The Best Open Source AI Models You Can Run Right Now (2026)
The open-source AI model landscape in 2026 is extraordinary. Here are the models that rival closed-source alternatives — and how to run them locally.
4/5/2026
Continue
The open-source AI coding extension standard.
Continue is the leading open-source AI code assistant extension for VS Code and JetBrains. It lets you connect any model (local or cloud) to your IDE for autocomplete and chat.
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Overview
Continue: The Open Source AI Standard (2026 Review)
Rating: 9.1/10 (Best for Privacy & Customization)
1. Executive Summary
Continue is the leading open-source AI code assistant extension for VS Code and JetBrains. While tools like Cursor require you to switch IDEs, Continue brings the power of an AI-native experience to the editor you already use. It is widely regarded as the "Linux of AI coding tools"—highly customizable, privacy-focused, and powerful.
By 2026, Continue has become the enterprise standard for companies that cannot send code to proprietary clouds. Its ability to connect to any model—local, private cloud, or public API—makes it the most flexible tool on the market.
2. Core Features
2.1. "Bring Your Own Model" (BYOM)
Continue's defining feature is its configuration file (config.json). You can map different models to different tasks:
- Chat: Use Claude 3.5 Sonnet for reasoning.
- Autocomplete: Use a locally running StarCoder2 or DeepSeek-Coder (via Ollama) for zero-latency, offline completions.
- Embeddings: Use
nomic-embed-textfor codebase indexing.
