head to head · open source
Cline vs Grok Build
Cline has 68,517 GitHub stars, 7,409 forks, 1,288 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Grok Build has 26,820 stars, 5,048 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Cline leads on adoption by 155% (68,517 vs 26,820 stars). Cline is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Grok Build is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Cline has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Grok Build 19%. Cline was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Cline | Grok Build | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 69K | ★ 27K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.4K | ⑂ 5.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Cline if
- You weight community size — 69K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Grok Build if
- You want the Grok Build feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Grok Build fits your workflow better
About Cline
Cline is an open source AI coding agent that operates across multiple interfaces: as a CLI tool, desktop application, VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, and SDK. It lives in the developer tooling ecosystem and is built with TypeScript under the Apache 2.0 license. The project solves the problem of fragmented AI assisted coding workflows by unifying agent capabilities—code generation, command execution, project wide edits, and human in the loop approval—into a single extensible engine that works consistently across environments.
read the full Cline overview →
About Grok Build
Grok Build is a terminal based AI coding agent developed by SpaceXAI, distributed as the grok CLI/TUI. It operates as a fullscreen, mouse interactive interface that integrates with the user’s codebase to perform code editing, command execution, web search, and long running task orchestration. The project lives in the Rust ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0.
read the full Grok Build overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More AI Assisted Coding projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Assisted Coding field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cline or Grok Build more popular?
Cline has 68,517 GitHub stars and Grok Build has 26,820. Cline has the larger community by that measure.
Are Cline and Grok Build free?
Both are open source. Cline is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Grok Build under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Cline and Grok Build?
Cline is written in TypeScript and Grok Build in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Cline or Grok Build?
Choose Cline if you want the larger community (68,517 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Grok Build if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.