Continue Review 2026: An Open-Source IDE Extension You Can Run Fully Local

What Is Continue?

Continue is an open-source AI coding extension for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. It provides code completions, chat, inline editing, and agentic capabilities — but unlike proprietary tools, it lets you connect any LLM backend you choose. You can use commercial APIs (Claude, GPT, Gemini), open-weight models, or fully local models running on your own hardware.

Continue is licensed under Apache 2.0 and can be self-hosted entirely. For developers and teams that need full control over their AI tooling — what models are used, where data is sent, how the system is configured — Continue is one of the most flexible options available.

What It Does

Code Completion

Continue provides inline code completions as you type, similar to Copilot. The completions are powered by whichever model you configure — you can use a fast, cheap model for completions and a more capable model for complex tasks. The quality of completions depends directly on your model choice.

Chat and Inline Editing

The chat panel lets you ask questions about your code with full project context. Inline editing lets you select code and request changes — “add error handling” or “convert to async” — with the edit applied in place. Both features work with your configured model.

Agentic Mode

Continue’s Agent mode lets you describe a task and have it plan and execute multi-file changes autonomously. It can read files, write code, run terminal commands, and iterate on its output. This is similar to what Cline and Claude Code offer, but integrated as an extension rather than a standalone agent.

Local Model Support

This is one of Continue’s most distinctive features. You can run it entirely locally — connect to Ollama, LM Studio, or any local inference server, and no code ever leaves your machine. For developers working on proprietary or classified code, this is essential.

CLI

Continue also offers a CLI for terminal-based workflows. You can use the same configuration and models from the command line, which is useful for automation, scripting, and CI/CD integration.

Pricing

Continue itself is free and open source. Paid plans add team features:

Plan	Price	Details
Open Source	Free	BYOK — bring your own API key or local model
Teams	$10/developer/mo	Shared configuration, usage analytics, centralized model management
Enterprise	Custom	SSO, audit logging, dedicated support, custom deployment

Individual developers pay nothing for Continue itself — your only cost is the API usage for your chosen model (or nothing at all if you run local models). The Teams plan adds centralized management for organizations.

Pricing verified February 2026. Check continue.dev/pricing for current plans.

Strengths

Full open-source transparency with self-hosting. Continue’s Apache 2.0 license means you can inspect every line of code, audit data flows, modify behavior, and deploy on your own infrastructure. For organizations with strict compliance requirements, this level of control is often a hard requirement.

Model flexibility covers every use case. Commercial APIs for maximum quality, open-weight models for cost savings, local models for air-gapped environments — Continue supports them all. You can configure different models for different tasks: a fast model for completions, a capable model for agent mode, and a local model for sensitive code.

Multi-IDE support is a genuine advantage. Continue works in both VS Code and JetBrains, which means teams with mixed editor preferences can standardize on a single AI tool. Most open-source alternatives (Cline, Aider) are limited to one editor or the terminal.

Weaknesses

Setup requires technical knowledge. Unlike Copilot or Cursor where you sign in and start coding, Continue requires you to choose a model provider, obtain API keys, and edit a JSON configuration file. The documentation is good, but the initial setup is a barrier for less technical users.

No turnkey model access. Every other major AI coding tool includes a default model that works immediately. Continue has no built-in model — you must configure one before it does anything. This is the trade-off for model flexibility.

Smaller ecosystem than established competitors. Copilot has millions of users and deep GitHub integration. Cursor has a dedicated IDE with proprietary optimizations. Continue’s community is growing but smaller, which means fewer tutorials, fewer community extensions, and less polish.

Who It’s For

Continue fits well for:

• Developers who want full control over their AI coding stack
• Teams that need to use specific model providers for compliance or cost reasons
• Organizations that require self-hosted or fully local AI tooling
• Mixed-editor teams using both VS Code and JetBrains
• Developers who want to experiment with different models and configurations

Continue is a harder sell for:

• Beginners who want a simple, works-out-of-the-box experience (Copilot or Cursor are easier)
• Developers who prefer not to manage API keys and model configuration
• Teams that want vendor support and a polished, opinionated product
• Developers looking for a standalone IDE with built-in AI (Cursor fills that niche)

Sources

• Continue
• Continue GitHub Repository
• Continue Documentation