JetBrains IDEs

The Claude Code plugin for JetBrains IDEs connects the CLI to your editor. You still talk to Claude in a terminal, but diffs open in the IDE's own diff viewer, your current selection is shared automatically, and Claude can read the IDE's inspection results. I use it on Kotlin and Python client projects where I would rather review changes in IntelliJ's diff view than in a terminal.

Supported IDEs

Most JetBrains IDEs work, including IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, Android Studio, WebStorm, PhpStorm and GoLand.

What the plugin adds

Installing

The plugin does not ship its own copy of Claude Code. It runs the claude command in the IDE's integrated terminal and connects to it, so you need both:

1. Install the CLI by following the quickstart. If claude is not on your PATH, the plugin shows a "Cannot launch Claude Code" notification.
2. Install the plugin (listed as Claude Code [Beta]) from the JetBrains Marketplace and restart the IDE.

If claude lives somewhere the IDE cannot see, put its full path in the plugin's Claude command setting (below).

Any paid Claude plan (Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise) or a Claude Console account works; no API key is required. You will be asked to log in the first time you run claude. See authentication.

Using it

From the IDE terminal

Run claude in the integrated terminal and everything is connected.

From an external terminal

Start Claude Code anywhere and connect it:

/ide

On success you see something like Connected to IntelliJ IDEA. If Claude Code finds a running IDE without the plugin, /ide installs it and asks you to restart the IDE.

Start Claude Code from the same folder as the IDE's project root so both see the same files.

Configuration

In Claude Code

Run /config and set Diff tool to auto (diffs in the IDE) or terminal (diffs in the terminal). The option only appears while connected to an IDE, so launch from the JetBrains terminal or run /ide first. The underlying setting is diffTool (settings reference).

In the plugin

Open Settings → Tools → Claude Code [Beta].

Tip: On WSL, set the Claude command to wsl -d Ubuntu -- bash -lic "claude", replacing Ubuntu with your distribution's name.

Making Esc work

If Esc does not interrupt Claude in the JetBrains terminal, go to Settings → Tools → Terminal and either untick "Move focus to the editor with Escape", or choose "Configure terminal keybindings" and delete the "Switch focus to Editor" shortcut. Apply, and Esc will reach Claude Code.

Special set-ups

Remote development

Warning: With JetBrains Remote Development, install the plugin on the remote host via Settings → Plugin (Host), not on your local client.

WSL2

"No available IDEs detected" on WSL2 is usually WSL2's NAT networking or Windows Firewall blocking traffic between the Linux VM and the IDE on Windows. WSL1 shares the host network and is not affected. Two fixes:

Allow WSL2 traffic through the firewall (recommended, keeps your networking mode):

1. In WSL, run hostname -I. Take the first two parts of the address and add .0.0/16; for 172.24.88.10 the subnet is 172.24.0.0/16.

2. In an Administrator PowerShell, create a rule for that subnet:

   New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "WSL2 to JetBrains" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -RemoteAddress 172.24.0.0/16 -LocalAddress 172.24.0.0/16
   

   Copy

3. Restart the IDE and Claude Code.

Switch to mirrored networking (Windows 11 22H2 or later only). Add to .wslconfig in your Windows user folder:

[wsl2]
networkingMode=mirrored

Then run wsl --shutdown in PowerShell.

Troubleshooting

Plugin installed but nothing happens. Run Claude Code from the project root, check the plugin is enabled, and fully restart the IDE (sometimes more than once). For Remote Development, make sure the plugin is on the remote host.

/ide says "No available IDEs detected". Check the plugin is installed and enabled and restart the IDE. If you expected an automatic connection, make sure you launched claude from the IDE's own terminal. On WSL, see above.

"command not found" when clicking the Claude icon. Confirm the CLI works with claude --version, then set the full path in the Claude command setting (or the WSL form on Windows).

Problems with installing or logging in outside the IDE are covered in troubleshoot installation.

Security notes

In acceptEdits mode, Claude Code could edit IDE configuration files that the IDE executes automatically, which could be used to sidestep the permission prompts for shell commands. In JetBrains IDEs:

• Prefer Manual mode for edits. Both acceptEdits and auto mode approve edits inside your working directory without asking, outside of protected paths. See permission modes.
• Only use Claude with prompts and content you trust.
• Be aware of which files Claude can modify.

The built-in IDE MCP server

When the plugin is running it hosts a local MCP server, named ide, that the CLI connects to automatically. It is what lets the CLI open diffs in the IDE, read your selection for @ mentions and fetch diagnostics. It is hidden from /mcp because there is nothing to configure, but you need to know about it if your organisation uses a PreToolUse hook to allowlist MCP tools.

Selection and active file. While connected, each prompt includes your current selection and the active file's path. The transcript shows a line like ⧉ Selected N lines from <file>. A message you queue while Claude is working keeps the selection you had when you pressed Enter. To keep a file such as .env out entirely, add a Read deny rule for it; that blocks both the selection and the open-file notice. See permissions.

Transport and authentication. The server listens on an OS-assigned ephemeral port (not configurable) over unencrypted ws://. On loopback, TLS would add nothing, because any local process able to sniff the traffic could also read the token file. Each IDE start writes a fresh random token to ~/.claude/ide/<port>.lock (or $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/ide/ if set), and the CLI must send it in the X-Claude-Code-Ide-Authorization header.

Tools Claude can see. The server hosts several tools, but all except one are internal plumbing for the CLI's UI and are filtered out before Claude sees the list.

The JetBrains plugin exposes no code execution tool to the model.

Network interface. Settings → Tools → Claude Code [Beta] → Networking (Advanced) has Accept connections from all network interfaces. Off (the default), the server binds to 127.0.0.1 only. On, the port is reachable from your local network, intended only for cases where loopback cannot work, such as WSL2 with NAT networking or some remote IDE set-ups.

Warning: Turning on Accept connections from all network interfaces sends session traffic and the auth token across your network in cleartext, because the transport is plain ws://. Use it only when loopback is impossible. For WSL2, mirrored networking is the better fix because the socket can stay on loopback.

Related

• VS Code
• Platforms
• Permission modes
• Desktop on WSL
• Troubleshoot installation