# Atlas is taking you through this one.
# Free, and it runs right here. No signup.
$ learn Cline
Learn Cline in 5 minutes.
Cline is an open-source coding agent that lives in VS Code and can edit files, run terminal commands, and drive a browser, with your choice of model behind it. The lesson drills Plan versus Act mode, approving actions wisely, and scoping tasks an agent can finish.
# 5 minutes, no install
# interactive, not a video
# Lesson not loading? Open it in a new tab. It is the same free lesson either way.
Plan mode or Act mode?
Cline splits thinking from doing with an explicit toggle, and that split is the whole discipline of working with agents in miniature. Skip Plan and you're gambling; camp in Plan and nothing ships.
Think first, touch nothing
In Plan mode Cline explores the codebase and works out an approach with you, without changing a single file. This is where misunderstandings get caught while they're still free.
Execute the plan
Flip to Act and Cline edits files and runs commands, asking your approval at each meaningful step. Because the plan came first, you're checking work against an agreement instead of guessing at intent.
Give it more tools
Through the Model Context Protocol, Cline can connect to outside tools and data sources, from databases to browsers to APIs. It's how the agent grows beyond editing text into touching the systems around your code.
What you will do in the lesson
You answer and try things. Nobody demonstrates at you for five minutes.
- Start in Plan on a real task. You'll refine a feature request with Cline until the plan is specific enough to approve, and learn what a plan worth approving looks like.
- Catch the flaw before the flip. The lesson hands you a plausible plan with one buried problem. Finding it in Plan mode costs a minute; finding it in Act mode costs an afternoon.
- Approve like it's your name on the commit. Cline asks before running commands and saving edits. You'll practice actually reading those requests, because reflexive clicking is how agents get away with nonsense.
- Choose a model deliberately. Cline works with whatever provider you configure. You'll reason through which class of model fits planning versus bulk edits, and why the answer differs.
- Recognize an agent-shaped task. You'll sort real requests into ones Cline can own end to end and ones where you'd be faster typing. This judgment is the skill everything else hangs on.
Before you start
What does open source get me in practice?
Three concrete things: you can read exactly what the agent does with your code, you choose the model behind it rather than accepting a bundled one, and there's no subscription for the tool itself. You pay only for whatever model API you plug in, and local models can make that free too.
Does the lesson require VS Code or any setup?
No. It runs in the embedded frame on this page, no extension, no account, no API key. If Cline looks useful you can install the extension afterwards; the tool itself is free.
Cline can run terminal commands. How is that not terrifying?
Because nothing runs without your approval. Every command and file save is presented to you first, and auto-approval is something you grant narrowly and deliberately, not a default. The lesson treats the approval step as a skill: what to check before you click yes.
I have Cursor. Does Cline give me anything new?
The workflows rhyme, but the philosophies differ. Cursor is a polished closed editor with the agent woven in; Cline is transparent and configurable, running in stock VS Code with any model you choose and MCP tools you add. People who want control and inspectability tend to land on Cline; people who want everything preassembled tend to stay with Cursor.
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