Migrate from Cursor to Xantly + Cline

Cursor's BYOK is chat-only, Agent, Edit, and Tab all blocked by proprietary models. Escape to Cline + Xantly for full-stack BYOK everywhere in 10 minutes.

Cursor's "Bring Your Own Key" setting gets a lot of airtime, but it quietly stops at the chat panel. Agent mode? Edit with AI? Cursor Tab? All blocked. The error message is direct: "Agent and Edit rely on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key." The proprietary fine-tunes powering those features are off-limits to BYOK users.

There's also a long-standing bug where overriding the OpenAI base URL breaks Cursor's internal model routing until you toggle the override off and on again. It's a known issue with no fix timeline.

Fix: use Cursor for chat only (if you must), and move serious work to Cline + Xantly in VS Code. Same editor vibe, full BYOK everywhere, no subscription on top.

What you give up (vs Cursor Pro 0/mo)

Cursor Tab inline ghost-text completions. Move this to Ollama (local, free) via Cline's companion or keep a Cursor Hobby tier open for just this.
Cursor Composer multi-file edits. Cline does this better: its plan/act split with tool calls is arguably more powerful than Composer.
Cursor's rules file system. Cline has .clinerules with the same shape.

What you get

Full BYOK, every feature. No chat-only asterisks.
Smart routing via BaRP. Every call picks the cost-optimal model within your chosen tier.
Semantic cache. Cline's agent mode re-reads similar code constantly; L2 cache saves 30-50% on repeat queries.
Memory. L3 graph memory survives across sessions, Cline remembers your project.
Waterfall fallback. Mid-session provider outages don't kill an agent run.
Per-request cost visibility. Every call tracked in Xantly dashboard.
No subscription. Pay for tokens; that's it.

The 10-minute migration

Step 1, Install VS Code + Cline (2 min)

If you have VS Code already, skip to Cline:

Install VS Code from code.visualstudio.com
Open the Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+X on Win/Linux)
Search "Cline", install the saoudrizwan.claude-dev extension

Step 2, Get a Xantly API key (1 min)

Dashboard → API Keys → Create. Copy the xantly_sk_....

Step 3, Configure Cline (2 min)

Open Cline's settings (gear icon in the Cline panel):

Field	Value
API Provider	OpenAI Compatible
Base URL	`https://api.xantly.com/v1`
API Key	`xantly_sk_...`
Model ID	`xantly/auto-quality`

Save.

Step 4, Port your Cursor rules (3 min)

Cursor's .cursor/rules/*.md → Cline's .clinerules in the project root. Rename the file, copy the content. Syntax is identical.

Step 5, Test-drive (2 min)

Open a project. In the Cline panel:

Read package.json and explain what this project does. Then look at src/ and list the main entry points.

Cline should fire tool calls, stream back an answer, propose edits if you ask for them. Check your Xantly dashboard, calls log with cost + model + cache status.

Cursor feature → Cline equivalent

Cursor	Cline
Chat panel	Cline panel (left sidebar)
Composer	Plan/Act mode (toggle in Cline)
Cmd+K inline edit	Cline's "edit this" context menu
Cursor Tab	Not built-in, use local Ollama + Continue.dev autocomplete role
Rules	`.clinerules`
@Codebase	Cline's file context + `@mention`
Cursor Bug Finder	Ask Cline: "review this file for bugs"
Cursor docs indexing	Cline reads whatever files you point at via `@mention`

Cost comparison

Cursor Pro:

0/month flat
Proprietary agent model (can't BYOK)
Fixed "fast request" quota (500/mo on Pro)

Cline + Xantly:

$0 subscription
Pay per token at Xantly rates with BaRP cost savings
Typical heavy user: $4-8/month (with semantic cache cutting another 30%)
No request quota, you spend what you spend

FAQ

Does Cline's agent mode work as well as Cursor Composer? Many users say it's better. Cline's plan-then-act split gives you more control. Composer is faster UX but more opaque; Cline shows its work.

Can I keep using Cursor for Tab completion only? Yes. Cursor Hobby (free) gives you Cursor Tab. Use Cursor Hobby for Tab, Cline + Xantly for everything else. No BYOK needed on the Cursor side.

What about Cursor's codebase indexing? Cline doesn't pre-index; it reads files on demand via tool calls. This is actually cheaper + more accurate in practice (no stale index). Xantly's L3 graph memory fills the gap for cross-session project knowledge.

Is Cline open source? Yes, Apache 2.0. No lock-in.

What about the Cursor base URL bug? That's on the Cursor side. Cline has no equivalent issue, base URL override works flawlessly.

Next steps

Cline, full Cline config walkthrough.
Roo Code, Cline fork with per-mode models. Try it if Cline's single-mode feels limiting.
Kilo Code, another fork, #1 on OpenRouter by token volume.
Continue.dev, if you want to keep Cursor's Tab and add Cline for agent mode, Continue's role-split config is the hybrid play.
Bring Your Own Key, route Cline through your own provider credits.