Continue
✓ Editorially verifiedOpen-source, self-hostable VS Code/JetBrains AI assistant.
Pick Continue if you want a free, self-hostable AI coding assistant with local-model support.
Skip it if you value zero-config UX over flexibility.
Continue is an open-source AI coding extension that runs in VS Code or JetBrains. You BYO model — Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama for local, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint — which makes it the natural pick for teams that want to standardise on a single AI workflow without committing to a single vendor.
Local-model support via Ollama is a quiet superpower. For privacy-sensitive work or air-gapped development, you can route everything through a local Llama or DeepSeek model and never send code to a third party.
The trade-off is polish. Setup involves config files, model routing rules, and a learning curve that Cursor and Copilot deliberately hide. Continue rewards teams who want control and punishes teams who want "it just works."
Continue is the answer to "can we run AI coding without sending code to a vendor?" — and the answer is yes, with effort. For the right team it's a strategic choice; for everyone else, Cursor's UX wins.
— The AI Tool Bible editorial team
Pros
- ✅ Free and open source
- ✅ Works with local models via Ollama
- ✅ No data leaves your machine if local
- ✅ BYO model flexibility
Cons
- ⚠️ Less polished than Cursor/Copilot
- ⚠️ Setup is fiddly
Use cases
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