# What to use instead of Cline: an open-source system your team owns

> Cline is a good coding agent inside your editor, and it is open source. A team needs more than another editor agent: it needs a system the company owns. Kortix, the open-source AI Operating System, runs your agents on their own cloud computers and lands every change through a change request a person reviews.

URL: https://clinealternative.com/

Independent comparison · checked October 2026

**The open-source AI Operating System**

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
kortix_version: 2
agents:
  support-triage:
    file: agents/support-triage.md
    connectors: all
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/manifest

An agent is `agents/<name>.md` (behavior) plus an `agents.<name>` block in `kortix.yaml` (governance).

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Compare the field](https://clinealternative.com/#compare)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem

## Kortix and the coding agents people compare to Cline

Kortix is a system a team owns, while each listed tool runs one coding agent on the developer’s own machine.

| | Kortix (recommended) | Kilo Code | Roo Code | Aider |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | The open-source AI Operating System | An all-in-one coding agent inside VS Code | AI agents inside your code editor | AI pair programming in your terminal |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Where it runs | Its own cloud computer for every session | In VS Code, on your machine | In VS Code, on your machine | In your terminal, on your machine |
| Your configuration | Files in one git repo you own | In the tool's own settings | In the tool's own settings | In the tool's own settings |
| GitHub stars (checked October 2026) | 20,000+ | 27,600+ | 24,200+ | 49,500+ |
| Activity (checked October 2026) | Active | Active | Archived May 2026 | Last push May 2026 |

## Six layers of the system you own

Your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector live in one repo; each session runs on its own cloud computer, and every change lands through a review.

### 1. The company as files you own

Your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own.

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
kortix_version: 2
agents:
  support-triage:
    file: agents/support-triage.md
    connectors: all
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/manifest

### 2. Every session gets its own cloud computer

One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch.

`terminal`

```sh
$ kortix sessions new --prompt "Summarize today's commits and open a change request"
```

Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

### 3. Your tools, wired once

3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine.

`kortix.yaml`

```yaml
connectors:
  - slug: read-ai
    name: Read AI
    provider: mcp
    url: 'https://api.read.ai/mcp'
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/connect/connectors

### 4. Any model, your keys

Any model provider with your own keys.

`terminal`

```sh
$ kortix providers login opencode
$ kortix providers login opencode-go
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/models

### 5. A person reviews every change

Session work reaches `main` through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.

`change request states`

```
open → merged (a person merges)
open → closed → reopened
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/work/change-requests

### 6. Cloud, VPC, or on-prem

Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free.

`Self-host on a Linux box`

```sh
$ kortix self-host init --domain kortix.example.com
$ kortix self-host start
$ kortix self-host status
```

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/host

**20,000+** GitHub stars

## Open source. Read it, fork it, audit. Kortix is open source, so the layer your company runs on is one you can read, fork and audit.

[Read the source](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna) · [Kortix docs](https://kortix.com/docs)

## Questions people ask before they switch

What Cline is, what Kortix is, and the details people check first.

### What is Cline?

Cline is an open-source coding agent. The vendor describes it as one open source agent runtime you can use in your editor, your terminal or embed in your own products.

### Is Kortix a Cline alternative?

Yes, on a different layer. Cline runs one coding agent on a developer's machine. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: it runs your agents on their own cloud computers.

### Does Kortix replace my editor?

No. Kortix does not live in your editor: agents run on their own cloud computers, and the work lands as a change request you read as a diff.

### Can I self-host Kortix?

Yes, and self-host is free. `kortix self-host start` pulls images from docker.io, so the machine needs internet access.

### Which models can I use?

Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.

### Does an agent act without approval?

Approval gates you set. Off until you set them. You set allow, ask or block.

### What does Kortix cost?

Free is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project. The team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled.

### Is this site affiliated with Cline or the other tools on this page?

No. Cline and the other product names belong to their owners. We name them only to compare.

## Move from one editor agent to a system your team owns.

Start with one job and grow from there.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Compare the field](https://clinealternative.com/#compare)