Cline Agent setup

Cline is a software-development coding agent that can inspect and modify projects, run terminal commands, and complete multi-step tasks. It officially ships as VS Code and JetBrains extensions plus a standalone CLI. There is no separate Cline Desktop app.

Create a Lumoswitch API configuration with OpenAI-compatible output first. Cline depends heavily on tool calls, so a model that only supports chat is not sufficient.

Choose a setup method

Prepare the connection values

Persistent CLI use

Start the official authentication wizard in a dedicated data directory:

mkdir -p "$HOME/.cline/lumoswitch"
cline --data-dir "$HOME/.cline/lumoswitch" auth

Select OpenAI Compatible, then enter the Base URL, API Key, and Model ID. The isolated directory keeps the Lumoswitch provider separate from ordinary Cline CLI settings.

After authentication, install a short launch command:

set -e
LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER="$HOME/.local/bin/lumoswitch-cline"
mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER")"
umask 077
if [ -f "$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER" ]; then
  LUMOSWITCH_BACKUP="$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)-$$"
  cp "$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER" "$LUMOSWITCH_BACKUP"
  chmod 600 "$LUMOSWITCH_BACKUP"
fi
cat > "$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER" <<'LUMOSWITCH_EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e
exec cline --data-dir "$HOME/.cline/lumoswitch" "$@"
LUMOSWITCH_EOF
chmod 700 "$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER"
"$LUMOSWITCH_LAUNCHER"

For everyday use, run:

~/.local/bin/lumoswitch-cline

One-time launch after setup

Once the Lumoswitch Base URL is saved in the isolated profile, override the Key and model for one process:

cline \
  --data-dir "$HOME/.cline/lumoswitch" \
  --key "{{access_key}}" \
  --model "{{model}}"

The overrides expire on exit. --key can appear in shell history and briefly in process arguments, so use it only on a trusted personal machine. It does not replace the first saved Base URL and is therefore not a complete clean-machine one-time setup.

Remove the CLI setup

The following command removes only the provider settings in this guide's isolated directory and the dedicated launcher. It does not remove Cline's session database, project rules, or default ~/.cline settings:

rm -f "$HOME/.cline/lumoswitch/data/settings/providers.json"
rm -f "$HOME/.local/bin/lumoswitch-cline"
if [ -d "$HOME/.local/bin" ]; then
  find "$HOME/.local/bin" -maxdepth 1 -type f \
    -name 'lumoswitch-cline.backup.*' -delete
fi

The command deliberately keeps the rest of ~/.cline/lumoswitch because it may contain session history created while using Lumoswitch.

VS Code and JetBrains

In the Cline settings panel:

1. Select OpenAI Compatible as API Provider.
2. Enter {{api_base_url}} as Base URL.
3. Enter {{access_key}} as API Key.
4. Enter {{model}} as Model ID.
5. Use Verify to test the connection.

IDE extensions support persistent setup only. They are started by the editor and do not read the isolated CLI directory above. Credentials are stored in VS Code Secrets or JetBrains Credential Store rather than a plain configuration file.

To remove the IDE setup, switch to another provider in the same Cline settings panel and clear the Lumoswitch Base URL, Model ID, and API Key from OpenAI Compatible. There is no terminal removal command because each editor owns encrypted SecretStorage. Deleting a Cline product directory would neither reliably clear the keychain nor preserve sessions and other providers.

Verify and troubleshoot

• For 404, check for a duplicated /v1 or an upstream model ID used by mistake.
• Test normal chat before file reads, patches, and terminal tools.
• Use cline config to inspect CLI configuration and cline doctor for environment diagnostics.

References: Cline OpenAI Compatible, CLI Reference, and authorization and model selection. Last verified: 2026-08-03.