Authorization

Cline connects to AI models through a provider. You have two paths:

Cline Provider (recommended): sign in with Google/GitHub/email, no API key setup.
Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): use your own provider credentials (cloud or local runtimes).

IDE Setup
CLI Setup

IDE Setup

<Steps> <Step title="Open Cline Settings"> Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the Cline panel. </Step> <Step title="Select Provider"> Choose your desired provider from the **API Provider** dropdown. </Step> <Step title="Authenticate"> - **Cline Provider:** Click **Sign In** and complete OAuth. - **BYOK cloud provider:** Paste your API key into the **API Key** field. - **Local runtime (Ollama/LM Studio):** no key needed; ensure runtime is running. </Step> <Step title="Select Model"> Choose your desired Claude model from the **Model** dropdown. </Step> </Steps>

Provider Options

Cline Provider

One sign-in, no key management
Built-in billing and free model options
Access to multiple providers from one account

Add credits in Cline settings or at app.cline.bot/dashboard.

BYOK (cloud + local)

Cloud Providers

Provider	Best For	Setup Guide
OpenRouter	Multiple models, competitive pricing	Setup
Anthropic	Direct Claude access	Setup
Claude Code	Claude Max/Pro subscription	Setup
OpenAI	GPT models	Setup
Google Gemini	Gemini models	Setup
AWS Bedrock	Enterprise	Setup
DeepSeek	Great value	Setup

Local Models

Run models on your own hardware for complete privacy and zero per-request costs.

Provider	Best For	Setup Guide
Ollama	CLI-based local runtime	Setup
LM Studio	GUI-based local runtime	Setup

Local models require sufficient hardware (especially GPU memory). See Running Models Locally for requirements.

CLI Setup

bash

# Authenticate from the terminal
cline auth

# Shorthand
cline a

Runs the same auth flow as IDE setup.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
"Unauthorized: Please sign in"	Session expired. Click Sign In to re-authenticate.
Browser doesn't open	Check default browser settings. Copy the URL from the Cline output panel manually.
Frequent re-authentication	Check org security policies. Ensure you're not clearing IDE secrets. Try a full sign-out/sign-in.
Can't access organization	Verify membership at app.cline.bot. Ask your admin about permissions. Sign out and back in.

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