Continue
Open-source coding AI for VS Code and JetBrains — connect any model, keep full control. The privacy-first alternative to Copilot that works with local LLMs too.
Overview
Continue is an open-source coding AI extension for VS Code and JetBrains that brings chat, autocomplete, and edit assistance to any IDE — without being locked into a single model provider. You connect your own API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, Groq) and keep full control over which model handles which task: a fast model for autocomplete, a frontier model for complex edits. Unlike Copilot or Codeium which are closed systems, Continue is fully configurable and can be connected to your own local models for complete privacy. Used by security-conscious teams, open-source contributors who want flexibility, and developers who want to stay in JetBrains rather than switching to Cursor.
Key Features
- Multi-model support
- VS Code and JetBrains
- Local LLM integration
- Codebase indexing
- Inline edit commands
- Custom context providers
- • Fully open-source with active development
- • Works with local models for complete privacy
- • Supports JetBrains — unlike most AI coding tools
- • Setup requires API key configuration
- • No built-in free model tier