Continue

This tutorial configures Continue, an agentic coding tool available as a CLI and IDE extension, to use Large Language Models hosted by Kimchi.

This tutorial focuses on the Continue CLI. IDE extensions automatically pick up the same configuration file — see IDE integration after completing the CLI setup.

Overview

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to use Kimi K2.7 and MiniMax M3 with Continue in your terminal, VS Code, and JetBrains IDEs.

Prerequisites

A Kimchi API key from app.kimchi.dev/settings
Continue CLI installed — Follow the official install instructions.

📘
Kimchi base URL is OpenAI-compatible. Although this tutorial covers Continue, the same pattern works for other tools that support third-party OpenAI-compatible providers.

Configure the CLI

Create the Continue configuration file

Create the configuration file for your OS:

~/.continue/config.yaml

Add the following content:

name: Kimchi Config
version: 1.0.0
schema: v1
model_defaults: &model_defaults
  provider: "openai"
  apiBase: "https://llm.kimchi.dev/openai/v1"
  apiKey: "YOUR_KIMCHI_API_KEY"
models:
  - name: "kimi-k2.7"
    model: "kimi-k2.7"
    <<: *model_defaults
  - name: "minimax-m3"
    model: "minimax-m3"
    <<: *model_defaults

Replace YOUR_KIMCHI_API_KEY with your Kimchi API key.

The model_defaults anchor (&model_defaults) avoids repeating the provider, base URL, and API key for each model.

Verify your configuration

Launch Continue with the --config flag:

cn --config ~/.continue/config.yaml

Send a test prompt like Hello to confirm the connection.

IDE integration

The configuration file is automatically recognized by Continue extensions for VS Code and JetBrains. No additional setup is needed — install the extension and it picks up the same config.

If the extension doesn't load the config, confirm that ~/.continue/config.yaml (macOS/Linux) or %USERPROFILE%\.continue\config.yaml (Windows) exists and contains valid YAML.

Install the extension

Install the Continue extension from the VS Code Marketplace.

Verify the connection

Open the Continue panel from the sidebar and send a test prompt. The Continue icon appears in the sidebar — clicking it opens the panel. Confirm that Local Config is loaded and the model selector points to a model from the config file.

Next steps

Rate limits

Understand request and token limits by plan before building for production.

Hosted model deployment

Deploy models on your own cluster when per-token costs exceed compute costs or compliance requires it.