How JetBrains AIR Redefines AI-Powered IDEs: A Hands-On Guide

What is AIR?

JetBrains AIR is a new independent IDE built from scratch that embeds AI as the default workflow rather than an optional add‑on, emphasizing determinism, explainability, and keeping developers in control of code.

Quick Start: Three-Step AI-Native Workflow

Install and launch: currently macOS‑only; sign in with a valid JetBrains subscription.

Open a project: either open a local folder or clone from Git by providing the repository URL.

Define a task: use the chat‑style interface to describe the desired change, optionally enabling “plan mode” for step‑by‑step planning.

Installation and First Run

Download AIR for macOS, start the application, and log in with your JetBrains account. The welcome screen appears after successful authentication.

Opening Projects

Two options are supported:

Open a local project by clicking Open and selecting a folder.

Clone from Git by clicking Clone from Git , entering the repository URL and a local path.

Task Definition and Permissions

Interact with the AI agent in chat mode, providing a clear description and optional context such as file paths. AIR offers several permission modes:

Preview – limited functionality, no code execution.

Trust – allows code execution for trusted projects.

Permission prompts – ask for permission on first use.

Plan mode – AI generates an execution plan before acting.

Full access – bypasses all prompts.

Adding Context

Context can be supplied via files, folders, Git branches/commits, MCP servers, terminal tabs, or uploaded local files. Code snippets can also be selected and added directly to a task.

Running and Managing Tasks

Task states include Running, Waiting for user action, Finished, and Canceled/Archived. Multiple tasks run in parallel without interfering with each other.

Review and Commit Changes

In the Review tab, use the diff panel to compare new and old code (single‑page or split view) and add comments next to line numbers before committing.

Advanced Feature: MCP Server Integration

Configure external tools such as databases or APIs via Model Context Protocol (MCP). Example JSON configuration for an Alpha Vantage API server is shown below.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alphavantage": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["av-mcp", "YOUR_API_KEY"]
    }
  }
}

Conclusion

JetBrains AIR combines an intelligent agent with visual interaction, lowering the barrier for AI‑assisted development. Its clear workflow—define task, configure environment and permissions, review and commit—plus parallel tasks, MCP extensions, and local snapshots make it a powerful, controllable AI‑driven IDE.