Cline is already in VS Code. What does Pane add?

Parallel, isolated work. Pane runs other agents, including the Cline CLI, each on its own worktree and branch, with status, a diff view and git actions, while you keep Cline in your editor.

Do I have to stop using Cline to use Pane?

No. Keep the extension where it is. Pane runs alongside it.

Can I run Cline and Claude Code on the same project at the same time?

Yes. Run Cline in your editor on your main checkout, or the Cline CLI in one pane, and Claude Code in another pane. Each pane has its own worktree, so they never edit the same files.

How does Cline's Plan/Act mode map to Pane sessions?

It doesn't need to. Plan and Act work inside Cline as usual. Pane works at the level around the agent: one pane per task, each with its own branch.

Does Pane replace VS Code?

No. Pane has no editor of its own. It runs agents in terminals and opens any pane's folder in your editor with one click.

Can I run multiple terminal agents in Pane while Cline handles VS Code?

Yes. That's the most common setup: Cline in the editor, and several terminal agents in panes, each on its own branch.

What are git worktrees and why do they matter here?

A worktree is a separate folder on its own branch that shares your repo's history. It lets agents in Pane work in parallel without touching the branch you have open in your editor.

Is Pane useful if I only use Cline and no other agents?

It can be, now that Cline has a CLI: run several Cline CLI sessions in parallel, each on its own worktree. If you only ever run one, your editor is enough.

Does Pane work on Windows?

Yes. Pane runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, and runs agents inside WSL for repos you keep there.

Do I need tmux or a terminal multiplexer to use Pane?

No. Pane has its own terminals and keeps sessions itself.

What should I install first?

Install Pane, add your repo, and create a pane. Then install the agents you want to run there, such as the Cline CLI with npm i -g cline, or Claude Code.

Agents · Cline

cline alongside terminal agents in one workspace

TL;DR

Cline started as a VS Code and JetBrains extension and now also ships a CLI and desktop apps. Keep the extension in your editor for interactive work, and run the Cline CLI, or other terminal agents like Claude Code and Aider, in Pane, each on its own branch in its own worktree. The worktrees keep those agents away from the branch you have open in your editor. If you only use Cline on one branch, your editor alone is enough.

Cline is one of the most popular coding agents, and most people meet it inside VS Code. Since it added a command-line version, it can also run in a terminal, which means it can run in a pane next to everything else.

What is Cline?

Cline is an open source coding agent that reads your project, makes coordinated changes across files, runs commands and watches their output, and works with many model providers. It's Apache-2.0 licensed and has about 70,000 GitHub stars.

It now comes in several forms: the VS Code and JetBrains extensions, a CLI you install with npm, desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and an SDK. The CLI can also run teams of agents and scheduled tasks.

Quickstart

Install Cline, create a pane, open a terminal, type cline.

1Install Cline
Cline CLI (needs Node.js)
```
npm i -g cline
```
Run a task straight away
```
cline "Run tests and fix any failures"
```
2Create a pane
Press Ctrl+N (⌘N on a Mac), pick the repo and branch, and create it. Pane makes a worktree for the pane.
3Start Cline
Open a terminal in the pane with Ctrl+Alt+1 (⌘⌥1 on a Mac), or pick Terminal from the Ctrl+T menu, and type cline. To launch it with one keystroke next time, save it as a custom command; your first four custom commands get shortcuts.

Pane's Create Pane dialog with repository, base branch, pane name and the Use worktree toggle — Creating a pane for a new taskThe same dialog works for every agent. Cline runs in the terminal of the pane it creates.
1.Repository and base branch: Pick the repo and the branch Cline should start from.
2.Pane name: Becomes the new branch name. Name it after the task.
3.Use worktree: On by default, so this Cline session gets its own folder and branch.
4.Create: Opens the pane in its new worktree. Open a terminal there and type cline.
Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, repo inside WSL2

What works with Cline in Pane

Everything Pane does around the terminal works. Agent-specific extras are for its three built-in agents.

✓Cline CLI in a Pane terminalThe CLI runs in a pane like any other terminal agent, on the pane's own worktree.

✓Cline in VS Code at the same timeKeep the extension on your main checkout; agents in Pane work in separate worktrees, so they don't collide.

✓Open a pane's worktree in your editor"Open in IDE" opens the pane's folder, so you can review an agent's work with Cline beside you.

✓Its own worktree and branchEach pane is a separate git worktree, so several sessions never touch each other's files.

✓Diff view and git actionsSee what changed, commit, push, rebase and open a pull request from the pane.

✓Ports and env per paneEach pane gets its own port block in PANE_PORT, and .env files are copied into new worktrees.

~Status in the sidebarPane shows terminal activity. Detailed working, waiting and done states are tuned for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor.

~Resume after restartLayout and terminal output come back. Add a custom resume template if the agent can resume a conversation by ID.

✕Usage and cost trackingPane tracks usage for Claude Code and Codex only.

Cline and terminal agents together

Interactive work in the editor, parallel work in panes.

A practical split: use Cline in VS Code for the change you're actively shaping, and send other tasks to agents in Pane, each on its own branch. When one finishes, open its worktree in your editor and review it with Cline's help, or straight from Pane's diff view.

When Cline alone is enough

If you only use Cline, on one branch at a time, your editor covers it. Pane helps once you want several tasks running at once, or Cline next to Claude Code, Codex or Aider, with each one isolated.

Sources

What we ran

→ Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11 and WSL2; Cline details checked against its own repo and docs in October 2026

Corrections

If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it and update the date at the top. Open an issue on GitHub

Sources

→ Cline on GitHub
→ cline.bot

frequently asked questions

Download*

Windows SmartScreen warningDirect downloads can show a SmartScreen warning while Pane is unsigned. Pane is fully open source, so you can audit the code and build from source yourself.1. Click More info2. Click Run anyway3. Continue the installerThe PowerShell install downloads the official release directly and avoids most browser download friction.npm global install

Paste that in PowerShell.Linux

By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. Last reviewed October 2026.