Continue
Open-source coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains, now read-only after Cursor acquisition
A fascinating open-source experiment now frozen in amber. Its transparency and customizability are unmatched, but the acquisition by Cursor means no future updates or support. Grab the code if you want to fork it, but don't rely on it day-to-day.
Verified 17d ago · liveness 80/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/continue
- Developers seeking transparent, open-source AI coding tools
- Teams wanting to customize AI assistance for their workflow
- Projects requiring self-hosted or private AI code generation
- Those who want to share custom agents via public links
- Users wanting a fully supported, enterprise-grade commercial product
- Those who prefer a tool with guaranteed long-term maintenance
- Developers who lack resources to manage an open-source tool post-acquisition
We scan live Reddit threads, YouTube comments, X posts, G2 reviews and other communities — and hand you an honest verdict in under a minute.
- Honest verdict, not marketing
- Real pros & cons from real users
- Attributed quotes with receipts
3 free scans · no card needed
Skip Continue if you need a fully supported, actively maintained coding assistant with guaranteed future updates and multi-editor support beyond VS Code and JetBrains.
CI usage beyond the open-source IDE costs $3 per million tokens or $20 per seat per month, which can add up for teams running frequent automated checks.
Continue's open-source IDE tier is free, making it ideal for individual developers and small teams who want to avoid subscription costs. CI functionality costs $3/million tokens or $20/seat/month, which is cheaper than Cursor's Pro ($20/month unlimited) for light usage but may be more expensive at high volume. Enterprise alternatives like GitHub Copilot ($19/month per user) offer active support.
In short
Continue — Open-source coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains, now read-only after Cursor acquisition. Best for Developers seeking transparent, open-source AI coding tools, Teams wanting to customize AI assistance for their workflow, Projects requiring self-hosted or private AI code generation. Free to use.
What's new in Continue
Checked 4 days agoAcross the latest 8 updates: 3 feature updates and 5 news mentions.
Check on Your Spaghetti Software Factory
Blog post arguing that AI agent slop is a quality control issue, not just a review problem.
AI Slop Is a Process Problem, Not a People Problem
Discusses systematic checks for AI code quality, analogous to CI/CD shifts.
283 Net Lines and a Passport
Personal reflection on PRs and conversations about AI coding.
Chiseling: The Art of Polishing Vibe Code
Describes chiseling as the process of refining AI-generated code for consistency.
Shareable Agents and Code Review Inbox
v1.5.34: Shareable agent links, pull request inbox with one-click fixes, and just-in-time agent instructions.
AI is Glue
LLMs as glue for engineering workflows, connecting deterministic tools like GitHub CLI and Snyk API.
GPT-5 Codex Support & Grok Code Fast 1
v1.0.38-jetbrains/v1.1.78-vscode/v1.5.8: OpenAI Responses API for GPT-5 Codex, instant find/replace edits, Grok Code Fast 1 integration.
File Access Beyond Workspace & CLI Stability
v1.3.21-vscode/v1.0.50-jetbrains/v1.5.2: Read workspace files with permissions, improved agent error handling, CLI fixes.
Viability Score
How likely is Continue to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- AI-powered code generation
- AI refactoring and debugging
- VS Code extension
- JetBrains plugin
- CLI, TUI, and headless mode
- Shareable agents via public links
- Code review inbox with PR filters
- Instant apply edits (replaces streaming diffs)
- GPT-5 Codex Responses API support
- Grok Code Fast 1 model support
- File access beyond IDE workspace with permissions
- Bring your own model (BYOM)
- Customizable via open-source codebase
- Checks-as-code via markdown rules
- Automated Sentry triage and Snyk patching
About Continue
Continue is an open-source coding agent that integrates into VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, offering AI-powered code generation, refactoring, and debugging. It features shareable agents via public links, a code review inbox for PR filtering, instant apply edits (replacing streaming diffs), and support for GPT-5 Codex Responses API and Grok Code Fast 1. The tool also provides file access beyond the IDE workspace with permissions, and supports bring-your-own-model (BYOM). Originally a pioneering open-source project, Continue was acquired by Cursor in 2026, and its repository is now read-only with no active maintenance. The codebase remains available as a foundation for others, but updates and community support have ceased. Continue is best for developers who prioritize transparency and customizability over long-term support.
