Configuration

Cline CLI provides multiple ways to configure settings, from the interactive cline config command to environment variables for automation.

The Config Command

Launch the configuration interface:

cline config

This opens an interactive view with tabs for different configuration categories.

Configuration Tabs

Navigate between tabs using arrow keys.

Settings Tab

View and edit global and workspace-specific settings:

• Global State: Settings that apply across all workspaces
• Workspace State: Settings specific to the current directory

Rules Tab

Manage Cline rules that guide AI behavior:

• .clinerules files: Project-specific rules in your workspace
• Cursor rules: Import rules from Cursor editor format
• Windsurf rules: Import rules from Windsurf editor format

Rules help Cline understand your project's conventions, coding standards, and preferences.

Workflows Tab

View and manage workflows:

• List available workflows
• View workflow definitions
• Workflows appear as slash commands in interactive mode

Hooks Tab

Configure hooks for custom logic integration:

• Enable/disable hooks globally
• View configured hook scripts
• Hooks run at key points in Cline's workflow

Skills Tab

Manage skills that extend Cline's capabilities:

• View available skills
• Enable/disable specific skills
• Skills provide specialized instructions for specific tasks

Configuration Directory

Cline stores configuration in ~/.cline/data/:

~/.cline/
├── data/                    # Configuration directory
│   ├── globalState.json     # Global settings
│   ├── secrets.json         # API keys (encrypted)
│   ├── settings/            # Settings files
│   │   └── cline_mcp_settings.json  # MCP server configuration
│   ├── workspace/           # Workspace-specific state
│   └── tasks/               # Task history and data
└── log/                     # Log files

Viewing Logs

For debugging, view the log file:

cline dev log

This opens the log file in your default editor.

Environment Variables

CLINE_DIR

Override the default configuration directory:

export CLINE_DIR=/custom/path/to/cline
cline "your task"

When set, all Cline data is stored in this directory instead of ~/.cline/data/.

Use cases:

• Running multiple isolated Cline configurations
• Team-shared configurations
• CI/CD with custom state directories

CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS

Restrict which shell commands Cline can execute:

export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["npm *", "git *"], "deny": ["rm -rf *"]}'

Format:

{
  "allow": ["pattern1", "pattern2"],
  "deny": ["pattern3"],
  "allowRedirects": true
}

Fields:

Examples:

# Allow only npm and git commands
export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["npm *", "git *"]}'

# Allow dev commands but deny dangerous ones
export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["npm *", "git *", "node *"], "deny": ["rm -rf *", "sudo *"]}'

# Allow file operations with redirects
export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["cat *", "echo *"], "allowRedirects": true}'

Using --config Flag

Run Cline with a custom configuration directory:

cline --config /path/to/custom/config "your task"

This is useful for:

• Running isolated Cline instances
• Testing different configurations
• Separating work and personal setups

Example: Multiple configurations

# Work configuration
cline --config ~/.cline-work "review this PR"

# Personal projects
cline --config ~/.cline-personal "help me with this side project"

MCP Server Configuration

Cline CLI supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, giving you access to external tools and data sources directly from the terminal. The CLI uses the same MCP configuration format as the VS Code extension.

Setting Up MCP Servers

You can add MCP servers from the CLI:

# STDIO server
cline mcp add kanban -- kanban mcp

# Remote HTTP server
cline mcp add linear https://mcp.linear.app/mcp --type http

These commands update:

~/.cline/data/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json

You can still edit this file directly. It uses the same JSON format as the VS Code extension:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "your_api_key"
      },
      "alwaysAllow": ["tool1", "tool2"],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

For the full configuration reference including STDIO and SSE transport types, see Adding and Configuring MCP Servers.

Custom Config Directory

If you use the CLINE_DIR environment variable or --config flag, the MCP settings file will be located at <your-config-dir>/data/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json instead.

Configuration for Local Providers

Ollama

Configure context window size for Ollama:

# In settings or via config
cline config
# Navigate to Settings tab, find ollama-api-options-ctx-num

Or set via environment:

# Set context window to 32K tokens
cline -m ollama/llama3 "your task"

LM Studio

Configure max tokens for LM Studio:

cline config
# Navigate to Settings tab, find lm-studio-max-tokens

Importing Configuration

From VS Code Extension

If you use the Cline VS Code extension, the CLI automatically detects and can share some settings. However, the CLI maintains its own configuration for terminal-specific features.

From Other CLI Tools

See Installation & Setup for importing configurations from:

• Codex CLI
• OpenCode

Configuration Best Practices

For Development

Use the default configuration with workspace-specific rules:

# Add project-specific rules
echo "Use TypeScript strict mode" > .clinerules/typescript.md

For CI/CD

Use environment variables and --yolo mode:

export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["npm test", "npm run build"]}'
cline -y "run tests and fix any failures"

For Teams

Share configuration via version control:

# Commit .clinerules/ to your repo
git add .clinerules/
git commit -m "Add Cline rules for team"

Troubleshooting

Configuration Not Persisting

1. Check write permissions on ~/.cline/data/
2. Ensure CLINE_DIR isn't set to a read-only location
3. Verify the config directory exists

Environment Variables Not Working

1. Ensure variables are exported: export CLINE_DIR=/path
2. Check for typos in variable names
3. Verify JSON syntax for CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS

Reset Configuration

To start fresh, remove the configuration directory:

rm -rf ~/.cline/data/
cline auth  # Re-authenticate

Next Steps