VS Code agent

Cline / Roo: connect a cheap AI API

Cline and its Roo fork take your own key for free and without caveats — the fastest way to get an agent into VS Code when you'd rather not pay for the editor.

Cline / Roo

VS Code coding agent

Same vision caveat as Kilo Code — images are not forwarded to custom providers.

Create an API key — Keys page → click Create key, name it (e.g. cline), copy the value.

Install Cline or Roo Code from the VS Code marketplace. Press ⌘⇧X (Windows/Linux Ctrl⇧X), search the extension name and click Install.

Open the extension panel (sidebar icon) → click the gear ⚙ in the panel header — Settings open.

In the API Provider dropdown select OpenAI Compatible.

Fill the three fields:

Base URL — behind a CDN

https://cheapai.io/v1

Base URL — no CDN

https://api.cheapai.io/v1

API Key

YOUR_API_KEY

Model

claude-sonnet-4-6

Cline only: click Verify in the settings — it will ping our endpoint and show a green check if the key works. Roo Code doesn't have this button — go straight to step 7 and verify by asking a question.

Save the settings → open the chat tab in the extension panel → ask a simple question (e.g. «list files here»). A streaming response within seconds means the integration works.

401 → wrong API key. 404 on model → wrong Model. For other errors check Logs.

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with a real key from the Keys section.

Cline / Roo — common questions

Do images work in Cline?

No, and that's Cline's own limitation: its forks don't forward images to custom OpenAI-compatible providers. Text and code work fully.

Get a key and plug it into Cline / Roo

Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok on one key · pay in ₽, USDT or by card · no VPN

Get API key

Guides for other tools

OpenCode Claude Code Codex Hermes Cursor Kilo Code Zed Continue