Key Takeaways
- Continue.dev acquired by Cursor (June 2026) — v2.0.0 is the final release, repo read-only; still runs with Ollama but no longer maintained
- Cline is now the best maintained free BYOK alternative: VS Code + JetBrains, agentic file editing, MCP tools, 5M+ installs
- Bodega One Code is a free, local-first IDE with a built-in coding agent and bring-your-own-LLM (BYOL) support — full offline/air-gap operation, no subscription required
- Tabby runs its own inference server (1–3B models) — lowest latency autocomplete for teams
- Aider is the terminal-first option — git-commit-aware, multi-file rewrites, 44K GitHub stars
- Cursor ($20/month Pro, credit-based) acquired both Supermaven and Continue.dev; SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor for $60B in June 2026
- All tools work with Ollama; only Tabby requires its own backend server
Best IDE Plugins for Local LLMs — Ranked
📍 In One Sentence
Cline is the best IDE plugin for local LLMs in 2026 because it supports Ollama natively, works in both VS Code and JetBrains, and adds agentic file editing and MCP tools without any cloud dependency — Continue, the former #1 pick, was acquired by Cursor in June 2026 and is no longer actively developed.
💬 In Plain Terms
An IDE plugin for local LLMs connects your code editor (VS Code, IntelliJ) to a model running on your own machine (via Ollama, LM Studio, or llama.cpp). The model sees your code and responds — no code leaves your computer, no API fees, no usage limits.
Cline — Best Overall (Free, Open-Source, Actively Maintained)
Cline (formerly Claude Dev) is the best-maintained agentic coding plugin for local LLMs in 2026 — it took the top spot after Continue was acquired by Cursor in June 2026. It reads and writes files, runs terminal commands, browses the web (via browser tool), and uses MCP servers. With Ollama + Qwen3-Coder 32B, Cline can implement entire features from a prompt. Limitations: 32B models are required for reliable multi-step agentic tasks; 14B models work for simple tasks. Pricing: free (BYOK — bring your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, or 30+ providers); ClinePass at $9.99/month for managed routing with no API key needed; Teams at $20/user/month (first 10 seats free). VS Code and JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, PhpStorm, WebStorm, GoLand, Rider, and more). Compatible backends: Ollama, LM Studio, LiteLLM proxy, and 30+ cloud providers. 8M+ developers.
Bodega One Code — Best Free Local-First IDE With a Built-In Coding Agent
Bodega One Code is a free, local-first AI IDE built around a coding agent from the ground up, rather than an assistant bolted onto an existing editor. It supports bring-your-own-LLM (BYOL): point it at any local model backend and it runs the agent loop — planning, editing, and executing — entirely against that model, with no lock-in to a single provider. The entire application runs on your machine, including full offline and air-gap support, so it works in network-isolated environments where cloud-connected tools like Cursor or GitHub Copilot cannot run at all. There is no subscription: Bodega One Code is free to use, and because it has no cloud component, there is no usage metering or credit system to manage. This makes it a strong fit for regulated industries, government and defense contractors, and any team whose security policy prohibits sending code to a third-party server — the same audience that reaches for local inference in the first place. Compared to Cline, which is a plugin layered onto VS Code, Bodega One Code is a standalone IDE designed around the agent from the start; teams already committed to VS Code will find Cline the easier drop-in, while teams starting fresh or needing guaranteed offline operation get a purpose-built environment with Bodega One Code.
Continue — Still Functional, No Longer Maintained [Acquired by Cursor, June 2026 — Final v2.0.0]
Continue was the leading open-source AI coding assistant for local LLMs before its June 2026 acquisition by Cursor. It connects to Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, and any OpenAI-compatible API. Features: inline chat (Cmd+L), autocomplete (Tab), model context protocol (MCP) tools, codebase indexing, and custom slash commands. VS Code extension has 2M+ installs. JetBrains plugin works in IntelliJ, PyCharm, GoLand, WebStorm, and Rider. Best local models: Qwen3-Coder 14B (coding), Llama 3.3 8B (chat). Setup: install extension, set provider to Ollama, choose model — done in 2 minutes. Note (June 2026): Continue was acquired by Cursor. Version 2.0.0 is the final release; the GitHub repo is now read-only. The extension still installs and runs fully with Ollama and BYO-LLM — but no further development from the original team. Community forks are active.
