Continue

Open-source AI code assistant that plugs any model into your IDE

Hand-reviewed by the Toolglade team·Updated Aug 2026

coding#open-source#ide-extension#local-models#autocomplete

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Toolglade’s take

Continue's biggest strength is flexibility: you can mix local and cloud models and deeply customize context and commands, which is rare among assistants. That power comes with a learning curve, and getting great results still depends on the models you connect. The project has shifted toward a 'Continuous AI'/CI story, which is promising but means the product surface is evolving. It is an excellent pick for tinkerers and privacy-minded teams, less so for those wanting an opinionated, zero-config tool.

About Continue

Continue is an open-source AI coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains that lets you connect any hosted or local model behind autocomplete, chat, and agent modes, with configuration stored as code in your repo.

Continue is a highly configurable, open-source AI coding assistant that runs inside VS Code and JetBrains. Its core philosophy is model freedom: instead of tying you to a single provider, it lets you route autocomplete, chat, and agent tasks to whichever LLM you choose, including local models via Ollama or LM Studio and self-hosted endpoints via vLLM. The assistant offers tab autocompletion, a sidebar chat with rich context providers, custom slash commands, and an autonomous agent mode added in 2026. Because configuration is code and lives in your repository, teams can standardize rules, context sources, and model choices across developers, and even run AI checks in CI as part of Continue's broader 'Continuous AI' direction. With 25k+ GitHub stars and no required subscription, Continue is a popular choice for developers who value privacy, want to use local models, or prefer an extensible open alternative to closed assistants.

TL;DR

Continue is an open-source, model-agnostic AI coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains, ideal for local-first and highly customized setups.

Company overview

Continue is developed by Continue Dev, Inc., which maintains the open-source assistant of the same name. The project has grown to 25k+ GitHub stars and is widely cited as a leading open alternative to Copilot and Cursor.

In 2025-2026 the company expanded from an IDE extension toward a broader 'Continuous AI' platform that runs AI agent checks in CI, storing review rules in the repository.

Product features

Continue offers tab autocomplete, sidebar chat with context providers, custom slash commands, and an agent mode. It is model-agnostic, supporting Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and local models via Ollama, LM Studio, and vLLM.

Configuration is code that lives in the repo, enabling team standardization and CI integration. The extension runs in VS Code and JetBrains.

Target market

Developers and teams who want model freedom, local-model support, and deep customization, especially those with privacy requirements or limited budgets.