How to Start Using Amp (Continue Alternative)

Amp is a coding agent (CLI + editor) from Sourcegraph. Home: ampcode.com. This slot skips Continue: Continue was acquired by Cursor and the public repo is read-only, so it is not a 2026 after-work start path.

Install (official): follow ampcode.com — typically curl -fsSL https://ampcode.com/install.sh | bash or the npm CLI @ampcode/cli (not old @sourcegraph/amp packages).

Who this is for

After-work learners who want an agent in the terminal / editor on a throwaway git repo. Not for SaaS ops (that is Zapier/Make).

Overview: Top 10 AI agent tools for after-work Python.

Steps to start tonight

1. Install from ampcode.com

Use the current install page. Confirm amp --version (or the documented command) works.

2. Open a throwaway repo

git init a folder with one Python file. Do not point Amp at work secrets or production repos on night one.

3. Use local TUI first

Run the local interactive UI. Skip amp --no-tui / orbs / unattended loops until you trust the diffs.

4. One small edit

Ask: “Add a function that returns three practice bullet points from a docstring. Show the diff. Do not commit.”

5. Review, then discard or commit yourself

Read the diff. You commit. Amp does not get push access tonight.

Tiny exercise (20–30 minutes)

Have Amp add tests for that function. You run python -m pytest (or unittest) yourself. Reject any extra files you did not ask for.

Pitfalls

• Installing Continue instead of Amp.
• Letting the agent commit and push unattended.
• Pointing it at .env or SSH keys.
• Confusing Amp with Mastra (framework) or Serena (MCP in the editor).

Why this fits after work

You practise reviewing agent diffs in one sitting.

Next step

You still need to read the Python: Intro to Python Programming.