Tabby — Best Self-Hosted Autocomplete Server
Tabby is a self-hosted coding assistant that runs its own inference server (separate from Ollama). It uses small, specialized code completion models (1–3B parameters) trained specifically for fill-in-the-middle (FIM) autocomplete — significantly faster than using a general 7B model. Tabby IDE extensions exist for VS Code, JetBrains, Vim/Neovim, and Emacs. Best for: teams that want fast (<200ms) autocomplete without cloud. Requires a dedicated server or powerful desktop machine.
Aider — Best Terminal-Native AI Coding
Aider is a terminal-based AI pair programmer that integrates with git. It understands your full repository structure, makes multi-file edits, and commits changes automatically. Works with Ollama (via --model ollama/qwen2.5-coder:14b), LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible API. Best local models: Qwen3-Coder 32B (architect mode) + Qwen3-Coder 7B (editor mode). Aider uses a two-model approach: a large model plans changes, a small model implements them. Cost: free and open-source.
Cursor — Best Commercial Option with Local Model Support
Cursor is a VS Code fork with AI features built in. As of July 2026, Cursor supports local models via Ollama and LM Studio in its "Custom API" setting. However, Cursor's most powerful features (Agent mode with web search, full codebase awareness) require cloud models. The local model integration is functional for chat and simple completions but falls behind Cline for privacy-focused workflows. Pricing: Hobby (free); Pro at $20/month (includes $20/month in AI credits for frontier models; Auto mode is unlimited at no credit cost); Pro+ at $60/month; Ultra at $200/month. Local model use is available on the free Hobby tier. Note: Cursor acquired Supermaven (2024) and Continue.dev (June 2026), and SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor itself for $60 billion in June 2026 (deal expected to close Q3 2026). This consolidation makes Cursor the dominant force in AI coding tools — but raises long-term questions about open-source alternatives.
Quick Setup: Cline + Ollama in VS Code
The fastest way to start local LLM coding with the current #1 pick:
- 1Install Ollama:
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh - 2Pull a coding model:
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:14b(orqwen3-coder:32bfor agentic tasks) - 3In VS Code, install Cline from the Extensions marketplace
- 4Open the Cline sidebar and click the settings gear icon
- 5Set API Provider to "Ollama", Base URL to
http://localhost:11434, and Model ID to your pulled model - 6Restart VS Code — the Cline icon appears in the sidebar
- 7Type a task in the Cline chat panel — it can read/write files and run terminal commands directly
Quick Setup: Aider + Ollama (Terminal)
For terminal-native, git-aware AI coding — Aider official docs: aider.chat/docs/llms/ollama.html
- 1Install Ollama and pull a model:
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:32b - 2Install Aider:
python -m pip install aider-install && aider-install - 3Set the Ollama API base:
export OLLAMA_API_BASE=http://127.0.0.1:11434 - 4Run Aider pointed at your local model:
aider --model ollama/qwen2.5-coder:32b - 5For the two-model architect/editor setup, add
--architect-model ollama/qwen2.5-coder:32b --editor-model ollama/qwen2.5-coder:7b - 6Aider auto-commits each change to git — review with
git logorgit diff HEAD~1
Best Local Models by Plugin and Task
| Plugin | Best Coding Model (Local) | Best Chat Model (Local) | Min VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cline | Qwen3-Coder 32B Q4 | Qwen3 32B Q4 | 24 GB |
| Bodega One Code | Any local model (BYOL) | Any local model (BYOL) | Depends on chosen model |
| Continue (legacy) | Qwen3-Coder 14B Q8 | Llama 3.3 8B Q4 | 16 GB |
| Tabby | StarCoder2-7B (built-in) | N/A (code only) | 8 GB |
| Aider | Qwen3-Coder 14B (editor) | Qwen3-Coder 32B (architect) | 16–24 GB |
| Cursor | DeepSeek-Coder-V2 (via Ollama) | Qwen3 14B | 16 GB |
Best LM Studio Plugins (Not the Same as IDE Plugins)
This is a different question from "which IDE extension connects to LM Studio" (covered above). LM Studio has had its own plugin system since late 2024: plugins run inside LM Studio itself — as TypeScript or Python code in a sandboxed worker — and can intercept inference requests, add prompt processors, attach tool-calling backends, or add new UI panels. Install them from the curated marketplace at lmstudio.ai/plugins; each plugin declares required permissions (network access, file-system read) up front, and you can revoke them later from Settings without uninstalling. Common categories as of 2026: web search plugins, RAG/document-retrieval preprocessors, OCR preprocessors, agentic toolset plugins, shell/file-access tools, and memory plugins.
