Continue.dev

Continue.dev is the open-source AI code assistant that puts you in control. Unlike proprietary solutions, Continue allows you to customize everything, run anywhere, and build AI infrastructure that gets better over time according to your specific needs.

Core Philosophy

Key Features

Code Completion

• Tab to Autocomplete: Intelligent single-line and multi-line code completion
• Context-Aware: Understands your project structure and coding patterns
• Language Support: Works with all popular programming languages
• Real-Time: Fast, responsive suggestions as you type

Interactive Chat

• Reference and Chat: Ask questions about functions, files, or entire codebase
• Contextual Understanding: Deep comprehension of your specific code
• Documentation Integration: Include external docs and resources
• Multi-Turn Conversations: Extended discussions about complex problems

Code Transformation

• Highlight and Instruct: Select code and transform with natural language
• Refactoring: Large-scale code modifications and improvements
• Code Generation: Create new code from natural language descriptions
• Bug Fixing: Identify and resolve issues with AI assistance

Customization Capabilities

Model Flexibility

Context Sources

• Codebase: Entire project understanding and navigation
• GitLab Issues: Integration with project management
• Documentation: External docs and API references
• Methods: Function and class-specific context
• Confluence Pages: Enterprise knowledge bases
• Files: Specific file and directory context

Building Blocks

• Data Blocks: Custom data sources and integrations
• Docs Blocks: Documentation and reference materials
• Rules Blocks: Coding standards and guidelines
• MCP Blocks: Model Context Protocol integrations
• Prompts Blocks: Reusable prompt templates and patterns

Platform Support

IDEs

• VS Code: Full-featured extension with complete functionality
• JetBrains: Support for IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, and more
• Cross-Platform: Consistent experience across different development environments

Installation

# VS Code
# Install from marketplace or
code --install-extension Continue.continue

# JetBrains
# Install from plugin marketplace
# Search for "Continue" in plugins

Configuration System

Custom AI Assistants

Continue allows you to create specialized AI assistants for different purposes:

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Code Review Assistant",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-3-sonnet",
      "systemMessage": "You are a senior code reviewer..."
    },
    {
      "title": "Local Development",
      "provider": "ollama",
      "model": "codellama:13b"
    }
  ],
  "customCommands": [
    {
      "name": "test",
      "prompt": "Write comprehensive unit tests for this code"
    }
  ]
}

Context Configuration

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "code",
      "params": {
        "maxFiles": 20,
        "includePatterns": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.py"]
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "docs",
      "params": {
        "sites": ["https://docs.myproject.com"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Use Cases

Individual Development

• Learning: Understand unfamiliar codebases and technologies
• Productivity: Accelerate coding with intelligent autocomplete
• Problem Solving: Get help with complex algorithms and logic
• Code Quality: Improve code through AI-suggested refactoring

Team Development

• Consistency: Maintain coding standards across team members
• Knowledge Sharing: Capture and share team expertise through custom assistants
• Onboarding: Help new team members understand project conventions
• Code Review: Automate initial code review processes

Enterprise Deployment

• Compliance: Ensure code meets regulatory and security requirements
• Integration: Connect with existing enterprise tools and workflows
• Customization: Tailor AI behavior to organizational needs
• Control: Maintain full control over data and AI model usage

Community and Ecosystem

Continue Hub

• Model Marketplace: Discover and share AI model configurations
• Context Providers: Community-contributed context sources
• Building Blocks: Reusable components for custom assistants
• Templates: Pre-configured setups for common use cases

Open Source Benefits

• Transparency: Full visibility into code and functionality
• Community: Active community contributing features and fixes
• Security: Auditable code for enterprise security requirements
• Innovation: Rapid feature development and experimentation

Privacy and Security

Data Control Options

Security Features

• No Data Lock-in: Switch providers without losing functionality
• Audit Trail: Track all AI interactions and decisions
• Access Controls: Fine-grained permissions for team usage
• Compliance: Support for various regulatory requirements

Comparison with Alternatives

Advanced Features

MCP Integration

• Protocol Support: Native Model Context Protocol implementation
• Tool Creation: Build custom tools and integrations
• Enterprise Systems: Connect to internal APIs and databases
• Workflow Automation: Automate complex development tasks

Custom Context Providers

// Example custom context provider
class JiraContextProvider implements IContextProvider {
  async getContextItems(query: string): Promise<ContextItem[]> {
    // Fetch relevant Jira issues
    const issues = await this.jiraClient.search(query);
    return issues.map(issue => ({
      name: issue.key,
      description: issue.summary,
      content: issue.description
    }));
  }
}

Prompt Engineering

• Template System: Reusable prompt templates
• Chain of Thought: Complex reasoning patterns
• Role-Based Prompts: Different AI personalities for different tasks
• Context Injection: Automatic inclusion of relevant information

Best Practices

Effective Configuration

1. Start Simple: Begin with basic configuration and add complexity gradually
2. Model Selection: Choose models appropriate for your use case and budget
3. Context Tuning: Fine-tune context providers for optimal relevance
4. Prompt Optimization: Iterate on prompts for better results

Team Adoption

• Shared Configuration: Use version-controlled configuration files
• Training: Provide team training on effective AI assistance
• Guidelines: Establish clear guidelines for AI tool usage
• Feedback Loop: Regularly review and improve AI assistant performance

Enterprise Deployment

• Security Review: Conduct thorough security assessment
• Compliance Check: Ensure alignment with regulatory requirements
• Performance Monitoring: Track usage and performance metrics
• Support Planning: Establish support processes for AI tools

Continue.dev represents the future of customizable AI development tools, offering developers and organizations the flexibility to build AI assistants that truly fit their unique needs while maintaining full control over their development infrastructure and data.