Continue CLIvsWarp
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Continue CLI
Continue · Terminal agent
#24OSSMCP
Panel
6.41 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.2
- Usefulness
- 6.3
- Cost
- 8.0
- Longevity
- 5.2
“It installs by piping a URL straight into your shell, then politely asks permission before it touches a single file.”
Warp
Warp · Terminal agent
#20OSSMCP
Panel
6.54 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.5
- Usefulness
- 6.7
- Cost
- 5.5
- Longevity
- 7.2
“Scored 75.8 on SWE-bench Verified with a best-of-k wrapper, which is also how most of us get through code review.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Continue CLI | Warp |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local | local, cloud |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | No | YesComputer Use environments bundle Chromium plus the Playwright CLI and can attach over CDP, so the agent navigates, clicks, fills forms and reads pages. |
| Sandboxed execution | NoThe docs describe running the CLI inside a Docker container, not sandboxing the agent in one. | YesCloud runs execute in a containerized sandbox built from a Docker image with no access to the local machine; local interactive sessions are not sandboxed. |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | any provider configured in config.yaml, Anthropic | GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, open-weight models via Fireworks |
| Bring your own model | Yes | YesAny OpenAI-compatible endpoint (OpenRouter, LiteLLM, an internal gateway) plus BYO Anthropic, OpenAI or Google keys and custom routers. |
| Local models | YesThe CLI reads the same ~/.continue/config.yaml provider schema as the IDE extensions, including a custom apiBase, so any local server can be configured; the CLI pages defer to that reference rather than naming Ollama or LM Studio. | YesOllama, LM Studio, vLLM and llama.cpp are supported through the custom inference endpoint, but only when exposed at a public URL via a tunnel, since localhost and private addresses are rejected. |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | mixed |
| Starts at | $0/mo | $20/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | 36,084 | 65,338 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Continue CLI | Warp | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 6.8 | 7.3 | Warp — Use Warp if you want an agent in the terminal you already open every morning, with a standalone CLI and cloud agents when you outgrow it, and read the credit table before you pick a plan. |
| El Crítico | 6.3 | 6.0 | Continue CLI — Tool safety here is a command-line flag: one auto switch turns the gate off, and the row records no container isolation behind it. |
| El Profesor | 6.5 | 6.0 | Continue CLI — One configuration schema serves both the terminal agent and the editor extensions, which is the correct reuse; the command-line documentation defers to it rather than restating it. |
| La Inversora | 5.3 | 6.8 | Warp — Warp spent years building a terminal, open-sourced it under AGPL, and is now selling credits and $200 Max plans on top of it; the terminal is the distribution, the agent is the business. |
| La Jefa | 6.0 | 6.0 | no preference |
| El Hacker | 7.8 | 6.8 | Continue CLI — Apache-2.0 with the whole thing in a public monorepo, and a provider block that takes a custom apiBase, which is how my own server gets in. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.