Overview
Continue is a leading open-source AI code assistant designed to bridge the gap between Large Language Models (LLMs) and integrated development environments (IDEs) like VS Code and JetBrains. Built on a modular architecture, Continue allows developers to bring their own models—whether hosted locally via Ollama and LM Studio or via cloud providers like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Mistral. In the 2026 landscape, Continue distinguishes itself by providing deep codebase indexing through local RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and a highly customizable configuration system (.continue/config.json). Unlike proprietary competitors, Continue empowers enterprises to maintain total data sovereignty by facilitating a 'Local-First' AI development workflow. The platform supports key functionalities including tab-autocomplete, side-bar chat, and inline code transformations. Its 2026 market positioning focuses on the 'Continue for Teams' ecosystem, which offers a centralized hub for managing custom prompts, context providers, and model routing, ensuring consistency across large engineering organizations while avoiding vendor lock-in.