Context Providers

As an example, say you are working on solving a new GitHub Issue. You type ‘@Issue’ and select the one you are working on. Continue can now see the issue title and contents. You also know that the issue is related to the files ‘readme.md’ and ‘helloNested.py’, so you type ‘@readme’ and ‘@hello’ to find and select them. Now these 3 “Context Items” are displayed inline with the rest of your input.

How Do Context Blocks Work?

You can add context providers to assistants using context blocks. Explore available context blocks in the hub.

Built-in Context Providers

You can add any built-in context-providers in your config file as shown below:

@File Context Provider – Reference Files in Your Workspace

Reference any file in your current workspace.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: file

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "file" }] }

@Code Context Provider – Reference Functions and Classes

Reference specific functions or classes from throughout your project.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: code

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "code" }] }

@Git Diff Context Provider – Reference Branch Changes

Reference all of the changes you’ve made to your current branch. This is useful if you want to summarize what you’ve done or ask for a general review of your work before committing.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: diff

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "diff" }] }

@Current File Context Provider – Reference the Active File

Reference the currently open file.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: currentFile

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "currentFile" }] }

@Terminal Context Provider – Reference Last Terminal Command and Output

Reference the last command you ran in your IDE’s terminal and its output.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: terminal

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "terminal" }] }

@Docs Context Provider – Reference Documentation Site Content

Reference the contents from any documentation site.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: docs

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "docs" }] }

Note that this will only enable the @Docs context provider. To use it, you need to add a documentation site to your config file. See the docs page for more information.

@Open Context Provider – Reference All Open Files or Pinned Files

Reference the contents of all of your open files. Set onlyPinned to true to only reference pinned files.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: open
    params:
      onlyPinned: true

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "open", "params": { "onlyPinned": true } }] }

@Web Context Provider – Reference Relevant Web Pages

Reference relevant pages from across the web, automatically determined from your input. Optionally, set n to limit the number of results returned (default 6).

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: web
    params:
      n: 5

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "web", "params": { "n": 5 } }] }

@Codebase Context Provider – Reference Relevant Codebase Snippets

Reference the most relevant snippets from your codebase.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: codebase

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "codebase" }] }

Read more about indexing and retrieval here.

@Folder Context Provider – Reference Code from a Specific Folder

Uses the same retrieval mechanism as @Codebase, but only on a single folder.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:  - provider: folder

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "folder" }] }

@Search Context Provider – Reference Code Search Results

Reference the results of codebase search, just like the results you would get from VS Code search.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: search
    params:
      maxResults: 100 # optional, defaults to 200

config.json

{  "contextProviders": [    {      "name": "search",      "params": {        "maxResults": 100 // optional, defaults to 200      }    }  ]}

This context provider is powered by ripgrep.

@Url Context Provider – Reference Content from a URL

Reference the markdown converted contents of a given URL.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: url

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "url" }] }

@Clipboard Context Provider – Reference Clipboard Items

Reference recent clipboard items

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: clipboard

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "clipboard" }] }

@Tree Context Provider – Reference Workspace File Structure

Reference the structure of your current workspace.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: tree

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "tree" }] }

@Problems Context Provider – Reference Problems in the Current File

Get Problems from the current file.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: problems

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "problems" }] }

@Debugger Context Provider – Reference Debugger Local Variables

Reference the contents of the local variables in the debugger. Currently only available in VS Code.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: debugger
    params:
      stackDepth: 3

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "debugger", "params": { "stackDepth": 3 } }] }

Uses the top n levels (defaulting to 3) of the call stack for that thread.

@Repository Map Context Provider – Reference Codebase Outline and Signatures

Reference the outline of your codebase. By default, signatures are included along with file in the repo map. includeSignatures params can be set to false to exclude signatures. This could be necessary for large codebases and/or to reduce context size significantly. Signatures will not be included if indexing is disabled.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: repo-map
    params:
      includeSignatures: false # default true

config.json

{  "contextProviders": [    {      "name": "repo-map",      "params": {        "includeSignatures": false // default true      }    }  ]}

Provides a list of files and the call signatures of top-level classes, functions, and methods in those files. This helps the model better understand how a particular piece of code relates to the rest of the codebase. In the submenu that appears, you can select either Entire codebase, or specify a subfolder to generate the repository map from. This context provider is inspired by Aider’s repository map.

@Operating System Context Provider – Reference System Architecture and Platform

Reference the architecture and platform of your current operating system.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: os

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "os" }] }

Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Continue

The Model Context Protocol is a standard proposed by Anthropic to unify prompts, context, and tool use. Continue supports any MCP server with the MCP context provider. Read their quickstart to learn how to set up a local server and then set up your configuration like this:

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

mcpServers:
  - name: My MCP Server
    command: uvx
    args:
      - mcp-server-sqlite
      - --db-path
      - /Users/NAME/test.db

config.json

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "uvx",
          "args": ["mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "/Users/NAME/test.db"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

You’ll then be able to type ”@” and see “MCP” in the context providers dropdown.

