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Continue (VS Code Extension)

Continue is an open-source AI code assistant for Visual Studio Code. Because it speaks the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Continue can discover and call the tools you publish through ContextForge - no plug-in code required.

Gateway URL

  • Direct installs (uvx, pip, or docker run): http://localhost:4444
  • Docker Compose (nginx proxy): http://localhost:8080

🧰 Key Features

  • ✨ AI-powered completions, edits & chat
  • 🔌 MCP integration - dynamic tool list pulled from your gateway
  • 🏗 Bring-your-own model - local Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.
  • 🧠 Context-aware - reads your workspace to craft better replies

🛠 Installation

  1. Install "Continue": Ctrl ⇧ X → search Continue → Install
  2. Open config: Ctrl ⇧ P → "Continue: Open Config"

🔗 Connecting Continue to ContextForge

Attach Continue to a gateway over Streamable HTTP:

You still need a JWT or Basic auth if the gateway is protected.

Direct Streamable HTTP

Add the gateway to mcpServers in ~/.continue/config.yaml:

name: Main Config
version: 1.0.0
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: contextforge
    type: streamable-http
    url: http://localhost:4444/servers/UUID_OF_SERVER_1/mcp/
    requestOptions:
      headers:
        Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE>

mcpServers is a list, and auth headers belong under requestOptions.headers — Continue does not read a top-level headers key. Reload the window afterwards; the server appears under Tools ▸ MCP Servers in the Continue sidebar.

Generate a token to paste above:

python3 -m mcpgateway.utils.create_jwt_token -u admin@example.com --secret my-test-key-but-now-longer-than-32-bytes

The --secret value must match the Gateway's JWT_SECRET_KEY, otherwise the Gateway rejects the token.

🧪 Using Gateway Tools

Once VS Code restarts:

  1. Open Continue Chat (⌥ C on macOS / Alt C on Windows/Linux)
  2. Click Tools - your gateway's tools should appear
  3. Chat naturally:
Run hello_world with name = "Alice"

The Gateway executes and streams the JSON result back to Continue.

📝 Tips

  • Multiple servers - add more blocks under "servers" if you run staging vs prod.
  • Custom instructions - Continue's Custom Instructions pane lets you steer tool use.

📚 Resources