Behind the Verdict
Continue started as a bold open-source alternative to proprietary AI coding assistants. The ability to bring your own model, customize agent behavior with markdown rules, and even share agents via public links made it a favorite among tinkerers and transparency advocates. The instant apply edit feature was a clever improvement over streaming diffs. But the acquisition by Cursor changes everything — the repo is read-only, no new releases are coming, and the community is left to fend for themselves. If you're willing to fork and maintain it yourself, Continue's codebase is still valuable as a learning resource or a starting point for a custom solution. For most developers, however, the smart move is to migrate to an actively maintained alternative like Cursor (its acquirer), GitHub Copilot, or Tabnine. In practice, we'd only recommend Continue today if you're a developer who enjoys tinkering with AI tooling internals and doesn't need support. For production use, the lack of maintenance is a dealbreaker — bugs won't be fixed, and compatibility with future VS Code or JetBrains updates is uncertain.
Researching Continue? Get your full AI stack in 60 seconds.
Free, no signup — tell us your goal and get tools matched to your budget & existing stack.
Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Continue actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You want AI code assistance without paying a monthly fee and prefer to use your own local LLM for privacy.
Outcome: Set up Continue in VS Code, configure a local model via Ollama, and start coding with AI autocomplete and chat within minutes.
You want to enforce code review standards automatically on every PR in your GitHub repo.
Outcome: Define markdown-based check rules, integrate with GitHub, and have Continue automatically review PRs for security and style violations.
You want to automate Sentry triage and Snyk patching from Slack messages.
Outcome: Connect Continue's cloud agents to Slack, Sentry, and Snyk, and have it create GitHub issues or apply patches based on alerts.
Use Cases
- Automate code review standards with markdown checks on every PR
- Enforce anti-slop, security, and architecture rules automatically
- Accelerate coding with AI autocomplete and chat in VS Code or JetBrains
- Run security review checks via markdown rules to catch vulnerabilities early
- Set up a privacy-first coding environment with local LLMs
- Automate Sentry triage and Snyk patching via cloud agents on Slack
- Turn Slack conversations into GitHub issues and PRs automatically
- Refine AI-generated code with manual polishing for consistency
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-07-06
Limitations
- The IDE extension only supports VS Code and JetBrains; no other editors.
- The repository is now read-only and no longer actively maintained after acquisition by Cursor.
- Checks-as-code requires a learning curve for markdown syntax and LLM integration.
as of 2026-07-02
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Continue's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Continue's open-source IDE tier is free, making it ideal for individual developers and small teams who want to avoid subscription costs. CI functionality costs $3/million tokens or $20/seat/month, which is cheaper than Cursor's Pro ($20/month unlimited) for light usage but may be more expensive at high volume. Enterprise alternatives like GitHub Copilot ($19/month per user) offer active support.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Continue — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
For a developer familiar with VS Code or JetBrains, setting up Continue with default models takes under 10 minutes. Configuring custom models or local LLMs adds 15–30 minutes. Defining checks-as-code for PR review may take an hour to learn the markdown syntax and integrate with GitHub.
Switching to or from Continue
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From GitHub Copilot: Uninstall Copilot extension, install Continue, configure your preferred model (or use default), and adjust keybindings if needed.
- ↗To Cursor: Export your Continue agent definitions (if any) as markdown and recreate them in Cursor's configuration; note that Cursor is now the parent product.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Tutorials & Learning
Official links
Tools that pair well with Continue
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Continue, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Alternatives to Continue
View all
OpenHands
Open platform for autonomous cloud coding agents that fix bugs, review PRs, and migrate code asynchronously.
Poolside AI
Open-weight agentic coding models for high-consequence enterprise software development.
Frequently Asked Questions
Categories
Best-of guides
Used Continue? Help shape our editorial sentiment research.