Continue Integration

Continue is an open-source AI coding assistant that integrates directly into VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. It supports a wide range of model providers --- both cloud and local --- and lets developers customize their AI experience through a simple YAML configuration file.

Continue's config.yaml supports OpenAI-compatible providers, making it easy to connect LLM API as your model backend.

Prerequisites

An LLM API account with an API key
Continue installed or accessible

Setup

Get Your LLM API Key

Log in to your LLM API dashboard
Click Create Key to Start
Copy your new API key immediately — it will only be shown once
Store the key securely (e.g., in a password manager or .env file)

LLM API is an OpenAI-compatible gateway that gives you access to dozens of AI models through a single API key and endpoint.

Configure LLM API in Continue

Open your Continue configuration file (~/.continue/config.yaml or your project's .continue/config.yaml).
Add LLM API as a model provider:

models:
\- name: "GPT-4o via LLM API"
provider: openai
model: openai/gpt-4o
apiKey: your-llm-api-key-here
apiBase: https://api.llmapi.ai/v1
roles:
\- chat
\- edit
\- apply

Save the file. Continue will automatically reload the configuration.
Open Continue in your IDE --- the LLM API model will appear in the model selector.

Test the Integration

Verify that Continue can successfully communicate with LLM API by sending a test request. All requests will now be routed through LLM API.

You can add multiple model entries with different model IDs, all sharing the same LLM API key and base URL.

Benefits of Using LLM API with Continue

Multi-Provider Access: Use models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more through a single API
Cost Control: Track and limit your AI spending with detailed usage analytics
Unified Billing: One account for all providers instead of managing multiple API keys
Caching: Reduce costs with response caching for repeated requests

View all available models on the models page.