Continue is an open-source AI code assistant designed to enhance software development by integrating into popular Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), such as Visual Studio Code and JetBrains. To that end, it enables developers to connect with various AI models and contextual data — facilitating custom autocomplete and chat functionalities within their coding environment. Further, this integration streamlines coding workflows, reduces context switching, and boosts overall productivity.
Continue can connect with multiple AI models, including those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral. This adaptability allows developers to select models that best suit their project requirements. Moreover, Continue supports integration with diverse data sources such as codebases, documentation, and issue trackers — enabling the AI assistant to provide contextually relevant suggestions and insights.
The offers several key functionalities to assist developers. For instance, the autocomplete feature provides inline code suggestions as developers type, supporting multiple programming languages and enhancing coding efficiency. Then, there’s the chat functionality that allows developers to ask questions about functions, files, or the entire codebase without leaving the IDE.
Also, we have the edit feature, which enables users to highlight code sections and instruct the AI to rewrite or refactor them using natural language commands. In addition, Continue offers actions that provide shortcuts for common tasks to further streamline the development process.
For teams and enterprises, the tool provides features to facilitate collaboration and scalability. It allows organizations to deploy a unified AI code assistant across their development teams to ensure consistent support and guidance.
Finally, Continue offers tools for managing model usage, securing API keys, and collecting metadata on AI interactions — enabling continuous improvement and adherence to best practices. Pretty cool, right?