Cline / Roo Code / Kilo Code

Cline (and its forks Roo Code, Kilo Code) is a powerful agentic coding extension for VS Code. It supports the Anthropic API natively.

Installation

Install from the VS Code Marketplace:

  1. Open VS Code → Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
  2. Search for "Cline" (or "Roo Code" / "Kilo Code") and install
  3. Click the Cline icon in the Activity Bar to open settings

Configuration

In the Cline settings panel, set the provider to Anthropic and enter your credentials:

Provider  : Anthropic
API Key   : sk-ar-YOUR_KEY_HERE
Base URL  : https://api.cheapai.cc

Environment Variables (Alternative)

Alternatively, set these in your shell or .env file. Cline will pick them up automatically:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ar-YOUR_KEY_HERE
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.cheapai.cc

Cline Variants

All three variants use the same configuration — the only difference is the extension name:

  • Cline — Original extension by Anthropic community. Most widely used.
  • Roo Code — Fork with extra custom modes and enhanced context management.
  • Kilo Code — Community fork focused on simplicity and speed.