What it does
Core capabilities at a glance
- Tab autocomplete with any local or cloud model
- Chat pane in IDE with @-mentions for context
- Inline code editing and refactoring
- Custom slash commands and actions
- Local model support (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio)
- Supports VS Code, JetBrains, and terminal
Deep dive
The full breakdown - performance, comparisons, and setup
Continue
Continue is the open-source alternative to GitHub Copilot that works with any model you choose. If you're already running Ollama or LM Studio, Continue gives you AI-powered code assistance without paying per-seat licensing.
What it is
Continue is an IDE extension (VS Code and JetBrains) that provides AI-powered code assistance. It offers tab autocompletion, a chat pane with deep codebase context, inline editing, and custom commands.
Performance you'll see
| Backend | Autocomplete latency | Chat response |
|---|---|---|
| Ollama + Qwen3-Coder 8B | ~500ms | ~15 tok/s |
| Ollama + Qwen3-Coder 30B | ~1.2s | ~25 tok/s |
| Cloud (GPT-4o) | ~300ms | ~40 tok/s |
How it stacks up
| Continue | Copilot | Cody | Supermaven | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Local model support | ✓ | ✗ | Basic | ✗ |
| IDE support | VS Code, JetBrains | VS Code, JetBrains | VS Code | VS Code |
| Context-aware chat | ✓ (@-mentions) | Basic | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pricing | Free | $10-39/mo | Free/Paid | Free/Paid |
Get started
# Install from VS Code marketplace
# Or from continue.dev
# Configure ~/.continue/config.json to use Ollama:
{
"models": [{
"title": "Ollama",
"provider": "ollama",
"model": "qwen3-coder:30b"
}]
}When to use something else
- Cloud-hosted AI assistant: GitHub Copilot or Cody
- Terminal-based: use llama.cpp with FIM endpoint
- Need fastest autocomplete: Supermaven has sub-100ms completions
From the community
What users are saying
“Trademarked the idea? I don't think that word means what you think it means... I'm not OP, and I'm no lawyer, but I'm sure you're free to try this concept for yourself.”
“This whole Adblock thing is gonna come to a head with the modern “economic headwinds” I think.”
“Or they could just continue having their current premium model that doesn't involve the third-party apps they so despise. Reddit premium is a thing already, too bad both the official app and website sucks.”
Frequently asked
Quick answers to common questions
What is Continue?
Continue is a other tool for local AI workloads. Open-source AI code assistant that integrates with VS Code and JetBrains, using any LLM backend.
Is Continue free and open source?
Yes, Continue has 36,291 GitHub stars and is licensed under Apache-2.0. You can self-host it for free on macos, linux, windows.
What platforms does Continue support?
Continue runs on macos, linux, windows.
What hardware do I need for Continue?
The hardware requirements depend on which models you run. Check our hardware directory for compatible GPUs and systems. Continue has 36,291 GitHub stars and an active community.
Does Continue support GPU acceleration?
Continue supports GPU acceleration via CUDA, Metal, or Vulkan depending on your platform. For the best performance, pair it with an NVIDIA RTX 4090 or 5090.
What are the best alternatives to Continue?
Popular alternatives include other other tools in our directory. Browse our full collection at /tool for comparisons, community reviews, and benchmark data to find the right fit for your workflow.
How much does Continue cost?
Continue is free-tier. There is a free tier available with paid upgrades for advanced features.
Pairs well with
Complementary tools, models, and hardware