- Web search plugins: let a local model in LM Studio pull live web results into its context — useful since local models have no built-in internet access.
- RAG / document plugins: index a local folder of PDFs or text files and retrieve relevant chunks automatically per query.
- Agentic toolset plugins: give the model shell access, file read/write, or multi-step task execution directly inside LM Studio's chat UI — the same category of capability Cline provides for VS Code, but running inside LM Studio instead of an editor.
- Memory plugins: persist context across chat sessions instead of starting fresh each time.
Can Continue replace GitHub Copilot entirely for local use?
As of June 2026, Continue has been acquired by Cursor and v2.0.0 is the final release (repo is read-only). The extension still runs with Ollama and BYO-LLM, but receives no further development from the original team. For a maintained open-source alternative, Cline is the recommended replacement — it offers the same BYOK model, works in VS Code and JetBrains, and adds agentic file editing. GitHub Copilot Pro costs $10/month with $15/month in AI credits; Cline is free with your own API key.
Which plugin works best for multi-file refactoring?
Cline or Aider. Both can read multiple files, understand dependencies, and make coordinated edits across a codebase. Cline works inside VS Code (better for visual feedback); Aider works in the terminal (better for CI/CD integration and git-aware commits). For 30B+ models with 24 GB VRAM, Cline with Qwen3-Coder 32B handles complex refactoring reliably.
Does Tabby work without a GPU?
Yes — Tabby can run on CPU with small models (1–3B). However, autocomplete latency on CPU is 500ms–2s, which feels sluggish compared to the <200ms target for smooth coding. For CPU-only machines, Cline + Ollama with a fast 1B or 3B model gives better latency control.
Can I use these plugins with LM Studio instead of Ollama?
Yes. LM Studio exposes an OpenAI-compatible API on port 1234 by default. Set your plugin provider to "openai" with base URL http://localhost:1234/v1 and use any model name from your LM Studio library. Cline, Continue, and Aider all support this configuration. Note this is different from LM Studio's own plugin system (see the LM Studio Plugins section above) — that's for extending LM Studio itself, not connecting an external IDE to it.
Which JetBrains IDEs support local LLM plugins?
Cline and Continue both ship JetBrains plugins that work across the whole JetBrains family: IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, PhpStorm, WebStorm, GoLand, and Rider. Install from the JetBrains Marketplace (not the VS Code Marketplace) and configure the same Ollama/LM Studio provider settings as the VS Code version. Tabby also has JetBrains support for autocomplete-only use.
What is Bodega One Code, and how is it different from Cline?
Bodega One Code is a free, standalone local-first AI IDE with a built-in coding agent — unlike Cline, which is a plugin added to VS Code or JetBrains, Bodega One Code is a full IDE built around the agent from the start. It supports bring-your-own-LLM (BYOL), meaning you connect it to any local model backend, and it runs entirely offline with air-gap support and no subscription. It is a good fit for regulated or network-isolated environments where a cloud-connected editor cannot be used at all.