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VS Code + Continue with the ORC Gateway

Continue is an open-source VS Code extension for chat, editing, and agent work. Its main advantage over VS Code's built-in BYOK is that it can also send inline autocomplete to your own model, so the ORC model can suggest code as you type.

Time needed: about 5 minutes. Prerequisites: VS Code installed locally, and an ORC LLM key that passes the key test.

Step 1 · Install the extension

Open the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+X on macOS), search for Continue, and install it. A Continue icon appears in the activity bar.

Step 2 · Open the config file

Click the Continue icon, then the gear icon in its panel, to open your configuration. You can also open the file directly:

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

Step 3 · Add the ORC gateway

Replace the contents of config.yaml with the block below (or merge the models: entry into your existing file), put in your key, and save:

name: ORC LLM
version: 1.0.0
schema: v1

models:
  - name: Qwen 3.8 27B (ORC)
    provider: openai
    model: qwen-3.8-27B
    apiBase: http://129.174.189.202
    apiKey: <your-virtual-key>
    roles:
      - chat
      - edit
      - apply
      - autocomplete

provider: openai is not a mistake

The gateway exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, so Continue talks to it with its OpenAI client. No request goes to OpenAI; the model behind the gateway is ORC's.

The roles list controls what Continue uses the model for. Remove autocomplete if you want the model for chat only.

Step 4 · Select the model and test

Choose Qwen 3.8 27B (ORC) in the model dropdown at the bottom of the Continue chat panel, and send a short test message. Confirm you get a reply before doing real work.

To test autocomplete, open a code file and start typing a function; a grey suggestion should appear after a short pause. Press Tab to accept it.

Autocomplete speed

Autocomplete fires on nearly every keystroke pause, and a 27B chat model is slower at it than small models built for completion. If suggestions feel sluggish, remove autocomplete from roles and keep Continue for chat, or use a smaller model on your own llama.cpp server.

Keep the key out of Git

~/.continue/config.yaml lives in your home folder, not in a project, so it won't be committed by accident. If you ever create a project-level Continue config inside a repository, add it to .gitignore before saving a key in it.

Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
The model doesn't appear in the dropdown The YAML didn't parse. Check indentation (spaces, not tabs) and that the file saved. Continue shows config errors at the top of its panel.
404 or "not found" Try apiBase: http://129.174.189.202/v1. Also confirm the model name with the key test.
401 / authentication error Check the apiKey value for stray spaces or quotes.
No autocomplete suggestions Make sure autocomplete is listed under roles, and that autocomplete isn't switched off in Continue's settings.
Timeouts Connect to the Mason VPN if you are off campus.

See Also