@Issue Context Provider – Reference GitHub Issue Conversations

Reference the conversation in a GitHub issue.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: issue
    params:
      repos:
        - owner: continuedev
          repo: continue
      githubToken: ghp_xxx

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "issue",
      "params": {
        "repos": [{ "owner": "continuedev", "repo": "continue" }],
        "githubToken": "ghp_xxx"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Make sure to include your own GitHub personal access token to avoid being rate-limited.

@Database Context Provider – Reference Database Table Schemas

Reference table schemas from Sqlite, Postgres, MSSQL, and MySQL databases.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: database
    params:
      connections:
        - name: examplePostgres
          connection_type: postgres
          connection:
            user: username
            host: localhost
            database: exampleDB
            password: yourPassword
            port: 5432
        - name: exampleMssql
          connection_type: mssql
          connection:
            user: username
            server: localhost
            database: exampleDB
            password: yourPassword
        - name: exampleSqlite
          connection_type: sqlite
          connection:
            filename: /path/to/your/sqlite/database.db

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "database",
      "params": {
        "connections": [
          {
            "name": "examplePostgres",
            "connection_type": "postgres",
            "connection": {
              "user": "username",
              "host": "localhost",
              "database": "exampleDB",
              "password": "yourPassword",
              "port": 5432
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "exampleMssql",
            "connection_type": "mssql",
            "connection": {
              "user": "username",
              "server": "localhost",
              "database": "exampleDB",
              "password": "yourPassword"
            }
          },
          {
            "name": "exampleSqlite",
            "connection_type": "sqlite",
            "connection": { "filename": "/path/to/your/sqlite/database.db" }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Each connection should include a unique name, the connection_type, and the necessary connection parameters specific to each database type. Available connection types:

postgres
mysql
sqlite

@Google Context Provider – Reference Google Search Results

Reference the results of a Google search.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: google
    params:
      serperApiKey: <YOUR_SERPER.DEV_API_KEY>

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "google",
      "params": { "serperApiKey": "<YOUR_SERPER.DEV_API_KEY>" }
    }
  ]
}

For example, type “@Google python tutorial” if you want to search and discuss ways of learning Python. Note: You can get an API key for free at serper.dev.

@Gitlab Merge Request Context Provider – Reference GitLab Merge Requests

Reference an open MR for this branch on GitLab.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: gitlab-mr
    params:
      token: "..."

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "gitlab-mr", "params": { "token": "..." } }] }

You will need to create a personal access token with the read_api scope.

How to Use Self-Hosted GitLab

You can specify the domain to communicate with by setting the domain parameter in your configurtion. By default this is set to gitlab.com.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: gitlab-mr
    params:
      token: "..."
      domain: "gitlab.example.com"

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "gitlab-mr",
      "params": { "token": "...", "domain": "gitlab.example.com" }
    }
  ]
}

How to Provide Context by Filtering Comments

If you select some code to be edited, you can have the context provider filter out comments for other files. To enable this feature, set filterComments to true.

@Jira Context Provider – Reference Jira Issues

Reference the conversation in a Jira issue.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: jira
    params:
      domain: company.atlassian.net
      token: ATATT...

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "jira",
      "params": { "domain": "company.atlassian.net", "token": "ATATT..." }
    }
  ]
}

Make sure to include your own Atlassian API Token, or use your email and token, with token set to your password for basic authentication. If you use your own Atlassian API Token, don’t configure your email.

Jira Datacenter Support

This context provider supports both Jira API version 2 and 3. It will use version 3 by default since that’s what the cloud version uses, but if you have the datacenter version of Jira, you’ll need to set the API Version to 2 using the apiVersion property.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: jira
    params:
      apiVersion: "2"

config.json

{ "contextProviders": [{ "name": "jira", "params": { "apiVersion": "2" } }] }

Issue Query

By default, the following query will be used to find issues:

assignee = currentUser() AND resolution = Unresolved order by updated DESC

You can override this query by setting the issueQuery parameter.

Max results

You can set the maxResults parameter to limit the number of results returned. The default is 50.

@Discord Context Provider – Reference Messages in Discord Channels

Reference the messages in a Discord channel.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: discord
    params:
      discordKey: "bot token"
      guildId: "1234567890"
      channels:
        - id: "123456"
          name: "example-channel"
        - id: "678901"
          name: "example-channel-2"

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "discord",
      "params": {
        "discordKey": "bot token",
        "guildId": "1234567890",
        "channels": [
          { "id": "123456", "name": "example-channel" },
          { "id": "678901", "name": "example-channel-2" }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Make sure to include your own Bot Token, and join it to your related server . If you want more granular control over which channels are searched, you can specify a list of channel IDs to search in. If you don’t want to specify any channels, just include the guild id(Server ID) and all channels will be included. The provider only reads text channels.

