--- title: Continue CLI with AI Gateway product: vercel url: /docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/continue canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/continue" last_updated: 2018-10-20 type: how-to prerequisites: - /docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents - /docs/ai-gateway related: - /docs/cli/ai-gateway - /docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/observability - /docs/ai-gateway/sdks-and-apis/openai-chat-completions - /docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/budgets summary: Connect Continue CLI to AI Gateway with the Vercel CLI or a YAML model configuration that reads your API key from the environment. install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin --- # Continue CLI with AI Gateway [Continue](https://continue.dev) 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. ## Related pages > **For AI agents:** Follow these links to understand how this page connects to the rest of the Vercel ecosystem. For the full cross-link map (inbound, outbound, prerequisites, and semantic neighbors), see the .graph.md link below. - [Deep Agents CLI with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/deepagents?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Connect Deep Agents CLI to AI Gateway with the Vercel CLI or a TOML provider and model profiles. - [GitHub Copilot CLI with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/copilot?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Connect GitHub Copilot CLI to AI Gateway with the Vercel CLI or environment variables for the provider URL, API key, and - [Command Code with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/command-code?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Connect Command Code to AI Gateway with your own API key and a custom base URL. Configure models, switch between them, a - [ZCode with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/zcode?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Connect ZCode to AI Gateway with the Vercel CLI or an OpenAI-compatible custom provider. - [Cline with AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/cline?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=related) — Connect Cline to AI Gateway through the Vercel CLI or VS Code settings. Configure model access and monitor usage and spe Full cross-link map for this page: [/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/continue.graph.md](/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents/continue.graph.md?from=related&source_path=%2Fdocs%2Fai-gateway%2Fcoding-agents%2Fcontinue&source_site=vercel-docs&relationship=graph) ## Set up with the Vercel CLI Run the [Vercel CLI setup command](/docs/cli/ai-gateway#setup) for Continue CLI: ```bash filename="terminal" 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. ## Configuring Continue CLI If you can't use the Vercel CLI, configure Continue CLI manually: - ### Create an API key Go to the [**AI Gateway**](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai-gateway\&title=Go+to+AI+Gateway) section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar and click **API keys** to create a new API key. - ### Export the key Continue resolves its secrets syntax from environment variables. Export the key in your shell: ```bash filename="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. - ### Point Continue at the gateway Add a gateway model to the `models` array in `~/.continue/config.yaml`: ```yaml filename="~/.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: ${{ secrets.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY }}` is Continue's literal secrets syntax. It resolves the `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` environment variable at runtime, so the key never lands in the file. `cn` launches with the first entry in the list, so put your preferred model first. - ### Skip the onboarding prompt If `cn` has never run before, create the onboarding marker next to the config so the interactive onboarding doesn't rewrite your models: ```bash filename="Terminal" touch ~/.continue/.onboarding_complete ``` If `cn` ever asks for an Anthropic API key, the marker is missing. Re-create the marker instead of answering the prompt, which would overwrite the gateway models. - ### Start Continue ```bash filename="Terminal" cn ``` Switch models with `/model`. Add more gateway models to the `models` array the same way, each with the same `apiBase` and secrets reference. ### Monitor usage and spend View your usage, spend, and request activity in the [**AI Gateway**](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai-gateway\&title=Go+to+AI+Gateway) section in the Vercel dashboard sidebar. See the [observability documentation](/docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/observability) for more details. ## Environment variables | Variable | Description | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` | Your AI Gateway API key, read through `${{ secrets.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY }}`. Required | > **💡 Note:** Continue calls AI Gateway through the [OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions > API](/docs/ai-gateway/sdks-and-apis/openai-chat-completions), so any model > that supports Chat Completions works. ## Next steps - Browse the [models catalog](/ai-gateway/models) for available models - Configure [spend limits](/docs/ai-gateway/observability-and-spend/budgets) on your API key - Read the [Continue documentation](https://docs.continue.dev) for IDE extensions and rules --- [View full sitemap](/docs/sitemap)