Continue.dev

Configure Continue, the open-source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains, to use Cheapa API's model catalog.

What This Does

Continue is an open-source AI assistant that integrates with VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. It provides chat, code generation, inline edits, and tab completions. By connecting Continue to Cheapa API, you unlock access to Kimi, DeepSeek, MiniMax, Qwen, MiMo, GLM, and Gemma models through a single unified endpoint with consolidated billing.

Setup

Step 1: Install Continue

VS Code:

Open the Extensions marketplace (Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for Continue
Click Install

JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.):

Open Settings → Plugins
Search for Continue in the Marketplace
Click Install and restart the IDE

Step 2: Open the Config File

Continue stores its configuration in a JSON file:

OS	Path
macOS / Linux	`~/.continue/config.json`
Windows	`%USERPROFILE%\.continue\config.json`

You can also open it from Continue's sidebar: click the gear icon → Edit Config

Step 3: Add Cheapa API Configuration

Add the following to your config.json:

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Cheapa API Kimi K2.7 Code",
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "kimi-k2.7-code",
      "apiBase": "https://api.cheapaapi.com/v1",
      "apiKey": "YOUR_Cheapa API_API_KEY"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cheapa API DeepSeek V4 Pro",
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "deepseek-v4-pro",
      "apiBase": "https://api.cheapaapi.com/v1",
      "apiKey": "YOUR_Cheapa API_API_KEY"
    },
    {
      "title": "Cheapa API MiniMax M3",
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "minimax-m3",
      "apiBase": "https://api.cheapaapi.com/v1",
      "apiKey": "YOUR_Cheapa API_API_KEY"
    }
  ]
}

Replace YOUR_Cheapa API_API_KEY with your actual key from cheapaapi.com/keys.

Step 4: Select Your Model

Open the Continue chat panel
Click the model dropdown at the top
Select one of your configured Cheapa API models

Recommended Models for Continue

Use Case	Model	Description
Code-specialized generation & refactoring	`kimi-k2.7-code`	Moonshot's code-tuned K2.7 — best for code generation and refactoring
Frontier reasoning / refactors	`claude-opus-4.8`	Anthropic flagship — best code-quality and long-context understanding
Strong general coding	`gpt-5.5`	OpenAI's flagship GPT-5 model, 1M context
Cost-balanced coding	`claude-sonnet-4.6`	Strong reasoning at lower cost than Opus
General coding assistance	`deepseek-v4-pro`	Optimized for code tasks
Complex explanations	`kimi-k2.6`	Strong reasoning capability
Large file analysis	`minimax-m3`	Extended 1M context window
Fast autocomplete	`gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview` or `glm-5.1`	Low latency responses
Cost-effective sessions	`deepseek-v4-flash` or `gemma-4`	Cheapest tokens in the catalog

Tab Autocomplete Configuration

For tab completions, add a tabAutocompleteModel entry:

{
  "tabAutocompleteModel": {
    "title": "Cheapa API Fast",
    "provider": "openai",
    "model": "glm-5.1",
    "apiBase": "https://api.cheapaapi.com/v1",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_Cheapa API_API_KEY"
  }
}

Troubleshooting

"API key is required" error

Ensure apiKey is set in each model configuration
Verify the key is valid at cheapaapi.com/keys

No models appear in the dropdown

Check that config.json has valid JSON syntax (no trailing commas)
Reload the IDE after saving the config file

Slow responses

Use glm-5.1 for faster responses
Check your balance at cheapaapi.com/billing

Connection errors

Confirm apiBase is exactly https://api.cheapaapi.com/v1
Ensure your network allows HTTPS to api.cheapaapi.com

Notes

Continue supports multiple models in the same config — configure as many as you need
The provider field must be "openai" for Cheapa API compatibility
All token usage is logged to your Cheapa API dashboard in real-time
For JetBrains, the configuration file location is the same as VS Code

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