@HTTP Context Provider – Reference Data from an HTTP Request

The HttpContextProvider makes a POST request to the url passed in the configuration. The server must return 200 OK with a ContextItem object or an array of ContextItems.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: http
    params:
      url: "https://api.example.com/v1/users"

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    { "name": "http", "params": { "url": "https://api.example.com/v1/users" } }
  ]
}

The receiving URL should expect to receive the following parameters: POST parameters

{  query: string,  fullInput: string}

The response 200 OK should be a JSON object with the following structure: Response

[  {    "name": "",    "description": "",    "content": ""  }]// OR{  "name": "",  "description": "",  "content": ""}

@Commits Context Provider – Reference Git Commit Metadata and Diffs

Reference specific git commit metadata and diff or all of the recent commits.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: commit
    params:
      Depth: 50
      LastXCommitsDepth: 10

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    { "name": "commit", "params": { "Depth": 50, "LastXCommitsDepth": 10 } }
  ]
}

The depth is how many commits will be loaded into the submenu, defaults to 50. The LastXCommitsDepth is how many recent commits will be included, defaults to 10.

@Greptile Context Provider – Query Greptile Index of Repo/Branch

Query a Greptile index of the current repo/branch.

YAML
JSON

config.yaml

context:
  - provider: greptile
    params:
      greptileToken: "..."
      githubToken: "..."

config.json

{
  "contextProviders": [
    {
      "name": "greptile",
      "params": { "GreptileToken": "...", "GithubToken": "..." }
    }
  ]
}

How to Request a New Context Provider in Continue

Not seeing what you want? Create an issue here to request a new Context Provider.

Customize

​How Do Context Blocks Work?

​Built-in Context Providers

​@File Context Provider – Reference Files in Your Workspace

​@Code Context Provider – Reference Functions and Classes

​@Git Diff Context Provider – Reference Branch Changes

​@Current File Context Provider – Reference the Active File

​@Terminal Context Provider – Reference Last Terminal Command and Output

​@Docs Context Provider – Reference Documentation Site Content

​@Open Context Provider – Reference All Open Files or Pinned Files

​@Web Context Provider – Reference Relevant Web Pages

​@Codebase Context Provider – Reference Relevant Codebase Snippets

​@Folder Context Provider – Reference Code from a Specific Folder

​@Search Context Provider – Reference Code Search Results

​@Url Context Provider – Reference Content from a URL

​@Clipboard Context Provider – Reference Clipboard Items

​@Tree Context Provider – Reference Workspace File Structure

​@Problems Context Provider – Reference Problems in the Current File

​@Debugger Context Provider – Reference Debugger Local Variables

​@Repository Map Context Provider – Reference Codebase Outline and Signatures

​@Operating System Context Provider – Reference System Architecture and Platform

​Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Continue

​@Issue Context Provider – Reference GitHub Issue Conversations

​@Database Context Provider – Reference Database Table Schemas

​@Google Context Provider – Reference Google Search Results

​@Gitlab Merge Request Context Provider – Reference GitLab Merge Requests

​How to Use Self-Hosted GitLab

​How to Provide Context by Filtering Comments

​@Jira Context Provider – Reference Jira Issues

​Jira Datacenter Support

​Issue Query

​Max results

​@Discord Context Provider – Reference Messages in Discord Channels

​@HTTP Context Provider – Reference Data from an HTTP Request

​@Commits Context Provider – Reference Git Commit Metadata and Diffs

​@Greptile Context Provider – Query Greptile Index of Repo/Branch

​How to Request a New Context Provider in Continue

How Do Context Blocks Work?

Built-in Context Providers

@File Context Provider – Reference Files in Your Workspace

@Code Context Provider – Reference Functions and Classes

@Git Diff Context Provider – Reference Branch Changes

@Current File Context Provider – Reference the Active File

@Terminal Context Provider – Reference Last Terminal Command and Output

@Docs Context Provider – Reference Documentation Site Content

@Open Context Provider – Reference All Open Files or Pinned Files

@Web Context Provider – Reference Relevant Web Pages

@Codebase Context Provider – Reference Relevant Codebase Snippets

@Folder Context Provider – Reference Code from a Specific Folder

@Search Context Provider – Reference Code Search Results

@Url Context Provider – Reference Content from a URL

@Clipboard Context Provider – Reference Clipboard Items

@Tree Context Provider – Reference Workspace File Structure

@Problems Context Provider – Reference Problems in the Current File

@Debugger Context Provider – Reference Debugger Local Variables

@Repository Map Context Provider – Reference Codebase Outline and Signatures

@Operating System Context Provider – Reference System Architecture and Platform

Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Continue

@Issue Context Provider – Reference GitHub Issue Conversations

@Database Context Provider – Reference Database Table Schemas

@Google Context Provider – Reference Google Search Results

@Gitlab Merge Request Context Provider – Reference GitLab Merge Requests

How to Use Self-Hosted GitLab

How to Provide Context by Filtering Comments

@Jira Context Provider – Reference Jira Issues

Jira Datacenter Support

Issue Query

Max results

@Discord Context Provider – Reference Messages in Discord Channels

@HTTP Context Provider – Reference Data from an HTTP Request

@Commits Context Provider – Reference Git Commit Metadata and Diffs

@Greptile Context Provider – Query Greptile Index of Repo/Branch

How to Request a New Context Provider in Continue