Published: March 6, 2026
Source: github.com/continuedev/continue
Category: AI Coding Tools
What Just Happened
Continue just hit 10K stars.
Open source AI coding assistant. Full IDE integration. Any model you want.
Not GitHub Copilot. Not tab completion. Full chat, edit, and autocomplete – all in one.
Not another locked-down black box.
This is AI coding freedom.
Why This Matters
Copilot costs $10/month and spies on your code.
Continue is free and runs locally if you want.
Same features. More control. Zero surveillance.
Big difference.
Microsoft wants you locked into their ecosystem. Their model, their rules, their telemetry.
Continue says: bring your own model. Run local LLMs. Keep your code private.
My code stays on my machine. That is not negotiable.
What It Actually Does
- Works with any LLM (Claude, GPT-4, local models)
- Tab autocomplete like Copilot
- Chat with context of your codebase
- Edit files directly from chat
- 100% open source and auditable
- Local mode for air-gapped environments
My Take
I switched from Copilot last month.
Using Claude 3.5 Sonnet through Continue. Same accuracy. Better privacy. Half the price.
The tab completion is smoother than I expected. The chat understands my entire codebase context.
What surprised me: local models work fine for smaller tasks. I run Mistral 7B locally for autocomplete. Free. Private. Fast enough.
This is for:
- Developers who value privacy
- People who want model choice
- Teams with compliance requirements
- Anyone tired of subscriptions
This is NOT for:
- People who want it just works out of the box
- Developers who trust big tech implicitly
How to Get Started
Installation: Search Continue in VS Code Extensions. Click Install.
GitHub Repository: github.com/continuedev/continue
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