Continue

Open-source AI coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains

✅ Free Tier 🇨🇳 China Accessible

What is Continue

Continue is an open-source AI coding assistant plugin for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. It's an open-source alternative to GitHub Copilot, with full customizability: connect any model, any API endpoint.

Continue offers Tab completion, inline editing (Cmd+I), side chat (Cmd+L), similar to Cursor but as a plugin — no need to switch editors.

Free Tier Details

Continue is fully free and open-source (Apache 2.0). Bring your own models:
- Cloud models: Configure OpenAI, Anthropic, or API aggregator keys
- Local models: Supports Ollama, LM Studio, etc.
- Hybrid: Local small model for completions, cloud model for chat

Configure models and API endpoints in `~/.continue/config.json`.

Editor's note

Editor's note: If you only need model calls, compare official APIs, free quota, latency, and switching cost before choosing any aggregator.

China Access Guide

Continue installs from VS Code / JetBrains marketplace, accessible in China.

For model calls, use API aggregator for direct China access. Or run local models with Ollama for fully offline use.

FAQ

Q: Continue vs GitHub Copilot?
A: Continue is open-source, free, supports any model. Copilot is more stable with better ecosystem, but costs $10/mo with limited models.

Q: Continue vs Cursor?
A: Cursor is a standalone editor with deeper AI integration. Continue is a plugin for your existing VS Code / JetBrains.

Q: What models are supported?
A: Almost all. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Ollama, LM Studio, API aggregator, and more.

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