Cline’s GitHub release for v4.1.25, published on 16 October 2026, introduces Cline Cloud sessions: a way to run a coding-agent task in a hosted sandbox on a GitHub repository and branch you choose, with the work able to keep running after you close your editor.
The feature is a gradual rollout, not a claim that every user sees it on day one. The release notes say to turn it on in Settings. Cloud tasks then appear in Recent and History with their status, notify you when they finish, and continue after the local IDE session ends.
What a Cloud session is
In Cline’s own wording, a Cloud session lets you “run a task in a hosted sandbox on a GitHub repo and branch you pick.” That framing matters for anyone comparing local agent loops (where the model drives tools inside your VS Code or JetBrains window) with remote agent runners that detach from the laptop.
Practical implications of the release text:
- You pick the repo and branch — the sandbox is tied to GitHub context you choose, not an anonymous scratch pad described in the notes.
- Status shows in Recent and History, with a notification when the task finishes.
- The task is designed to outlive closing the editor — the hosted side keeps going when the local UI is gone.
Cline does not, in this release note, publish sandbox isolation details (hypervisor versus container, network egress policy, or credential handling). For readers tracking agent sandboxes more broadly, TSN’s companion draft on Perplexity’s open-sourced SPACE stack covers a different product’s Firecracker-based approach: Perplexity Open-Sources SPACE, Its Sandbox Platform for Agentic Code Execution (file 902; planned slug — may not be live yet when this posts).
Default model change: Gemini 4 Argon on the Cline provider
Alongside Cloud sessions, v4.1.25 changes what happens when no model is chosen on the Cline provider: that provider now defaults to Gemini 4 Argon, described as “the new first model in Cline’s recommended list.” OpenRouter stays on Claude Sonnet 5.5.
The notes are explicit that default models change only if you have not pinned a model. If you already selected a specific model for a provider, this release should not silently overwrite that pin — but if you rely on provider defaults, expect a different model after upgrade.
Model catalogue refresh
The same release refreshes Cline’s model catalogue. Highlights from the changelog:
- Adds Boundless and Standard Compute providers
- SambaNova now comes from the catalogue, with MiniMax M3 as its default
- Cline’s recommended list adds Gemini 4 Argon and drops Grok 4.7
- Cline’s free list replaces Step 5 Preview with Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
- OpenCode Go no longer lists MiniMax M2.7
A long list of other providers also get new defaults when nothing is pinned — among them Cortecs, CrossModel, Eden AI, Google Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Google Vertex AI, LLM Gateway, Ofox, OpenCode Go and Prime Inference (Gemini 4 Argon); Fireworks AI, Nebius Token Factory and Requesty (Muse Spark Open); CoreWeave, DigitalOcean, NanoGPT and Nvidia (Nemotron 3.5 Super VL); Aixy and Neon (Claude Haiku 5.5); plus Agnes AI, Ambient, IteraCompute, Poe, Scaleway and SenseNova. The release warns: “If you use one of those providers without pinning a model, expect a different default.”
Fixes that matter for long local runs
Cloud sessions are the headline, but v4.1.25 also ships reliability fixes that local users will notice:
- Long requests to LM Studio or Ollama no longer fail after five minutes of silence with
terminated: BodyTimeoutErrorwhile the server is still processing a large prompt - OpenAI Compatible base URLs are used exactly as entered (host-only URLs no longer get
/v1appended silently; older saved host-only URLs get/v1once so existing setups keep working) - Images and files attached when answering one of Cline’s questions now reach the model instead of being dropped
- Mid-stream provider errors trigger up to three retries before the turn fails
- JetBrains UI: the Run task card stays above the Auto-approve bar; Auto Compact settings sit together again in Feature settings
A .vsix asset cline-4.1.25.vsix (about 9.1 MB) is attached to the GitHub release for VS Code-style installs.
Why it matters
Coding agents are splitting into two deployment shapes: in-editor loops that need your machine awake, and hosted runs that treat the IDE as a control panel. Cline Cloud sessions are Cline’s first-party answer to the second shape, gated behind Settings and a gradual rollout. Pair that with a default shift to Gemini 4 Argon on the Cline provider and a free-tier swap to Nemotron 3.5 Super VL, and the release is as much about which models Cline steers users toward as about the sandbox itself.
For open-source agent tooling context, see TSN’s earlier piece on open-source weights, serving and agents.
What’s still unknown
- Which account tiers or regions receive Cloud sessions first in the gradual rollout
- Sandbox isolation, network and secret-handling details beyond “hosted sandbox”
- Pricing or minute caps for Cloud tasks, if any — not stated in the release notes
What to watch
Watch Cline’s Settings UI and subsequent patch notes for “Cloud sessions generally available” language, and watch whether GitHub App or OAuth scopes for repo/branch selection are documented separately from the changelog.
What this means
- Cloud sessions: hosted sandbox on a GitHub repo/branch you pick; can outlive closing the editor; gradual Settings rollout.
- Cline provider default: Gemini 4 Argon when no model is chosen; OpenRouter remains Claude Sonnet 5.5.
- Catalogue churn: Boundless, Standard Compute, SambaNova/MiniMax M3, free list → Nemotron 3.5 Super VL — only for unpinned defaults.
Sources
Related stories
- Perplexity Open-Sources SPACE, Its Sandbox Platform for Agentic Code Execution
- Open source in months, not years: weights, serving and agents
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