Continue

What is Continue?

Continue is an open-source IDE extension that lets developers build custom AI code assistants. The repository on GitHub (35144 stars) describes it as model-agnostic, meaning it works with different underlying language models rather than locking users into one provider. According to the project documentation, Continue supports three main modes: autocomplete, chat, and agents. This covers the typical range of coding AI features, from inline code suggestions to conversational debugging and autonomous task execution.

The tool runs inside existing development environments, so there is no standalone editor or separate interface to learn. Because Continue is open source, developers can inspect the code, contribute changes, or fork the project to tailor it further. The documentation emphasizes that the extension is designed to be customisable at every layer, from the model used to the prompts and context that feed into each interaction.

Who is Continue for?

Continue is aimed at developers who want more control over their AI coding assistant than typical closed-source extensions offer. Teams that cannot send code to third-party cloud services may use Continue with a locally hosted model, since the extension supports local and on-premise deployments. Individual developers who prefer to switch between models depending on the task — for example, a smaller model for autocomplete and a larger one for complex refactors — can configure Continue accordingly.

The project also appeals to teams building internal tooling. Because the extension is open source, organisations can integrate it with internal documentation, codebases, or proprietary models. The documentation suggests that teams often start with Continue as a drop-in assistant and later customise it to enforce coding standards or access private APIs. Researchers and hobbyists who experiment with new language models may find the model-agnostic design useful for quick prototyping.

How much does Continue cost?

Continue uses a freemium pricing model. The pricing page lists a starting cost of $0 per month, meaning the core extension is free to install and use. Users who connect Continue to their own model — whether local, self-hosted, or via a third-party API provider — do not pay Continue directly; they pay for the compute and API usage separately. The documentation notes that some features, such as agents and advanced context management, are available in the free tier. Paid tiers (accessed through Continue's hosted offering) add managed infrastructure, priority support, and team administration features for organisations that do not want to self-host the backend.