Continue / continue.dev
Open source AI coding assistant VS Code extension that connects to any AI model, providing autocomplete and chat with full customisation and model flexibility.
Free plan
Yes
API access
Yes
Open source
Yes
Platforms
2
Continue.dev is an open source AI coding assistant extension for VS Code and JetBrains that provides autocomplete, inline chat, and code generation while allowing developers to connect to any AI model of their choice. Where GitHub Copilot locks users into Microsoft's model selection and pricing, Continue gives developers complete control over the AI backend.
The model flexibility is Continue's primary differentiator. Users can configure Continue to use Claude via the Anthropic API, GPT-4 via the OpenAI API, Gemini via the Google API, or local models via Ollama. This means developers can choose the model that best fits their quality, cost, and privacy requirements, switch between models for different tasks, and use entirely local models for air-gapped environments.
For teams or individuals who have already established relationships with specific AI providers, or who want to use local models to avoid API costs and privacy concerns, Continue provides a unified coding assistant interface across all these options.
The open source nature means the codebase can be inspected, the prompts understood, and customised for specific organisational needs. Enterprise teams can contribute custom context providers, change autocomplete behaviour, and extend the tool in ways that closed-source tools do not allow.
Continue Hub, the commercial offering, provides team management, shared configuration, and analytics for organisations deploying Continue across engineering teams.
Continue.dev runs as code llm software built around text and code workflows. Users typically start with a prompt, upload, or connected data source, and the underlying model handles the heavy lifting before returning a result you can refine or export. It's available on vs code and jetbrains, with API access for teams that want to embed it into their own products.
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The capabilities that matter most for teams evaluating Continue.dev.
Connect to any AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google) or local models via Ollama without being locked into one vendor.
Inspectable codebase and customisable prompts allow enterprise teams to verify and modify behaviour.
Index the full project codebase for context-aware completions and chat responses informed by the entire project structure.
Open source and free. Bring your own AI model API keys. Commercial Continue Hub plans for teams available.
Model
Open Source
Starting price
Free
Free trial
No
GitHub Copilot is more polished with less configuration required. Cursor provides a more integrated AI-native editor experience. Aider is an open source terminal-based alternative.
A side-by-side look at the closest alternative in this category.
Key facts about model providers, platforms, and team support.
Model Provider
Agnostic (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, local)
Models
Any compatible model
Platforms
VS Code, JetBrains
Deployment
Open Source
Integrations
Any AI provider API, Ollama, GitHub, GitLab
Team Collaboration
Yes
Launch Year
2023
Compliance signals and data-handling notes as reported by the vendor.
Open source: code can be inspected. Data handling depends on the AI provider configured. Local models via Ollama provide complete privacy.
Data handling depends entirely on the configured AI provider. Using local models via Ollama provides complete privacy. Cloud provider APIs follow their respective data handling policies.
Editorial Verdict
Continue.dev is the best choice for developers who want AI coding assistance with complete model flexibility and open source transparency. For polished out-of-the-box experience without configuration, GitHub Copilot or Cursor are more practical.
Last verified July 24, 2026.
The limitation compared to GitHub Copilot is that Continue requires users to set up and manage their own API keys and model configurations. The experience is more technical to set up and less polished than commercial alternatives, but provides significantly more flexibility for technically capable teams.
Open source and free. Bring your own AI model API keys. Commercial Continue Hub plans for teams available.
Free and open source. Requires your own AI model API keys. No subscription cost beyond API usage.
Agnostic (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, local)
Open source: code can be inspected. Data handling depends on the AI provider configured. Local models via Ollama provide complete privacy.
Open source codebase. Code sent to configured AI provider for reasoning. Self-contained within VS Code environment. Review chosen provider's data handling policy.
Data handling depends entirely on the configured AI provider. Using local models via Ollama provides complete privacy. Cloud provider APIs follow their respective data handling policies.
Code is sent to your configured AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.) for reasoning. Review the data handling policy of your chosen provider. No other external data transmission.
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