Contributing to Continue

Contributing to Continue
- Table of Contents
❤️ Ways to Contribute

❤️ Ways to Contribute

👋 Continue Contribution Ideas

This GitHub project board is a list of ideas for how you can contribute to Continue. These aren't the only ways, but are a great starting point if you are new to the project. You can also browse the list of good first issues.

🐛 Report Bugs

If you find a bug, please create an issue to report it! A great bug report includes:

A description of the bug
Steps to reproduce
What you expected to happen
What actually happened
Screenshots or videos

✨ Suggest Enhancements

Continue is quickly adding features, and we'd love to hear which are the most important to you. The best ways to suggest an enhancement are:

Create an issue
- First, check whether a similar proposal has already been made
- If not, create an issue
- Please describe the enhancement in as much detail as you can, and why it would be useful
Join the GitHub Discussions and tell us about your idea

📖 Updating / Improving Documentation

Continue is continuously improving, but a feature isn't complete until it is reflected in the documentation! If you see something out-of-date or missing, you can help by clicking "Edit this page" at the bottom of any page on docs.continue.dev.

Running the Documentation Server Locally

You can run the documentation server locally using either of the following methods:

Method 1: NPM Script

Open your terminal and navigate to the
```
docs
```
subdirectory of the project. The
```
docusaurus.config.js
```
file you'll see there is a sign you're in the right place.
Run the following command to install the necessary dependencies for the documentation server:
```
npm install
```
Run the following command to start the documentation server:
```
npm run dev
```

Method 2: VS Code Task

Open VS Code in the root directory of the project.
Open the VS Code command pallet (
```
cmd/ctrl+shift+p
```
) and select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
.
Look for the
```
docs:start
```
task and select it.

This will start a local server and you can see the documentation rendered in your default browser, typically accessible at

http://localhost:3000

🧑‍💻 Contributing Code

We welcome contributions from developers of all experience levels - from first-time contributors to seasoned open source maintainers. While we aim to maintain high standards for reliability and maintainability, our goal is to keep the process as welcoming and straightforward as possible.

Environment Setup

Pre-requisites

You should have Node.js version 20.19.0 (LTS) or higher installed. You can get it on nodejs.org or, if you are using NVM (Node Version Manager), you can set the correct version of Node.js for this project by running the following command in the root of the project:

nvm use

Then, install Vite globally

npm i -g vite

Fork the Continue Repository

Go to the Continue GitHub repository and fork it to your GitHub account.
Clone your forked repository to your local machine. Use:
```
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/continue.git
```
Navigate to the cloned directory and make sure you are on the main branch. Create your feature/fix branch from there, like so:
```
git checkout -b 123-my-feature-branch
```
Send your pull request to the main branch.

VS Code

Open the VS Code command pallet (
```
cmd/ctrl+shift+p
```
) and select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
and then select
```
install-all-dependencies
```
Start debugging:
1. Switch to Run and Debug view
2. Select
```
Launch extension
```
  from drop down
3. Hit play button
4. This will start the extension in debug mode and open a new VS Code window with it installed
  1. The new VS Code window with the extension is referred to as the Host VS Code
  2. The window you started debugging from is referred to as the Main VS Code
To package the extension, run
```
npm run package
```
in the
```
extensions/vscode
```
directory, select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
and then select
```
vscode-extension:package
```
. This will generate
```
extensions/vscode/build/continue-{VERSION}.vsix
```
, which you can install by right-clicking and selecting "Install Extension VSIX".

Debugging

Breakpoints can be used in both the

core

and

extensions/vscode

folders while debugging, but are not currently supported inside of

gui

code.

Hot-reloading is enabled with Vite, so if you make any changes to the

gui

, they should be automatically reflected without rebuilding. In some cases, you may need to refresh the Host VS Code window to see the changes.

Similarly, any changes to

core

extensions/vscode

will be automatically included by just reloading the Host VS Code window with cmd/ctrl+shift+p "Reload Window".

JetBrains

See

intellij/CONTRIBUTING.md

for the JetBrains extension.

