head to head · open source
Cline vs SWE-agent
Cline has 71,221 GitHub stars, 7,835 forks, 1,288 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SWE-agent has 20,712 stars, 2,264 forks, 102 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Cline leads on adoption by 244% (71,221 vs 20,712 stars). Cline is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; SWE-agent is written in Python under MIT. Cline has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, SWE-agent 11%. 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.
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Side by side
| Cline | SWE-agent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 21K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.8K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Cline if
- You weight community size — 71K 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 SWE-agent if
- You want the SWE-agent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SWE-agent fits your workflow better
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 →
About SWE-agent
[!warning] Most of our current development effort is on mini swe agent, which has superseded SWE agent. It matches the performance performance of SWE agent, while being much simpler. See the FAQ for more details about the differences. Our general recommendation is to use mini SWE agent instead of SWE agent going forward. SWE agent enables your language model of choice (e.g. GPT 4o or Claude Sonnet 4) to autonomously use tools to fix issues in real GitHub repositories, find cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or perform any custom task. ✅ State of the art on SWE bench among open source projects ✅ Free flowing &…
read the full SWE-agent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Cline or SWE-agent more popular?
Cline has 71,221 GitHub stars and SWE-agent has 20,712. Cline has the larger community by that measure.
Are Cline and SWE-agent free?
Both are open source. Cline is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SWE-agent under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Cline and SWE-agent?
Cline is written in TypeScript and SWE-agent in Python. 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 SWE-agent?
Choose Cline if you want the larger community (71,221 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SWE-agent if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.