A continuous futures contract represents the "splicing" of individual contracts, each subject to a discrete expiration date, for purposes of creating an ongoing price history. This history is often used for charting, technical studies or other analytical purposes.
The tickers for continuous futures are the same as for the regular future contract. Clients may search the IBKR contract database through the Contract Search tool available from the Support area of the IBKR website.
Continuous futures are supported in TWS and IBKR Mobile. To load a continuous future, enter the ticker into the Financial instrument column of a TWS monitor or tap Add Instrument at the bottom of an IBKR Mobile watchlist (ex. "ES" for E-mini S&P 500). Choose Futures, then choose Continuous as the expiration.