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VS Code + Cline with the ORC Gateway

Cline is an autonomous coding agent for VS Code. It plans a task, then reads files, edits code, and runs terminal commands one step at a time, asking for your approval along the way. Cline has a built-in LiteLLM provider, which is exactly what the ORC gateway runs.

Time needed: about 5 minutes. Prerequisites: VS Code installed locally, and an ORC LLM key that passes the key test.

Step 1 · Install the extension

Open the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+X on macOS), search for Cline, and install it.

Step 2 · Choose LiteLLM as the API provider

Open Cline from the activity bar, click the settings (gear) icon, and set API Provider to LiteLLM.

Step 3 · Enter the gateway details

Field Enter
Base URL http://129.174.189.202
API Key Your ORC virtual key
Model ID qwen-3.8-27B

Click Done or Save.

Step 4 · Test in Plan mode first

Cline has two modes:

  • Plan mode: Cline reads and discusses, but doesn't change anything.
  • Act mode: Cline edits files and runs commands.

Start a new task in Plan mode with something harmless, such as "Summarize what this project does." Once replies look right, switch to Act mode for real work.

Keep auto-approve off

Cline can be set to auto-approve file edits and commands. Leave it off. Review each proposed change and command before approving it, especially on Hopper, where a command runs with your permissions on shared storage. See Responsible Use of LLMs.

Using Cline on a Hopper node

If you are connected to a compute node with Remote-SSH, Cline runs inside that remote session: its file edits and terminal commands happen on the node. Load the modules your project needs in VS Code's integrated terminal first; Cline's commands don't inherit modules loaded in a different terminal.

Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
"Model not found" Copy the exact name from the key test.
401 / authentication error Re-enter the key in Cline's settings; check for stray spaces.
Cline stops mid-task or ignores tool results Long tasks can fill the model's context. Start a new task with a narrower request, or point Cline at specific files.
Timeouts Connect to the Mason VPN if you are off campus.

See Also