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Cline supports accessing models directly through the official OpenAI API. Website: https://openai.com/

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Getting an API Key

  1. Sign Up/Sign In: Visit the OpenAI Platform. You’ll need to create an account or sign in if you already have one.
  2. Navigate to API Keys: Once logged in, go to the API keys section of your account.
  3. Create a Key: Click on “Create new secret key”. It’s good practice to give your key a descriptive name (e.g., “Cline API Key”).
  4. Copy the Key: Crucial: Copy the generated API key immediately. For security reasons, OpenAI will not show it to you again. Store this key in a safe and secure location.

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Supported Models

Cline is compatible with a variety of OpenAI models, including the latest frontier and reasoning models:

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GPT-5 Series

  • gpt-5.2 (Default) - Latest flagship model with reasoning support
  • gpt-5.2-codex - Codex variant using Responses API (400K context)
  • gpt-5.1 - Previous GPT-5 generation
  • gpt-5.1-2025-11-13 - Dated snapshot of GPT-5.1
  • gpt-5.1-codex - Codex variant using Responses API
  • gpt-5.1-chat-latest - Chat-optimized variant (400K context)
  • gpt-5-2025-08-07 - Original GPT-5 release
  • gpt-5-codex - GPT-5 Codex variant
  • gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07 - Compact, cost-effective GPT-5
  • gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 - Ultra-compact GPT-5 for budget use
  • gpt-5-chat-latest - Chat-optimized GPT-5

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Reasoning Models

  • o3 - Advanced reasoning with 200K context
  • o4-mini - Fast reasoning model
  • o3-mini - Compact reasoning model
  • o1 - Original reasoning model
  • o1-preview - Preview reasoning model
  • o1-mini - Compact original reasoning model

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GPT-4 Series

  • gpt-4.1 - 1M+ context window model
  • gpt-4.1-mini - Compact 1M context model
  • gpt-4.1-nano - Ultra-compact 1M context model
  • gpt-4o - Multimodal model with 128K context
  • gpt-4o-mini - Fast, affordable multimodal model
  • chatgpt-4o-latest - Latest ChatGPT-optimized variant
For the most current list of available models and their capabilities, please refer to the official OpenAI Models documentation.

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Configuration in Cline

  1. Open Cline Settings: Click the settings gear icon (⚙️) in the Cline panel.
  2. Select Provider: Choose “OpenAI” from the “API Provider” dropdown menu.
  3. Enter API Key: Paste your OpenAI API key into the “OpenAI API Key” field.
  4. Select Model: Choose your desired model from the “Model” dropdown list.
  5. (Optional) Base URL: If you need to use a proxy or a custom base URL for the OpenAI API, you can enter it here. Most users will not need to change this from the default.

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Tips and Notes

  • Pricing: Be sure to review the OpenAI Pricing page for detailed information on the costs associated with different models.
  • Azure OpenAI Service: If you are looking to use the Azure OpenAI service, please note that specific documentation for Azure OpenAI with Cline may be found separately, or you might need to configure it as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint if such functionality is supported by Cline for custom configurations.