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Default Command

Running cline without a subcommand starts an interactive session or executes a task directly.

Syntax

Arguments

string
Task prompt to execute. If omitted, launches interactive mode.

Options

boolean
Run in act mode (default)
boolean
Run in plan mode
boolean
Enable yolo mode (auto-approve all actions). Forces plain text output.
number
Timeout in seconds for yolo mode (default: 600)
string
Model to use for the task (e.g., claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929, gpt-4o)
boolean
Show verbose output including reasoning
string
Working directory for the task
string
Path to Cline configuration directory
boolean | number
Enable extended thinking. Default: 1024 tokens. Can specify custom token budget.
string
Reasoning effort level: none, low, medium, high, xhigh
number
Maximum consecutive mistakes before halting in yolo mode
boolean
Output messages as JSON instead of styled text. Forces plain text mode.
boolean
Reject first completion attempt to force re-verification
string
Resume an existing task by ID. Get task IDs from cline history.

Examples


task (alias: t)

Run a new task with a prompt. This is equivalent to the default command but more explicit.

Syntax

Arguments

string
required
The task prompt describing what you want Cline to do

Options

Same as the default command (see above).

Examples


history (alias: h)

List task history with pagination support.

Syntax

Options

number
Number of tasks to show per page (default: 10)
number
Page number, 1-based (default: 1)
string
Path to Cline configuration directory

Examples


config

Show current configuration including global and workspace state.

Syntax

Options

string
Path to Cline configuration directory

Examples


auth

Authenticate a provider and configure the model to use.

Syntax

Options

string
Provider ID for quick setup. Supported providers:
  • anthropic - Anthropic Claude
  • openai-native - OpenAI
  • openai - OpenAI-compatible
  • openrouter - OpenRouter
  • moonshot - Moonshot AI (Kimi)
  • gemini - Google Gemini
  • vertex - GCP Vertex AI
  • bedrock - AWS Bedrock
  • azure - Azure OpenAI
  • ollama - Ollama (local)
  • lmstudio - LM Studio (local)
string
API key for the provider
string
Model ID to configure. Examples:
  • claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 (Anthropic)
  • gpt-4o (OpenAI)
  • kimi-k2.5 (Moonshot)
  • gemini-2.0-flash-exp (Google)
string
Base URL for OpenAI-compatible providers (optional)
boolean
Show verbose output
string
Working directory
string
Path to Cline configuration directory

Examples

Bedrock provider requires complex IAM authentication and is not supported for quick setup. Use interactive mode instead.

version

Show the Cline CLI version number.

Syntax

Examples


update

Check for updates and install if available.

Syntax

Options

boolean
Show verbose output

Examples


dev

Developer tools and utilities.

Subcommands

dev log

Open the log file for debugging.

Advanced Usage

Piped Input

Cline automatically detects piped input and switches to plain text mode:

Image Support

Include images in your prompts using inline references:

Resuming Tasks

Resume previous tasks by ID (get IDs from cline history):

JSON Output for Scripting

CI/CD Integration