Cline vs goose

Side by side, as alternatives to Claude Code. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

Also replaces Claude Code: + OpenCode + OpenAI Codex CLI + Gemini CLI + Zed + OpenHands + Aider

Clinecline/cline

gooseaaif-goose/goose

Claude Codepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan source ↗

Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent

Partly

Yes

Run commands and tests

Partly

Yes

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Write commits and pull requests

Partly

Yes

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

6 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

70,739Top

55,514

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

209Top

139

—

Latest release

desktop-v0.0.48 · 2026-10-17Top

v1.55.0 · 2026-10-16

—

Commits / 12 wk

840

657

—

People committing / 12 mo

Unknown

77+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

271 / 148

314 / 237

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox

Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more

No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21)

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs

Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model

Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

The chart appears after a few nightly checks.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Cline vs goose (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=cline,goose&product=claude-code

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan
Cline: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs
goose: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- Cline: 70,739 GitHub stars, 840 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source
- goose: 55,514 GitHub stars, 657 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Cline Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox; goose Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer
- Code licence: Cline Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source; goose Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: Cline Allowed under Apache-2.0; goose Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use
- Paid services needed?: Cline Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional; goose Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional
- Hardware: Cline No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more; goose No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21)
- Operating systems: Cline Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs; goose Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL
- Setup effort: Cline Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model; goose Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.

Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. cline/cline ↗aaif-goose/goose ↗

Cline vs goose

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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