Continue.dev is a free, open-source AI coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains. It gives you autocomplete, chat, inline editing, and agent mode — like GitHub Copilot or Cursor, but you choose your own AI models.

What it does

• Autocomplete — inline code suggestions as you type
• Chat — ask questions about your code without leaving the IDE
• Edit — select code and describe changes in natural language
• Agent — make multi-file changes to your codebase

Why it’s different

You’re not locked into one AI provider. Use Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, or run models locally with Ollama for completely free, private AI coding.

This flexibility means you can:

• Use a cheap fast model for autocomplete (Codestral at $0.20/1M tokens)
• Use a powerful model for complex tasks (Claude Opus for architecture decisions)
• Use a local model for sensitive codebases (no data leaves your machine)
• Switch models instantly without changing tools

Model configuration

Continue.dev supports multiple models simultaneously — one for autocomplete, one for chat, one for agent mode. A typical setup:

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Claude Sonnet (Chat)",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4.6"
    }
  ],
  "tabAutocompleteModel": {
    "title": "Codestral (Autocomplete)",
    "provider": "mistral",
    "model": "codestral-latest"
  }
}

Quick start

1. Install “Continue” from VS Code Extensions
2. Configure a model (or use Ollama for free local models)
3. Start coding with AI

For the fastest free setup:

# Install Ollama
brew install ollama
# Pull a coding model
ollama pull codestral:22b
# Continue.dev auto-detects local Ollama models

Continue.dev vs Cursor vs Copilot

	Continue.dev	Cursor	GitHub Copilot
Price	Free (BYOK)	$20/mo	$10-19/mo
Models	Any	Claude, GPT, custom	GPT-4o, Copilot
Open source	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No
IDE	VS Code, JetBrains	Cursor (VS Code fork)	VS Code, JetBrains
Local models	✅ Full support	Limited	❌ No
Agent mode	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

FAQ

Is Continue.dev really free?

The extension itself is completely free and open source (Apache 2.0 license). You need to provide your own AI model, which could be free (local models via Ollama) or paid (API keys for Claude, GPT, etc.). There’s no subscription fee for Continue.dev itself.

Can Continue.dev fully replace GitHub Copilot?

Yes. Continue.dev provides the same core features — autocomplete, chat, inline editing, and agent mode. With Codestral as your autocomplete model, you get state-of-the-art code completions. The main trade-off is that you manage your own model configuration rather than having a pre-configured experience.

Which model should I use with Continue.dev for the best experience?

For autocomplete, Codestral is the best choice — it’s purpose-built for FIM completions and costs only $0.20/1M tokens. For chat and agent mode, Claude Sonnet 4.6 offers the best balance of quality and cost. For a completely free setup, run Codestral 22B locally via Ollama.

Learn more

• Continue.dev Complete Guide — full setup and configuration
• Continue.dev vs Cursor vs Copilot — detailed comparison
• How to Replace GitHub Copilot for Free — step-by-step