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

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The Config Command

Launch the configuration interface: 
cline config
This opens an interactive view with tabs for different configuration categories.

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Configuration Tabs

Navigate between tabs using arrow keys.

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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

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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.

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Workflows Tab

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

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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
Hooks must be enabled via settings. Use cline config to toggle hooks-enabled.

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Skills Tab

Manage skills that extend Cline’s capabilities:
  • View available skills
  • Enable/disable specific skills
  • Skills provide specialized instructions for specific tasks

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Configuration Directory

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

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Viewing Logs

For debugging, view the log file: 
cline dev log
This opens the log file in your default editor.

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Environment Variables

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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

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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:
FieldTypeDescription
allowstring[]Glob patterns for allowed commands. If set, only matching commands are permitted.
denystring[]Glob patterns for denied commands. Deny rules take precedence over allow.
allowRedirectsbooleanWhether to allow shell redirects (>, >>, <). Default: false
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}'
When allow is set, all commands not matching the allow patterns are denied. Use this for security-sensitive environments.

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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"

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Configuration for Local Providers

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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"

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LM Studio

Configure max tokens for LM Studio: 
cline config
# Navigate to Settings tab, find lm-studio-max-tokens

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Importing Configuration

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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.

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From Other CLI Tools

See Installation & Setup for importing configurations from:
  • Codex CLI
  • OpenCode

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Configuration Best Practices

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For Development

Use the default configuration with workspace-specific rules: 
# Add project-specific rules
echo "Use TypeScript strict mode" > .clinerules/typescript.md

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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"

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For Teams

Share configuration via version control: 
# Commit .clinerules/ to your repo
git add .clinerules/
git commit -m "Add Cline rules for team"

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Troubleshooting

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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

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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

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Reset Configuration

To start fresh, remove the configuration directory: 
rm -rf ~/.cline/data/
cline auth  # Re-authenticate

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Next Steps

CLI Workflows

Learn about interactive mode, direct execution, and automation patterns.

CLI Reference

Complete command documentation with all flags and options.