Continue

What is Continue?

Continue is an open-source autopilot for software development that seamlessly integrates with Visual Studio Code (VS Code). It enhances your coding workflow by embedding the capabilities of ChatGPT, an advanced AI text generation model, directly into your IDE. With Continue, developers can write, refactor, and understand code efficiently using natural language instructions.

How to use Continue?

To use Continue, you need to download and install the VS Code extension from its GitHub repository. Once installed, you can start using its various features. Simply highlight sections of code and ask Continue for auto-completion, code generation, refactoring, or explanations. Additionally, you can instruct Continue to perform code edits in natural language. It also generates files from scratch, such as Python scripts, React components, or other language-specific files.

Continue's Core Features

• Task-based auto-complete: Provides intelligent code suggestions and auto-completes based on your current task.
• Code generation and refactoring: Automatically generates new code or refactors existing code sections for improved efficiency.
• Code explanation: Offers detailed explanations of code snippets for better understanding.
• Editing code in natural language: Instruct Continue to make changes or refactor code through natural language commands.
• File generation for different programming languages: Automatically creates new code files for various programming languages like Python, JavaScript, and more.

Continue's Use Cases

1. Generating, refactoring, and explaining code sections: Allows developers to speed up code writing by generating or modifying code snippets with AI assistance.
2. Answering coding questions: Can respond to specific coding-related questions and provide detailed explanations.
3. Seeking alternative perspectives on code: Offers different solutions or approaches to existing code problems.
4. Refactoring code through natural language instructions: Allows you to refactor code simply by giving natural language commands.
5. Creating new files and code from scratch: Facilitates the creation of new project components with generated code files.

FAQ from Continue

How can I use Continue to refactor code?
To refactor code, highlight the section you want to modify and provide a natural language command like, “/edit refactor this loop to use map instead of forEach.”

Can Continue generate code files from scratch?
Yes, Continue can generate new code files from scratch. You can open a blank file and instruct Continue to generate Python scripts, React components, and other types of files.

How does Continue help in answering coding questions?
Continue assists in answering coding questions by analyzing and explaining code snippets, suggesting improvements, and generating code to address specific issues.

Reviews

Continue has received positive feedback from developers who appreciate its ability to seamlessly integrate AI into their development environment. Users highlight how it simplifies complex tasks like code generation, debugging, and refactoring. The natural language feature makes coding intuitive, saving time, and boosting productivity.

Pricing

Continue is open-source, meaning it is free to download and use. However, users who want to contribute or customize their version of Continue may do so by accessing its GitHub repository.

Guides

• Installation Guide: Download the Continue extension from GitHub and install it on VS Code.
• How to Generate Code: Select a code block and use Continue's autocomplete or code generation features to automatically create snippets.
• Refactoring with Continue: Highlight a code section, give a natural language instruction, and watch Continue refactor the code.
• Generating New Files: Start a new blank file in your project and ask Continue to generate code in any supported language.

Alternatives

1. GitHub Copilot: A well-known AI coding assistant that integrates with multiple IDEs and provides code completion, suggestions, and refactoring capabilities.
2. Tabnine: An AI-powered code completion tool that works with multiple languages and IDEs, providing advanced auto-completion and code generation.
3. Kite: Another AI coding assistant focusing on boosting productivity by providing code completions and suggestions, primarily for Python developers.
4. IntelliCode (by Microsoft): A code suggestion tool embedded within Visual Studio that helps with intelligent code suggestions based on best practices.

Continue offers a unique blend of AI capabilities within the Visual Studio Code environment, making it a great choice for developers looking for powerful automation and code generation features.