline task view

# Start interactive chat with this task
cline task chat

ARCHITECTURE

Cline operates on a three-layer architecture:

Presentation Layer

: User interfaces (CLI, VSCode, JetBrains) that connect to Cline Core via gRPC

Cline Core

: The autonomous agent service handling task management, AI model integration, state management, tool orchestration, and real-time streaming updates

Host Provider Layer

: Environment-specific integrations (VSCode APIs, JetBrains APIs, shell APIs) that Cline Core uses to interact with the host system

BUGS

Report bugs at: https://github.com/cline/cline/issues

For real-time help, join the Discord community at: https://discord.gg/cline

SEE ALSO

Full documentation: https://docs.cline.bot

AUTHORS

Cline is developed by the Cline Bot Inc. and the open source community.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2025 Cline Bot Inc. Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.