Continue
Continue, the pioneering open-source coding agent, has been acquired by Cursor. Our mission to amplify developers continues. Explore FAQs and more.
Editor's Verdict
Key Takeaways
- Open-source coding agent
- AI-powered developer tooling
- Community-driven development
- Seamless IDE integration
In-Depth Review: What is Continue?
We built Continue, an open-source coding agent, to empower developers. Now acquired by Cursor, our mission to amplify developers continues. Our codebase remains freely available, and we thank the community. Learn about the acquisition, data handling, and future of Continue.
Core Features
Open-source coding agent
Continue is an open-source AI coding agent that integrates with your development environment to amplify your productivity without automating your creativity.
AI-powered developer tooling
Leverage state-of-the-art AI models to assist with code generation, debugging, and refactoring, all while keeping you in control.
Community-driven development
Built with contributions from a global community, Continue offers transparency and extensibility for developers who want to customize their AI assistant.
Seamless IDE integration
Works as a plugin or standalone agent, integrating smoothly with popular IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains.
Data privacy focused
Continue prioritizes user privacy, allowing you to run models locally or on your own infrastructure for sensitive codebases.
Pricing
Open Source (Self-Hosted)
- Full access to open-source codebase
- Community support
- Local model execution
- Basic AI assistance features
Cloud (Legacy)
- Managed hosting
- Priority support
- Advanced AI models
- Team collaboration features
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Fully open sourceThe entire codebase is freely available on GitHub, allowing developers to audit, modify, and self-host the agent.
- Community-driven innovationA vibrant community contributes plugins, models, and improvements, ensuring rapid evolution.
- Privacy-first designUsers can run Continue entirely offline or on private servers, keeping sensitive code secure.
- Extensible architectureSupports custom models, prompts, and integration with existing developer workflows.
- Amplifies developer productivityAutomates boilerplate and routine tasks while keeping the developer in full control.
Cons
- Acquired by CursorFuture development and support may shift focus to Cursor’s commercial product, potentially reducing community updates.
- Limited official documentationSome advanced features lack in-depth guides, relying heavily on community contributions.
- No dedicated support for free tierUsers of the open-source version must rely on community forums and GitHub issues for help.
- Steep learning curve for customizationConfiguring custom models or integrations requires technical expertise.
- Uncertain roadmapWith the acquisition, long-term availability of new features and updates is unclear.
Use Cases & Recommended Professions
Software Engineer→ View Toolkit
Uses Continue to accelerate coding tasks, reduce boilerplate, and get AI-assisted suggestions without leaving the IDE.
Data Scientist→ View Toolkit
Leverages Continue for rapid prototyping, data pipeline generation, and code explanation in Python notebooks.
DevOps Engineer→ View Toolkit
Relies on Continue to generate infrastructure-as-code scripts and automate repetitive configuration tasks.
Technical Writer→ View Toolkit
Benefits from Continue's code understanding to generate documentation snippets and explain complex codebases.
Indie Developer→ View Toolkit
A cost-effective way to get AI code assistance without expensive subscriptions, thanks to the open-source model.
AI Researcher→ View Toolkit
Uses Continue to experiment with new models and contribute to the open-source agent's capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Create, share, and use custom AI code agents with Continue. Features agent, chat, edit modes, and autocomplete for VS Code and JetBrains.
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ℹ️ Curation Disclosure: The overview and features of Continue were synthesized using AI and fact-checked by our curation team to ensure accuracy.
