How to use
Cline.

1. 01

   Start at https://cline.bot/ and confirm the domain before entering account or payment information.

2. 02

   Availability: Available as an editor extension and command-line tool, with model-provider configuration chosen by the user.

3. 03

   A supported editor or terminal environment, access to a compatible model provider or local model, and a repository with appropriate backups and permissions.

4. 04

   Sign in with the account you intend to keep using, then review plan, data, notification, and permission settings.

5. 05

   Run one low-risk test task before connecting sensitive files, repositories, or workspace data.

• Use official download pages.
• Review permissions during setup.
• Keep installers and applications updated.

1. 01

   Open a clean branch and give Cline a bounded task with expected behavior and relevant file references.

2. 02

   Use Plan mode to inspect the codebase and agree on the files, risks, tests, and implementation sequence.

3. 03

   Confirm Checkpoints are enabled, move to Act mode, and approve only the required edits and commands.

4. 04

   Review the final diff, test results, and git status before committing the change yourself.

• State the outcome before the background.
• Provide the real source material.
• Review the result before expanding the task.

1. 01

   Restate the intended behaviour and the acceptance criteria before reading a single generated line.

2. 02

   Read the diff rather than the chat summary; the summary describes intent, the diff describes what actually changed.

3. 03

   Run the test suite, then write a test that would fail if the change were wrong, and confirm it passes for the right reason.

4. 04

   Check the edges the model tends to skip: error paths, null and empty cases, concurrency, and migration or rollback behaviour.

5. 05

   Trace every new dependency, network call, and file write, and confirm each one is genuinely required.

• Review the diff, never the description of the diff.
• A passing test suite proves the tests pass, not that the change is correct.
• Keep changes small enough that a human can actually review them.

1. 01

   Decide what the tool may read and what it may write before connecting a repository.

2. 02

   Scope tokens and integrations to the narrowest repository, branch, and permission set that still works.

3. 03

   Keep secrets out of the context window: use environment variables and secret stores, never inline credentials.

4. 04

   Require review before generated code touches authentication, payments, permissions, migrations, or deletion paths.

5. 05

   Audit what the integration retained after the session, and revoke access that is no longer needed.

• Cline can edit files, execute commands, browse, and invoke MCP tools. Keep permissions narrow, protect credentials, review diffs, and reserve broad Auto Approve or YOLO mode for isolated disposable environments.
• Follow your organisation's approved-use policy.
• Never treat fluent output as authorization to act.

• Cline ↗
• Plan and Act mode ↗
• Checkpoints ↗
• Auto Approve and YOLO mode ↗

Working on something like this? See how we handle product engineering, or book a call.