# Cline Delegate

Delegate a coding task to the Cline coding agent CLI (`cline`) as a background...

- Repository: https://github.com/amElnagdy/delegate-skills (2546 stars)
- Category: AI and agents
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-29
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add amElnagdy/delegate-skills --skill cline-delegate -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add amElnagdy/delegate-skills --skill cline-delegate -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add amElnagdy/delegate-skills --skill cline-delegate -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add amElnagdy/delegate-skills --skill cline-delegate -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Delegate a coding task to the Cline coding agent CLI (`cline`) as a background implementer, then review its diff and land it yourself. Use this whenever the user wants to delegate implementation work to Cline - phrasings like "have Cline implement X", "delegate this to cline", "run it through Cline", or "use cline to implement/fix/refactor" - or wants to run a queue of coding tasks through Cline while staying the reviewer. DO NOT USE for tasks small enough to do inline, or when the user wants the code written directly without delegating.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Cline Delegate

You are the **orchestrator**. Delegate a bounded coding task to a separate **implementer** - the Cline
coding agent CLI - then review what it produced and land it yourself. You write the brief and own
the judgment; the implementer makes changes in its own session in a clean working tree; you verify
and commit.

The loop needs only a shell command and file access, so any comparable orchestrator can drive it.

## When NOT to use this

- The task is small enough to do inline; delegation overhead is not worth it.
- The `cline` CLI is not installed or authenticated.
- You require the relay to configure a sandbox. Cline exposes sandbox controls, but this relay
  leaves them to the CLI environment; use `--plan` when the run must be read-only.

## Prerequisites (check once)

1. Install `cline` (npm or bundled binary; the relay probes `cline --version`).
2. Authenticate: run `cline auth` (interactive sign-in), or configure
   `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` / an OpenAI-compatible base URL.
3. Confirm `cline --version` succeeds.
4. Work in, or point `--cd` at, the target git repository.

## Choose the model (optional)

Cline picks a default model. To choose another, pass the separate `--model <id>` or `--provider <name>`
(e.g. `anthropic`, `openai-native`, `openrouter`). The relay accepts letters, digits,
and `. _ : / -` only (the value reaches a shell on Windows).

## The loop

Run these five steps per task. Steps 1, 4, and 5 require judgment; 2 and 3 are mechanical.

### 1. Write a brief

Cline sees only the text you send. It cannot read your conversation: the brief must stand alone
with the goal, current state, what to change, what to leave untouched, the project's **real**
gates, and a report contract. Keep each brief to a single task. Write it to a file and pass it as
the relay's `--brief`. See [references/writing-the-brief.md](references/writing-the-brief.md).

### 2. Dispatch

The rest: https://github.com/amElnagdy/delegate-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/cline-delegate/SKILL.md