Continue.
Open-source IDE assistant — model-agnostic, self-hostable, configuration-first.
What it is.
the founders's open-source assistant for VS Code and JetBrains. Continue runs against any model — managed, self-hosted, or local. Buyers configure context providers, slash commands, and model routing through a single config file. The enterprise tier adds managed hosting, SSO, and policy enforcement.
Where it fits.
Engineering organisations that need IDE-assistant functionality but cannot adopt Copilot or Cursor for data-residency or model-choice reasons. Strong in banking, defence, and pharma. Configuration-first design means platform teams ship a tuned developer experience without forking the assistant.
- Self-hostable end to end — no vendor data egress
- Configuration-first model and context routing
- Works inside both VS Code and JetBrains without a fork
- UX less polished than Cursor or Copilot defaults
- Configuration learning curve falls on platform teams
Frequently asked.
Can Continue run fully offline?
Yes. Point it at a local Ollama or vLLM endpoint and the assistant operates without external network calls. Quality tracks the model behind it.
Does Continue support JetBrains?
Yes. The JetBrains extension reached feature parity with the VS Code build in 2024.
How does Continue make money?
Continue.dev sells a managed enterprise tier — hosted deployment, SSO, audit logs, and policy controls. The core extension stays open source under Apache 2.0.