Our Git Workflow

We keep a single permanent branch:

main

. When we are ready to create a "pre-release" version, we create a tag on the

main

branch titled

v1.3.x-vscode

, which automatically triggers the workflow in preview.yaml, which builds and releases a version of the VS Code extension. When a release has been sufficiently tested, we will create a new release titled

v1.2.x-vscode

, triggering a similar workflow in main.yaml, which will build and release a main release of the VS Code extension. Any hotfixes can be made by creating a feature branch from the tag for the release in question. This workflow is well explained by http://releaseflow.org.

What makes a good PR?

To keep the Continue codebase clean and maintainable, we expect the following from our own team and all contributors:

Open a new issue or comment on an existing one before writing code. This ensures your proposed changes are aligned with the project direction
Keep changes focused. Multiple unrelated fixes should be opened as separate PRs
Write or update tests for new functionality
Update relevant documentation in the
```
docs
```
folder
For new features: Include a short screen recording or screenshot demonstrating the new functionality. This makes it much easier for us as contributors to review and understand your changes. See this PR as a good example
Open a PR against the
```
main
```
branch. Make sure to fill in the PR template

Formatting

Continue uses Prettier to format JavaScript/TypeScript. Please install the Prettier extension in VS Code and enable "Format on Save" in your settings.

Theme Colors

Continue has a set of named theme colors that we map to extension colors and tailwind classes, which can be found in gui/src/styles/theme.ts

Guidelines for using theme colors:

Use Tailwind colors whenever possible. If developing in VS Code, download the Tailwind CSS Intellisense extension for great suggestions
Avoid using any explicit classes and CSS variables outside the theme (e.g.
```
text-yellow-400
```
)

Guidelines for adding/updating theme colors:

Choose sensible VS Code variables to add/update in gui/src/styles/theme.ts (see here and here for inspiration)
Choose sensible JetBrains named colors to add/update in
```
GetTheme.kt
```
(flagship LLMs can give you good suggestions to try)
Update
```
tailwind.config.js
```
if needed
Use the Theme Test Page to check colors. This can be accessed by going to
```
Settings
```
->
```
Help
```
->
```
Theme Test Page
```
in dev/debug mode.

Testing

We have a mix of unit, functional, and e2e test suites, with a primary focus on functional testing. These tests run on each pull request. If your PR causes one of these tests to fail, we will ask you to resolve the issue before we merge.

When contributing, please update or create the appropriate tests to help verify the correctness of your implementation.

Review Process

Initial Review - A maintainer will be assigned as primary reviewer
Feedback Loop - The reviewer may request changes. We value your work, but also want to ensure the code is maintainable and follows our patterns.
Approval & Merge - Once the PR is approved, it will be merged into the
```
main
```
branch.

Getting Help

Join the GitHub Discussions to engage with maintainers and other contributors.

Contributing New LLM Providers/Models

Adding an LLM Provider

Continue has support for more than a dozen different LLM "providers", making it easy to use models running on OpenAI, Ollama, Together, LM Studio, Msty, and more. You can find all of the existing providers here, and if you see one missing, you can add it with the following steps:

Create a new file in the
```
core/llm/llms
```
directory. The name of the file should be the name of the provider, and it should export a class that extends
```
BaseLLM
```
. This class should contain the following minimal implementation. We recommend viewing pre-existing providers for more details. The LlamaCpp Provider is a good simple example.
Add your provider to the
```
LLMs
```
array in core/llm/llms/index.ts.
If your provider supports images, add it to the
```
PROVIDER_SUPPORTS_IMAGES
```
array in core/llm/autodetect.ts.
Add a documentation page for your provider in
```
docs/customize/model-providers/more
```
. This should show an example of configuring your provider in
```
config.yaml
```
and explain what options are available.

Adding Models

While any model that works with a supported provider can be used with Continue, we keep a list of recommended models that can be automatically configured from the UI or

config.json

. The following files should be updated when adding a model:

AddNewModel page - This directory defines which model options are shown in the side bar model selection UI. To add a new model:
1. Add a
```
ModelPackage
```
  entry for the model into configs/models.ts, following the lead of the many examples near the top of the file
2. Add the model within its provider's array to configs/providers.ts (add provider if needed)
LLM Providers: Since many providers use their own custom strings to identify models, you'll have to add the translation from Continue's model name (the one you added to
```
index.d.ts
```
) and the model string for each of these providers: Ollama, Together, and Replicate. You can find their full model lists here: Ollama, Together, Replicate.
Prompt Templates - In this file you'll find the
```
autodetectTemplateType
```
function. Make sure that for the model name you just added, this function returns the correct template type. This is assuming that the chat template for that model is already built in Continue. If not, you will have to add the template type and corresponding edit and chat templates.

Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

We require all contributors to accept the CLA and have made it as easy as commenting on your PR:

Open your pull request.

Paste the following comment (or reply

recheck

if you’ve signed before):

I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA

The CLA-Assistant bot records your signature in the repo and marks the status check as passed.

Contributing to Continue

Contributing to Continue
- Table of Contents
❤️ Ways to Contribute

❤️ Ways to Contribute

👋 Continue Contribution Ideas

🐛 Report Bugs

If you find a bug, please create an issue to report it! A great bug report includes:

A description of the bug
Steps to reproduce
What you expected to happen
What actually happened
Screenshots or videos

✨ Suggest Enhancements

Continue is quickly adding features, and we'd love to hear which are the most important to you. The best ways to suggest an enhancement are:

Create an issue
- First, check whether a similar proposal has already been made
- If not, create an issue
- Please describe the enhancement in as much detail as you can, and why it would be useful
Join the GitHub Discussions and tell us about your idea

📖 Updating / Improving Documentation

Running the Documentation Server Locally

You can run the documentation server locally using either of the following methods:

Method 1: NPM Script

Open your terminal and navigate to the
```
docs
```
subdirectory of the project. The
```
docusaurus.config.js
```
file you'll see there is a sign you're in the right place.
Run the following command to install the necessary dependencies for the documentation server:
```
npm install
```
Run the following command to start the documentation server:
```
npm run dev
```

Method 2: VS Code Task

Open VS Code in the root directory of the project.
Open the VS Code command pallet (
```
cmd/ctrl+shift+p
```
) and select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
.
Look for the
```
docs:start
```
task and select it.

This will start a local server and you can see the documentation rendered in your default browser, typically accessible at

http://localhost:3000

🧑‍💻 Contributing Code

Environment Setup

Pre-requisites

nvm use

Then, install Vite globally

npm i -g vite

Fork the Continue Repository

Go to the Continue GitHub repository and fork it to your GitHub account.
Clone your forked repository to your local machine. Use:
```
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/continue.git
```
Navigate to the cloned directory and make sure you are on the main branch. Create your feature/fix branch from there, like so:
```
git checkout -b 123-my-feature-branch
```
Send your pull request to the main branch.

VS Code

Open the VS Code command pallet (
```
cmd/ctrl+shift+p
```
) and select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
and then select
```
install-all-dependencies
```
Start debugging:
1. Switch to Run and Debug view
2. Select
```
Launch extension
```
  from drop down
3. Hit play button
4. This will start the extension in debug mode and open a new VS Code window with it installed
  1. The new VS Code window with the extension is referred to as the Host VS Code
  2. The window you started debugging from is referred to as the Main VS Code
To package the extension, run
```
npm run package
```
in the
```
extensions/vscode
```
directory, select
```
Tasks: Run Task
```
and then select
```
vscode-extension:package
```
. This will generate
```
extensions/vscode/build/continue-{VERSION}.vsix
```
, which you can install by right-clicking and selecting "Install Extension VSIX".

Debugging

Breakpoints can be used in both the

core

and

extensions/vscode

folders while debugging, but are not currently supported inside of

gui

code.

Hot-reloading is enabled with Vite, so if you make any changes to the

gui

, they should be automatically reflected without rebuilding. In some cases, you may need to refresh the Host VS Code window to see the changes.

Similarly, any changes to

core

extensions/vscode

will be automatically included by just reloading the Host VS Code window with cmd/ctrl+shift+p "Reload Window".

JetBrains

See

intellij/CONTRIBUTING.md

for the JetBrains extension.

Our Git Workflow

We keep a single permanent branch:

main

. When we are ready to create a "pre-release" version, we create a tag on the

main

branch titled

v1.3.x-vscode

v1.2.x-vscode

What makes a good PR?

