# Cline

Cline treats The Grid as an ordinary OpenAI-compatible provider. No plugin, no proxy. Three fields in the settings panel and the agent runs on market-priced inference.

## Prerequisites

* Cline installed in VS Code from the [VS Code Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=saoudrizwan.claude-dev). Cursor users can install the same extension from Cursor's extension panel.
* A Grid account at [app.thegrid.ai](https://app.thegrid.ai).
* Credits in your account. The Grid is prepaid; zero credits returns 402.
* A Grid consumption API key from **Settings → API Keys → Create Consumption Key**. Trading keys are rejected by the inference API.

## Setup

### 1. Open the Cline settings panel

In VS Code or Cursor, click the gear icon in the Cline sidebar. Under **API Configuration**, open the **API Provider** dropdown and select **OpenAI Compatible**.

### 2. Fill in the three fields

| Field                     | Value                                  |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Base URL                  | `https://api.thegrid.ai/v1`            |
| OpenAI Compatible API Key | your Grid consumption key              |
| Model ID                  | an instrument name, e.g. `agent-prime` |

The Model ID field is free text. Type the instrument name exactly as published in the [current instruments list](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md). A typo surfaces as 404 on the first message.

### 3. Pick an instrument for your workload

Cline runs an agent loop (file reads, edits, terminal, MCP tools), which rewards Agent and Code instruments. Start with `agent-prime` for general work, `code-prime` if you mostly write code, and reach for the Max tier on Plan mode or genuinely hard tasks. Full tier guidance lives in the [current instruments list](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md).

### 4. (Optional) Split Plan and Act

Enable **Use different models for Plan and Act modes** in Cline settings to route Plan mode to a stronger instrument. A common pattern: `agent-max` for Plan, `agent-prime` for Act.

### 5. (Optional) Tune reasoning effort

If the **Reasoning Effort** selector appears for your chosen instrument, `medium` is a good default for agent loops. Raise to `high` for hard reasoning, drop to `low` for cheap high-volume execution.

## Verification

Open a new Cline task and ask it to do something concrete: "Create a health check endpoint in Express at `/health` and add a test." If Cline reads the workspace, writes the file, and finishes without 401 or 402, the integration is live.

## Troubleshooting

{% hint style="warning" %}
**401 Unauthorized.** You're using a Grid trading key, not a consumption key. Create a consumption key in your Grid dashboard and paste it again. Whitespace at the end of a pasted key also causes 401.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**402 Payment Required.** Your credits are at zero. Top up at [app.thegrid.ai](https://app.thegrid.ai). Auto Top Up should prevent this in normal use; check that your payment method is valid.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**404 model\_not\_found.** You typed the Model ID incorrectly. The field is free text and Cline does not validate. See the [current instruments list](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md) for valid IDs.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Plan/Act settings drifting between modes.** Older Cline versions had a sync bug on the OpenAI Compatible provider. Update Cline to the latest Marketplace release.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Cost tracker shows $0.** Expected. The Grid uses market-based pricing that varies per fill, and Cline's cost tracker reads only the static price fields in **Model Configuration**. Track real spend in your Grid dashboard.
{% endhint %}


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```
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```

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