Korden vs. Cline
Cline and Korden share a philosophy: local execution, bring your own key. Korden goes wider — a crew of agents in parallel and a real PR/merge flow.
What is Cline?
Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension, executes locally, and uses your own API key — a single agent you supervise step by step.
How Korden compares to Cline
The core difference: Korden runs a multi-agent crew fully on your machine, with your own model, and delivers every change as a pull request you merge. Here's the side-by-side.
| Korden | Cline | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs fully on your machine | Yes | Runs locally |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Your API key |
| Multi-agent crew, in parallel | Parallel crew | Single agent |
| Every change is a pull request you merge | Built-in | Manual git |
| Surface | Standalone desktop app + terminals | VS Code extension |
When Korden is the better fit
Choose Korden if privacy, model choice, and a real review gate matter to you.
- You want multiple agents (Scout/Builder/Reviewer/Tester) working at once.
- You want a dedicated app with a terminal canvas and PR flow, not an extension.
- You want to run a different model in every pane.
When Cline might fit better
No tool is right for everyone — Cline can be the better call in these cases.
- You want a lightweight, open-source agent inside VS Code.
- You prefer supervising a single agent step by step.
- You want to stay entirely within your editor.
Frequently asked questions
Is Korden open source like Cline?
Do both let me bring my own key?
Ready to try Korden?
Start a 7-day free trial — no credit card. Have a crew opening pull requests on your machine in minutes. You’re always the one who merges.