Mikie vs Cline: open source.
Cline made agent runs transparent. Mikie makes them accountable — ranked context in, measurement row out.
What Cline is
Cline is an open-source agent extension for VS Code. You bring your own API key, watch every step, and approve every edit. It reads files as it works — which is transparent, but not ranked, and the token meter only tells you what you spent, not what you wasted.
Positioning comparison — we have no measured head-to-head rows for Cline's read-as-you-go flow, so no invented numbers.
The honest read
Cline's openness is the right instinct and it's a supported Mikie client, not a target. What Cline can't tell you is which of those file reads were wasted — that's the gap the ledger fills.
Verdict
Keep Cline, add Mikie over MCP: fewer exploratory reads before the first edit, and a receipt for every turn.
Measure it on your own repo.
Every claim above traces to a measurement row or is labeled as positioning. That’s the product.