Complete Continue.dev keyboard shortcuts and commands reference — 21 shortcuts across 3 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + L | Open chat |
| Ctrl + I | Inline edit |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Add to chat |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Debug terminal |
| Tab | Accept suggestion |
| Esc | Reject suggestion |
| Alt + Backslash | Force autocomplete |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | Toggle sidebar |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + Shift + J | Open chat |
| Alt + Shift + M | Inline edit |
| Alt + Shift + L | Add to chat |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| /edit <instruction> | Inline edit mode |
| /comment | Generate comments |
| /test | Generate tests |
| /share | Share session |
| @file | Reference file |
| @codebase | Codebase context |
| @docs | Documentation |
| @terminal | Terminal output |
| @problems | Errors & warnings |
| @clipboard | Clipboard content |
Continue lives on two chords in VS Code: Ctrl + L opens a chat with your current selection attached, and Ctrl + I edits inline — describe the change and the diff appears in place. The subtle third is Ctrl + Shift + L: it adds the selection to the chat you already have, instead of starting fresh — the key for building up context across several files. Autocomplete rides on Tab to accept, Esc to dismiss, and Alt + Backslash to summon a suggestion when none appeared. JetBrains users get the same trio on Alt + Shift + J, Alt + Shift + M, and Alt + Shift + L.
Context is explicit, which is Continue's quiet superpower: type @file to pull in a file, @codebase to let it search your indexed repository for relevant snippets, @docs for documentation, @terminal for recent output, @problems for current errors, @clipboard for whatever you just copied. Slash-commands package common asks — /test, /comment, /edit <instruction> — so the prompt is the instruction, not the setup.
Ctrl + L starts (or focuses) a chat and attaches the current selection to it. Ctrl + Shift + L appends the selection to the existing conversation — use it to feed the same chat pieces from multiple files before asking a question that spans them.
Continue indexes your repository and, when you use @codebase, retrieves the snippets most relevant to your question rather than dumping everything. Precision improves when your question names the concepts involved; for a known file, @file is more direct and cheaper.
Whichever you configure — that is the point of it being open-source. Commercial APIs, self-hosted endpoints, or fully local models (an Ollama install on the same machine is a popular pairing) all plug in through its config, and you can route chat, edit, and autocomplete to different models.
First, summon one manually with Alt + Backslash — if that works, the feature is fine and it was simply being conservative. If nothing appears, confirm an autocomplete model is configured and the extension is signed in to whatever provider it points at; autocomplete uses its own model slot, separate from chat.
No — JetBrains reserves many of those chords, so Continue maps its own: Alt + Shift + J for chat, Alt + Shift + M for inline edit, Alt + Shift + L to add selection. The @-context providers and slash-commands behave identically once you are in the chat.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"