Cline configuration lives in two scopes:
- Global configuration in
~/.cline/ (applies globally across all Cline applications, including IDE, CLI, and SDK)
- Project configuration in
.cline/ (applies only to the current workspace)
Configuration Directory Layout
Cline stores shared configuration across a few well-known locations. The primary root is ~/.cline/, with structured app state under ~/.cline/data/:
~/.cline/
data/
settings/
providers.json # API keys and provider configuration
global-settings.json # Global settings
cline_mcp_settings.json # MCP settings
teams/ # Team state
sessions/ # Session data
db/ # SQLite databases (for example cron.db)
workflows/ # Global workflows
rules/ # Global rules
hooks/ # Global hooks
skills/ # Global skills
agents/ # Global agent definitions
plugins/ # Global plugins (.js, .ts)
cron/ # Global cron specs
~/Documents/Cline/
Rules/ # Additional global rules
Hooks/ # Additional global hooks
Plugins/ # Additional global plugins
Workflows/ # Additional global workflows
.cline/ at your repository root:
.cline/
rules/ # Project rules
skills/ # Project skills
hooks/ # Lifecycle hooks
agents/ # Project agent definitions
plugins/ # Project plugins
cron/ # Workspace cron specs
- Global provider settings, global settings, and MCP settings are stored under
~/.cline/data/settings/.
- Global workflows resolve from
~/.cline/data/workflows/.
- Global rules, hooks, skills, agents, plugins, and cron specs resolve directly under
~/.cline/.
- Rules, hooks, plugins, and workflows may also be discovered from
~/Documents/Cline/ for compatibility.
What Goes Where?
- Use global (
~/.cline/) for defaults shared across all Cline applications (IDE, CLI, SDK) on your machine.
- Use project (
.cline/) for team-shared behavior that should travel with the repo.
Commit .cline/ files you want to share with your team. Keep secrets out of the repo.
Use the interactive config UI:
From there, you can view/edit:
- Settings (global + workspace)
- Rules
- Skills
- Hooks
Useful Configuration Commands
Use a custom configuration directory:
cline --config /path/to/custom/config "your task"
export CLINE_DATA_DIR=/custom/path/to/cline
cline "your task"
Environment Variables
| Variable | Description |
|---|
CLINE_DATA_DIR | Custom data directory (replaces ~/.cline/data/) |
CLINE_HUB_ADDRESS | Override hub address (default: 127.0.0.1:25463) |
CLINE_SESSION_BACKEND_MODE | Force backend mode (local, hub, remote, auto) |
CLINE_SANDBOX | Enable sandbox mode |
CLINE_SANDBOX_DATA_DIR | Sandbox session storage directory |
CLINE_HOOKS_DIR | Additional hooks directory |
CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS | JSON policy restricting shell commands |
CLINE_DATA_DIR
export CLINE_DATA_DIR=/custom/path/to/cline
cline "your task"
CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS
Restrict which shell commands Cline can execute:
export CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS='{"allow": ["npm *", "git *"], "deny": ["rm -rf *"]}'
{
"allow": ["pattern1", "pattern2"],
"deny": ["pattern3"],
"allowRedirects": true
}
deny overrides allow- If
allow is set, commands not matching allow are denied
allowRedirects controls shell redirects (>, >>, <), default false
Security Notes
Only use rules, hooks, skills, and plugins from sources you trust.
