head to head · open source
Paperclip vs Cline
Paperclip has 110,292 GitHub stars, 18,270 forks, 5,464 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Cline has 71,221 stars, 7,835 forks, 1,288 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperclip leads on adoption by 55% (110,292 vs 71,221 stars). Paperclip is written in TypeScript under MIT; Cline is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Paperclip has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Cline 11%. Paperclip 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.
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Side by side
| Paperclip | Cline | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 71K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 7.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Paperclip if
- You weight community size — 110K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Cline if
- You want the Cline feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Cline fits your workflow better
About Paperclip
Quickstart · Docs · GitHub · Discord · Twitter · Website Paperclip is the app people use to manage AI agents for work. Open source orchestration for teams of AI agents. If OpenClaw is an employee , Paperclip is the company . Paperclip is a Node.js server and React UI that orchestrates a team of AI agents to run a business. Bring your own agents, assign goals, and track work and costs from one dashboard. It looks like a task manager. Under the hood: org charts, budgets, governance, goal alignment, and agent coordination. Manage business goals, not pull requests. Works with…
read the full Paperclip overview →
About Cline
Cline The open source coding agent in your IDE, terminal, and desktop. Docs Discord r/cline Feature Requests Join us! CLI Run Cline in your terminal. Interactive chat or fully headless for CI/CD and scripting. Learn more Desktop App Cline as a native app for macOS and Windows. Run agent sessions in any folder, schedule routines, and manage models, plugins, and MCP servers. Download for macOS and Windows VS Code Extension AI coding assistant in your editor. Create files, run commands, browse the web, and use tools with human in the loop approval. Install from VS Marketplace JetBrains Plugin The same Cline…
read the full Cline overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Paperclip or Cline more popular?
Paperclip has 110,292 GitHub stars and Cline has 71,221. Paperclip has the larger community by that measure.
Are Paperclip and Cline free?
Both are open source. Paperclip is licensed under MIT and Cline under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Paperclip and Cline?
Paperclip is written in TypeScript and Cline in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Paperclip or Cline?
Choose Paperclip if you want the larger community (110,292 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Cline if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.