continue/docs/cli/overview.mdx

---
title: "Continue CLI (cn) Overview"
description: "Command-line interface for automated coding tasks, scripting, and headless development workflows with Continue's AI coding capabilities"
sidebarTitle: "Overview"
---

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/cn-demo.gif" />
</Frame>

**Continue enables developers to ship faster with Continuous AI.**

<Tip>
  Build features from descriptions. Debug and fix issues. Navigate any codebase.
  Automate tedious tasks.
</Tip>

## Get started in 30 seconds

Prerequisites:

- [Node.js 18 or newer](https://nodejs.org/en/download/)
- A [Continue Mission Control](https://hub.continue.dev) account (recommended) or local configuration

```bash npm
# Install Continue CLI
npm install -g @continuedev/cli

# Navigate to your project

cd your-awesome-project

# Start coding with Continue

cn

# You'll be prompted to set up on first use

```

That's it! You're ready to start automating with Continue CLI.

[Continue with CLI Quickstart →](/cli/quick-start)

## Two Ways to Use Continue CLI

Continue CLI offers two distinct modes designed for different workflows:

### TUI Mode: Interactive Development

**Perfect for exploration, debugging, and iterating on AI workflows**

```bash
cn
> @src/components/UserProfile.js Review this component for security issues
> Generate comprehensive unit tests
> Suggest performance improvements
```

- **Interactive conversations** with your codebase
- **Iterate and refine** prompts and approaches
- **Explore and understand** complex codebases
- **Perfect for experimentation** and learning

### Headless Mode: Production Automation

**Perfect for CI/CD, automation, and reliable workflows**

```bash
cn -p "Generate a conventional commit message for staged changes"
cn -p "Review pull request changes for security vulnerabilities"
cn -p "Update documentation based on recent code changes"
```

- **Single-command execution** for automation
- **Reliable, repeatable results** for production use
- **CI/CD and pipeline integration**
- **Git hooks and automated workflows**

<Info>
  **Tool Permissions in TUI vs Headless Mode**

  Continue CLI tools have three permission levels:
  - **allow**: Executes automatically without confirmation
  - **ask**: Prompts for user confirmation before execution (e.g., `writeFile`, `runTerminalCommand`)
  - **exclude**: Tool is not available to the AI

  **In headless mode**, tools with "ask" permission are automatically excluded to prevent the AI from seeing tools it cannot call. This ensures reliable automation without user intervention.

  **In TUI mode**, tools with "ask" permission are available and will prompt for confirmation when the AI attempts to use them.

  💡 **Tip**: If your workflow requires tools that need confirmation (like file writes or terminal commands), use TUI mode. For fully automated workflows with read-only operations, use headless mode.
</Info>

### Development Workflow: TUI → Headless

<Tip>
  **Pro Tip**: Start in TUI mode to iterate on your AI agent. Once
  you have a workflow that works reliably, deploy it as a Continuous AI
  automation.
</Tip>

1. **Experiment in TUI mode** to perfect your agent
2. **Test different approaches** interactively until you get consistent results
3. **Convert successful workflows** to automated Continuous AI commands
4. **Deploy in production** with confidence in your proven approach

## Why developers love Continue CLI

- **Works in your terminal**: Not another chat window. Not another IDE. Continue CLI meets you where you already work, with the tools you already love.
- **Takes action**: Continue CLI can directly edit files, run commands, and create commits. Need more? Check out our [MCPs](/customize/deep-dives/mcp).
- **Automate tasks**: Create issues from PostHog data, automatically assign labels to issues, and more. Do all this in a single command from your developer machines, or automatically in CI.
- **Flexible development flow**: Start interactive, then automate proven workflows.

## Key Capabilities

### Context Engineering

- Use `@` to reference files and provide context
- Use `/` to run slash commands for specific tasks
- Access the same context providers as IDE extensions

### Tool Integration

- File editing and creation
- Terminal command execution
- Codebase understanding and analysis
- Git integration
- Web search and documentation access

### Model Flexibility

- Switch between models with `/model` command
- Use any model configured in your `config.yaml`
- Access Continue Mission Control models and configurations

## Continue Mission Control Integration

Continue CLI integrates seamlessly with [Continue Mission Control](https://hub.continue.dev) for:

### API Access

Get an API key for automation workflows:

1. Visit [Continue Mission Control API Keys](https://hub.continue.dev/settings/api-keys)
2. Create a new API key
3. Use with `cn login` or in your automation scripts

### Secrets Management

Store secure credentials for CLI workflows:

1. Visit [Continue Mission Control Secrets](https://hub.continue.dev/settings/secrets)
2. Add your API keys and sensitive data
3. Reference in configurations with `${{ secrets.SECRET_NAME }}`

### Configuration Sync

- Cloud-managed configurations automatically sync
- Share configurations across team members
- Version control for your AI workflows

## Common Use Cases

### TUI Mode Examples

**Interactive development and exploration:**

<CodeGroup>
```bash Codebase Exploration
# Start interactive session
cn
> @src/components Find all unused React components
> /explain How does authentication work in this codebase?
> @auth/ What security patterns are used here?
```

```bash Iterative Debugging
# Debug issues interactively
cn
> @tests/auth.test.js This test is failing, help me understand why
> @src/auth/middleware.js Let's examine this middleware
> /debug What could be causing the timeout error?
```

```bash Workflow Development
# Develop and test automation workflows
cn
> @package.json @CHANGELOG.md Generate a release notes template
> # Test and refine the approach
> # Once working, convert to: cn -p "Generate release notes"
```

</CodeGroup>

### Headless Mode Examples

**Production automation and scripting:**

<CodeGroup>
```bash Git Automation
# Generate commit messages
cn -p "Generate a conventional commit message for the current changes"

# Code review automation

cn -p "Review the current git changes for bugs and suggest improvements"

````

```bash CI/CD Integration
# In your pipeline scripts
cn -p "Analyze test failures and suggest fixes"

# Automated documentation updates
cn -p "@README.md Update this documentation based on recent changes"
````

```bash Issue Management
# Create GitHub issues from PostHog data
cn -p "@posthog-data.json Create GitHub issues for UX problems found in this session data"

# Automated security audits
cn -p "Scan the codebase for potential security vulnerabilities"
```

</CodeGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="CLI Quickstart" href="/cli/quick-start">
    Learn basic commands and common workflows
  </Card>

<Card title="Installation Guide" href="/cli/install">
  Install Continue CLI and set up your environment
</Card>

  <Card title="CLI Workflows" href="/guides/overview#continuous-ai">
    Task-specific tutorials and examples
  </Card>
</CardGroup>