Install Extension in VS Code

Install the official Cline package from the VS Code Marketplace. It requires no subscription and works out of the box with any API or local LLM.

Open the agent quickly via Cmd+Shift+P (Ctrl+Shift+P) -> 'Cline: Focus on Chat View'.

Deploy Local Ollama Runtime

Spin up Ollama for private, local model inference without transmitting proprietary code to external APIs.

Ollama automatically utilizes Metal on Apple Silicon and CUDA on NVIDIA GPUs for high-speed token generation.

Pull Qwen 2.5 Coder Weights

Download Qwen 2.5 Coder, the leading open weights model for code generation and refactoring with a 32k context window.

Choose 32b for 32GB+ RAM systems or 7b/14b for 16GB laptops.

Configure Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Configure the GitHub MCP server in `cline_mcp_settings.json`. MCP provides standard tool interfaces.

This empowers the agent to inspect issues, review pull requests, create branches, and push commits.

Real-World Execution Scenario: End-to-End Workflow

Here is how Cline operates during a concrete production task.

Prompt provided in Cline: 'In websocket_client.py, unclosed file descriptors accumulate during network drops. Locate the leak, encapsulate cleanup in a context manager, write a pytest test asserting open descriptors, run the tests, and open a PR.'

1. Context analysis: Cline scans the repository tree with ripgrep, builds an AST dependency graph, and pinpoint the missing socket close() call in the error loop.

2. TDD refactoring: Cline creates tests/test_leak.py, executes 'pytest tests/test_leak.py', and verifies failure (Red).

3. Autonomous fix: Cline modifies the source file with a minimal diff, re-runs pytest, and confirms passes (Green).

4. Pull Request delivery: Via GitHub MCP, Cline creates branch fix/ws-leak, writes a conventional commit message, and submits the PR referencing the issue.

Security & Human-in-the-Loop Safeguards

Unlike cloud coding tools, the Cline + Ollama setup remains 100% air-gapped on your local workstation.

Destructive actions (rm, git reset --hard, drop database) strictly require human approval before execution, keeping you in complete command.