Use Claude Code skills with Continue.dev

Continue.dev is a VS Code / JetBrains extension that lets you bring your own model and ships its own configuration format. Skills don't drop in as rule files — instead, the content of a SKILL.md becomes the systemMessage of a model entry in Continue's config.json. More work than the Cursor / Cline path, but the trade-off is that Continue has the broadest multi-model support.

Continue.dev rule-file format (2026)

Continue's config is JSON (or TypeScript in older versions). To use a SKILL.md, embed the body of the skill into a systemMessage string on the model entry. The model entry then loads that system message at session start. As of 2026 Continue's modern format is config.json with arrays of model + tool entries; see their docs for the full schema.

Modern (2026)	Legacy fallback
~/.continue/config.json (global) or .continue/config.json (project)	config.ts (older Continue versions)

Upstream docs: https://docs.continue.dev/

SKILL.md → Continue.dev field mapping

SKILL.md field	Continue.dev equivalent
name	→ title field on the model entry
description	→ optional; embed in the systemMessage preamble
allowed-tools	→ no direct equivalent; Continue's tool list is config-level
user-invokable	→ always-on per the active model entry

Worked example

Pick any ClaudSkills SKILL.md from the catalog. Strip the YAML frontmatter; drop the body into the file shown below:

# File: ~/.continue/config.json

{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Claude (with code-review skill)",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-opus-4-7",
      "systemMessage": "# Code review\n\nWhen reviewing a diff, walk through ..."
    }
  ]
}

Save, restart your editor session, and the skill becomes available to Continue.dev's agent on the next prompt.

Recommended skills for Continue.dev users

From the 6 skills below, pick the one or two that match your project's most-common workflows. Each links to the full SKILL.md on ClaudSkills.

• code-reviewer Comprehensive code review skill for TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Swift, Kotlin, Go. Includes automated code analysis, best practice checking, security scanning, and review check
• beck-test-driven-development Develop software in the style of Kent Beck, creator of Test-Driven Development and Extreme Programming. Emphasizes red-green-refactor, tests-first design, small steps, and emergent
• documentation Documentation generation workflow covering API docs, architecture docs, README files, code comments, and technical writing.
• debug Structured debugging session — reproduce, isolate, diagnose, and fix. Trigger with an error message or stack trace, "this works in staging but not prod", "something broke after the
• typescript-strict-patterns Use when writing or reviewing any TypeScript code. Covers discriminated unions, branded types, Zod at boundaries, const arrays over enums, and safe access patterns.
• stop-slop Remove AI writing patterns from prose. Use when drafting, editing, or reviewing text to eliminate predictable AI tells.

Limitations to know about

• Embedding a SKILL.md body as a JSON string requires escaping newlines + quotes — easier with a small build script than by hand.
• Continue's model entries are picked per-chat (you switch models in the UI). One model entry can carry one skill; if you want multiple skills, create multiple model entries.
• Continue runs against any model. Skills that depend on Claude-specific tool-use semantics may behave differently with GPT-4 / local models / DeepSeek.

FAQ

Can I have multiple SKILL.md files in one Continue config?

Yes — create one model entry per skill, each with a different title and systemMessage. You pick the right one from the Continue UI when starting a chat.

Should I use JSON or TypeScript config?

JSON is the current standard. TypeScript config (config.ts) still works in older Continue versions but the team is moving toward JSON. For maximum portability, use JSON.

Is there a simpler way to load skills into Continue?

Not natively. The cleanest path is a small script that reads ~/.claude/skills/<slug>/SKILL.md, strips frontmatter, and writes a model entry into config.json. The ClaudSkills desktop app may add a Continue export in the future.

Keep reading

• All integrations — the full landscape across Cursor, Cline, Roo, Windsurf, Codex, Continue
• Claude Code skill catalogs compared — 5 catalogs head-to-head
• How to write a Claude Code skill
• SKILL.md frontmatter reference
• Browse 69,000+ skills