What Is Continue?

Continue is an open-source AI coding assistant available as an extension for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. Unlike Cursor (a VS Code fork) or GitHub Copilot (a closed product), Continue is fully open-source and model-agnostic — you can connect it to any AI provider including Claude, GPTGPTGenerative Pre-trained Transformer — the model architecture and family name behind OpenAI's most famous models, from GPT-2 to GPT-5.Learn more →-4o, Gemini, local Ollama models, or any OpenAI-compatible API. It extends your existing editor rather than replacing it.

The project, backed by Y Combinator, has grown rapidly because it hits a specific sweet spot: developers who want AI assistance in JetBrains or an existing VS Code setup without switching to a different editor, and who want full control over which models they use and what data they send where.

Core Features

Continue's core features mirror those of commercial AI assistants: inline code completionCode CompletionAn AI feature that predicts and suggests the next tokens of code as a developer types, ranging from single-token suggestions to entire function implementations.Learn more → (tab-complete as you type), a chat sidebar for conversation and Q&A, and an edit command that applies AI changes to selected code. The chat supports @-mentions for referencing specific files, the full codebase, documentation URLs, and terminal output — similar to Cursor's context system.

Continue also supports 'slash commands' — reusable prompts that can be triggered quickly: /edit (modify selected code), /comment (add documentation), /test (generate tests), /review (code review). Teams can add their own custom slash commands to standardize common AI tasks across a codebase. This configurability is a significant advantage for teams that want AI assistance tailored to their specific workflows.

Model Flexibility: The Key Differentiator

Continue's most distinctive feature is its unrestricted model support. You configure providers and models in a JSON config file, and Continue supports arbitrary combinations: Claude for chat, Ollama for autocomplete, a fine-tuned company model for specific tasks. This flexibility is unmatched by any commercial AI IDE, which are typically locked to specific providers or give limited model choice.

For teams with strict data governance requirements, Continue plus local Ollama models is the only fully air-gapped AI coding solution that works within an IDE. All AI processing happens on-premises, no data leaves the corporate network, and the open-source codebase is fully auditable. This makes Continue the de facto choice for regulated industries, defense contractors, and privacy-first organizations.

JetBrains Support

Continue's JetBrains support is one of its most practically important features. Cursor and Windsurf don't run in JetBrains at all. GitHub Copilot supports JetBrains but is a closed product. Continue offers the best open, configurable, multi-model AI experience for JetBrains users — covering IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, CLion, and others.

JetBrains users who want Cursor-like capabilities without switching editors should start with Continue. The feature set isn't identical — Continue doesn't have the same seamless multi-file agentAgentAn LLM-powered system that can take actions, use tools, and pursue multi-step goals autonomously without human input at each step.Learn more → capability of Cursor's Composer — but it provides capable chat, inline editing, and autocomplete while staying inside the JetBrains environment.

Verdict

Continue is the best choice for developers who want AI assistance in their existing editor without switching to a new IDE, need JetBrains support, want to use local models, or require open-source with full auditability. It's free, extensible, and more flexible than any commercial alternative on model selection.

The tradeoffs are a slightly rougher user experience than Cursor or Windsurf, weaker multi-file agent capability, and a less polished codebase indexingCodebase IndexingThe process of analyzing and converting entire code repositories into searchable embeddings or symbol maps that enable AI coding tools to quickly find and retrieve relevant code context.Learn more → system. But for its target users — particularly JetBrains users and privacy-conscious developers — Continue is genuinely the best tool available.