To keep the Continue codebase clean and maintainable, we expect the following from our own team and all contributors:

Open a new issue or comment on an existing one before writing code. This ensures your proposed changes are aligned with the project direction
Keep changes focused. Multiple unrelated fixes should be opened as separate PRs
Write or update tests for new functionality
Update relevant documentation in the
```
docs
```
folder
For new features: Include a short screen recording or screenshot demonstrating the new functionality. This makes it much easier for us as contributors to review and understand your changes. See this PR as a good example
Open a PR against the
```
main
```
branch. Make sure to fill in the PR template

Formatting

Continue uses Prettier to format JavaScript/TypeScript. Please install the Prettier extension in VS Code and enable "Format on Save" in your settings.

Theme Colors

Continue has a set of named theme colors that we map to extension colors and tailwind classes, which can be found in gui/src/styles/theme.ts

Guidelines for using theme colors:

Use Tailwind colors whenever possible. If developing in VS Code, download the Tailwind CSS Intellisense extension for great suggestions
Avoid using any explicit classes and CSS variables outside the theme (e.g.
```
text-yellow-400
```
)

Guidelines for adding/updating theme colors:

Choose sensible VS Code variables to add/update in gui/src/styles/theme.ts (see here and here for inspiration)
Choose sensible JetBrains named colors to add/update in
```
GetTheme.kt
```
(flagship LLMs can give you good suggestions to try)
Update
```
tailwind.config.js
```
if needed
Use the Theme Test Page to check colors. This can be accessed by going to
```
Settings
```
->
```
Help
```
->
```
Theme Test Page
```
in dev/debug mode.

Testing

When contributing, please update or create the appropriate tests to help verify the correctness of your implementation.

Review Process

Initial Review - A maintainer will be assigned as primary reviewer
Feedback Loop - The reviewer may request changes. We value your work, but also want to ensure the code is maintainable and follows our patterns.
Approval & Merge - Once the PR is approved, it will be merged into the
```
main
```
branch.

Create a new file in the
```
core/llm/llms
```
directory. The name of the file should be the name of the provider, and it should export a class that extends
```
BaseLLM
```
. This class should contain the following minimal implementation. We recommend viewing pre-existing providers for more details. The LlamaCpp Provider is a good simple example.
Add your provider to the
```
LLMs
```
array in core/llm/llms/index.ts.
If your provider supports images, add it to the
```
PROVIDER_SUPPORTS_IMAGES
```
array in core/llm/autodetect.ts.
Add a documentation page for your provider in
```
docs/customize/model-providers/more
```
. This should show an example of configuring your provider in
```
config.yaml
```
and explain what options are available.

Adding Models

While any model that works with a supported provider can be used with Continue, we keep a list of recommended models that can be automatically configured from the UI or

config.json

. The following files should be updated when adding a model:

AddNewModel page - This directory defines which model options are shown in the side bar model selection UI. To add a new model:
1. Add a
```
ModelPackage
```
  entry for the model into configs/models.ts, following the lead of the many examples near the top of the file
2. Add the model within its provider's array to configs/providers.ts (add provider if needed)
LLM Providers: Since many providers use their own custom strings to identify models, you'll have to add the translation from Continue's model name (the one you added to
```
index.d.ts
```
) and the model string for each of these providers: Ollama, Together, and Replicate. You can find their full model lists here: Ollama, Together, Replicate.
Prompt Templates - In this file you'll find the
```
autodetectTemplateType
```
function. Make sure that for the model name you just added, this function returns the correct template type. This is assuming that the chat template for that model is already built in Continue. If not, you will have to add the template type and corresponding edit and chat templates.

Contributor License Agreement (CLA)

We require all contributors to accept the CLA and have made it as easy as commenting on your PR:

Open your pull request.

Paste the following comment (or reply

recheck

if you’ve signed before):

I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA

The CLA-Assistant bot records your signature in the repo and marks the status check as passed.

Contributing to Continue

Related Skills

<h1 align="center">

- Identify gaps

2. Apply Deepthink Protocol (reason about dependencies