Cline vs Gemini CLI
An independent, evidence-based trust comparison of Cline and Gemini CLI, two Coding Agents projects in the HVTracker registry. Scores come from public, checkable signals — supply-chain provenance, OSSF Scorecard, maintenance, and adoption — not popularity.
Cline leads on trust — 90.9/100 (Grade A) vs 76.7/100 (Grade B), a 14.2-point gap. Full breakdown below.
| Signal | Clinecline/cline | Gemini CLIgoogle-gemini/gemini-cli |
|---|---|---|
| HVTrust score | 90.9 | 76.7 |
| Evidence grade | A | B |
| Coverage grade | A | A |
| Overall rank | #10 | #79 |
| Rank in Coding Agents | #3 | #9 |
| GitHub stars | 66.0k | 106.5k |
| Last updated | today | today |
| Build provenance | Yes | No |
| OSSF Scorecard | 5.8 / 10 | 4.7 / 10 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Downloads | 4.4M/wk | 595k/wk |
| Trust dimensions (points earned) | ||
| Safety / integrity / 25 | 18.9 | 10.9 |
| Identity & provenance / 18 | 18.0 | 10.8 |
| Transparency / 17 | 13.4 | 12.5 |
| Maintenance / 20 | 20.0 | 19.2 |
| Adoption / 20 | 20.0 | 19.8 |
| Runtime capability surface (full matrix) | ||
| MCP server | Declared | Implemented |
| External providers | — | 1 — Google Gemini |
| Requires API keys | Yes | Yes |
| Plugin surface | plugins | extensions |
| Provenance drift | Match | Match |
How to read this: HVTrust (0–100) weighs supply-chain signals (provenance, OSSF Scorecard, signed commits, open license) alongside real-world adoption, scaled by an evidence-confidence factor. Grade bands: A ≥ 80, B ≥ 65, C ≥ 50, D < 50. Signals refresh daily. Full methodology v4.3 →