What is Continue.dev?
Continue is an open-source AI pair programming extension for VS Code. It works with any model (Ollama, Claude, GPT-4, etc.) and gives you chat, inline edits, and autocomplete — all for free with local models.
Step 1: Install Continue
- 1. Open VS Code
- 2. Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X)
- 3. Search for "Continue" and install it (by Continue)
- 4. Reload VS Code when prompted
Step 2: Configure Your Models
Continue stores config at ~/.continue/config.json. Open it:
# In VS Code: Cmd+Shift+P → "Continue: Open Config"Example Configuration:
{
"models": [
{
"title": "Ollama - Llama 3.2",
"provider": "ollama",
"model": "llama3.2"
},
{
"title": "Ollama - Mixtral",
"provider": "ollama",
"model": "mixtral"
},
{
"title": "Claude 3.5 Sonnet",
"provider": "anthropic",
"model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
"apiKey": "your-api-key-here"
},
{
"title": "GPT-4o",
"provider": "openai",
"model": "gpt-4o",
"apiKey": "your-api-key-here"
}
],
"tabAutocompleteModel": {
"title": "Ollama - Starcoder",
"provider": "ollama",
"model": "starcoder2:3b"
},
"embeddingsProvider": {
"provider": "ollama",
"model": "nomic-embed-text"
}
}Step 3: Using Continue
💬 Chat (Cmd+L)
Open the Continue sidebar to chat with AI about your code:
- Ask questions about your codebase
- Get explanations for complex logic
- Request refactoring suggestions
- Debug errors and issues
✏️ Inline Edit (Cmd+I)
Select code and press Cmd+I to edit inline:
- "Add error handling to this function"
- "Convert this to use async/await"
- "Optimize this loop"
- "Add type hints"
⚡ Autocomplete (Tab)
Continue suggests code as you type:
- Press
Tabto accept - Press
Escto reject - Works best with Starcoder or DeepSeek-Coder models
Recommended Models for Continue
🆓 Free (Local via Ollama)
- •
llama3.2- General chat - •
mixtral- Complex reasoning - •
starcoder2:3b- Code autocomplete - •
codellama- Code generation - •
nomic-embed-text- Embeddings
⭐ Premium (API)
- •
claude-3-5-sonnet- Best overall - •
gpt-4o- Fast & capable - •
deepseek-coder- Code specialist
🔧 Troubleshooting
Continue sidebar not opening
Press Cmd+L or click the Continue icon in the activity bar. If missing, reload VS Code.
Ollama connection failed
Make sure Ollama is running: ollama serve. Check that the model is downloaded.
Slow autocomplete
Use smaller models (starcoder2:3b instead of 7b+). Enable GPU acceleration if available.
API key errors
Double-check your API keys in config.json. Verify billing is set up for Anthropic/OpenAI.
🎉 Continue is Ready!
You now have AI pair programming in VS Code. Start coding and let Continue help you write better code faster. Explore the AI Toolkit for more development tools.