---
title: "Continue: open-source coding agent, current status and alternatives"
canonical_url: https://cookiesforai.app/tools/continue
last_updated: 2026-10-03T10:04:47+02:00
type: tool
summary: "Continue is an open source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal by Continue Dev, Inc., which Cursor acquired; its GitHub repo is now read-only and no longer maintained."
---

# Continue

Continue is an open source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal by Continue Dev, Inc., which Cursor acquired; its GitHub repo is now read-only and no longer maintained.

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Made by | Continue Dev, Inc. (acquired by Cursor) |
| Type | Editor extension |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| Source | https://github.com/continuedev/continue |
| GitHub stars | 36,081 on 2026-10-02 |
| Runs on | VS Code, JetBrains, CLI (macOS, Windows, Linux) |
| Free tier | Free |
| Website | https://continue.dev |
| Page updated | 2026-10-03 |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-02 |

## What it does

Continue is an open source coding agent that ran as a VS Code extension, a JetBrains plugin and a CLI called cn. It has agent, chat, edit and autocomplete modes, assigns different models to roles such as chat, edit, apply, embeddings and autocomplete, and is configured with a config.yaml file plus rules and prompts. The CLI has a headless mode, cn -p, for scripts and CI.

Continue works with many model providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Azure, Amazon Bedrock, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek and xAI, and with local models through Ollama, LM Studio and llama.cpp. Its docs include a guide for running it without internet access.

Continue is no longer an active product. continue.dev now says Continue was acquired by Cursor and that the open source code stays available. The GitHub repository says it is no longer actively maintained and is read-only, and the final release removed telemetry and sign-in. The extensions and CLI can still be installed and used with your own keys or local models.

## Who it is for

- Teams that already run Continue and want to keep a self-managed, Apache-2.0 setup with their own models
- Offline or air-gapped use with local models, following its documented no-internet guide
- Developers who want to fork and maintain an open source assistant themselves

## Who should pick something else

- Anyone starting fresh who needs bug fixes and updates: the repo is read-only and unmaintained
- People who want an actively developed open source extension; Cline and Kilo Code are maintained
- Teams that want vendor support or a hosted service

Strength: Continue is Apache-2.0 licensed, with 36,078 GitHub stars (2026-10-01), and works fully with your own keys or local models, including a documented offline setup.

Limit: Continue is no longer maintained: its maker was acquired by Cursor and the GitHub repo is read-only, so there will be no fixes for new editor or model versions.

## What it costs

Free tier: Free. Free and open source under Apache-2.0 with no paid plan sold; you pay your own model provider.

Current prices: https://continue.dev (we do not list prices; vendors change them often).

## Agent skills and MCP

Skills: The open skills CLI installs skills into .continue/skills; Continue's own docs do not mention agent skills (checked 2026-10-01).

MCP: Continue uses MCP servers in agent mode only. Create a .continue/mcpServers/ folder in the workspace and add a YAML file with an mcpServers list (name, command, args, or type and url for sse or streamable-http). JSON MCP configs from Claude Desktop, Cursor or Cline can be dropped into the same folder as they are.

## Alternatives

- [Cline](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cline): Cline is an open source coding agent by Cline Bot Inc. that runs as a VS Code or JetBrains extension and a CLI, using your own model keys or local models.
- [Kilo Code](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/kilo-code): Kilo Code is an open source coding agent by Kilo Code, Inc., acquired by Anaconda in 2026, that runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, a CLI and cloud agents with 500+ models.
- [GitHub Copilot](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/github-copilot): GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant by GitHub that works in VS Code, JetBrains and other editors, in a CLI, and as a cloud agent that opens pull requests on GitHub.
- [Cursor](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cursor): Cursor is an AI code editor by Anysphere that pairs a desktop editor with an agent, a CLI and cloud agents, using models from several vendors plus its own Composer models.