Which is better: Claude Dev (Cline) or ACP Client?

There's no single 'better' — they target different points in the VS Code Extensions space. Pick by your install constraints (license, MCP-native vs generic, hosting model) and the tag overlap above.

Can I use both Claude Dev (Cline) and ACP Client?

Usually yes. Both are vs code extensions — they're not mutually exclusive in most stacks. Many teams run both during evaluation and standardize on one after a sprint.

Where do the recommendations come from?

ClaudSkills Arcade is an open community catalog. Discovery is mined from 7 public sources daily. Ranking is content-derived — no paid placements.

Claude Dev (Cline) vs ACP Client — VS Code Extensions compared on ClaudSkills Arcade

Claude Dev (Cline)

Marketplace listing of the Cline agent — autonomous coding in VS Code with MCP.

License: Apache-2.0
Install: vscode ext
Website: https://cline.bot
GitHub: https://github.com/cline/cline

View Claude Dev (Cline) →

code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev

ACP Client

Agent Client Protocol client for VS Code — connect to GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Kiro CLI, Hermes Agent, and any ACP-compatible AI coding agent

License: proprietary
Install: vscode ext
Website: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=formulahendry.acp-client
GitHub: —

View ACP Client →

code --install-extension formulahendry.acp-client

Shared tags

none

Only in Claude Dev (Cline)

agent ai-coding mcp open-source vscode

Only in ACP Client

none

When to reach for which

Claude Dev (Cline) — Marketplace listing of the Cline agent — autonomous coding in VS Code with MCP.

ACP Client — Agent Client Protocol client for VS Code — connect to GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Kiro CLI, Hermes Agent, and any ACP-compatible AI coding agent

Both sit in the VS Code Extensions category — they're substitutes, not complements. Pick by your install constraint (MCP-native, license, hosting model) and which tag overlap matters most to your stack.

More VS Code Extensions comparisons

See all comparisons →

Claude Dev (Cline)vsACP Client