Continue CLI with AI Gateway

Continue is an open-source AI coding agent with a CLI (cn) and IDE extensions. You can configure the CLI to use AI Gateway for unified model access and spend monitoring.

Run the Vercel CLI setup command for Continue CLI:

npx vercel ai-gateway setup --agent continue

The command writes a shortlist of the gateway's most-used models into ~/.continue/config.yaml in leaderboard spend order, references the key through Continue's secrets syntax, and stamps the onboarding marker so an interactive cn doesn't rewrite the config. Re-run it to refresh the shortlist.

If you can't use the Vercel CLI, configure Continue CLI manually:

1. Create an API key

   Go to the AI Gateway section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar and click API keys to create a new API key.

2. Export the key

   Continue resolves its secrets syntax from environment variables. Export the key in your shell:

   Terminal

   export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-ai-gateway-api-key"

   To persist the key, add the same line to your shell's startup file.

3. Point Continue at the gateway

   Add a gateway model to the models array in ~/.continue/config.yaml:

   ~/.continue/config.yaml

   name: Local Config
   version: 1.0.0
   schema: v1
   models:
     - name: openai/gpt-6-astra
       provider: openai
       model: openai/gpt-6-astra
       apiBase: https://ai-gateway.vercel.sh/coding-agent/v1
       apiKey: ${{ secrets.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY }}

   apiKey: ${{ secrets.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY }} is Continue's literal secrets syntax. It resolves the AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY environment variable at runtime, so the key never lands in the file. cn launches with the first entry in the list, so put your preferred model first.

4. Skip the onboarding prompt

   If cn has never run before, create the onboarding marker next to the config so the interactive onboarding doesn't rewrite your models:

   Terminal

   touch ~/.continue/.onboarding_complete

   If cn ever asks for an Anthropic API key, the marker is missing. Re-create the marker instead of answering the prompt, which would overwrite the gateway models.

5. Start Continue

   Terminal

   cn

   Switch models with /model. Add more gateway models to the models array the same way, each with the same apiBase and secrets reference.

View your usage, spend, and request activity in the AI Gateway section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar. See the observability documentation for more details.

• Browse the models catalog for available models
• Configure spend limits on your API key
• Read the Continue documentation for IDE extensions and rules