Cline vs VS Code for MCP servers
Cline and VS Code differ in 5 of 10 facts: publisher, kind, runs on, licence, server config.
| Fact | Cline | VS Code |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Cline Bot Inc. | Microsoft |
| Kind | Editor extension, Terminal, Desktop app | Code editor, Web app |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux, Web |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Connects to | Local (stdio), Remote (HTTP), Remote (SSE) | Local (stdio), Remote (HTTP), Remote (SSE) |
| Headers for remote servers | Yes | Yes |
| Server config | cline_mcp_settings.json (MCP Servers › Configure › Configure MCP Servers) | .vscode/mcp.json |
| Servers that work in it | 123,064 | 123,064 |
| What we checked | Matches the official docs | Matches the official docs |
| Add a server | In Cline | In VS Code |
From each client's own documentation and site, as linked on its page. The server counts are today's install configs that work in each.