What’s Coming in 2020 for JetBrains’ IntelliJ‑Based IDEs?

Last month JetBrains released the IntelliJ Platform 2020 roadmap; now, as part of the 2020 plan, JetBrains has also published a roadmap for features of IntelliJ‑based IDEs. The platform roadmap focuses on low‑level functionality, while the IDE roadmap targets higher‑level features that interact directly with users.

Localization

After localizing the JetBrains website into eight languages last year, the team is now localizing the IntelliJ‑based IDEs. Initial support for Simplified Chinese is being prepared for the Asian market, followed by Korean and Japanese. Translation can also be offered via plugins, enabling the community to contribute additional languages.

Using the IDE as a Generic Editor

Improved startup performance makes it more feasible to use IntelliJ‑based IDEs as lightweight text editors. The development team is building a dedicated mode for editing non‑project files. In this mode, the IDE behaves like a simple editor: it opens faster, does not store any project configuration, and uses the same create‑open‑save workflow as traditional text editors.

Functionality in this mode is intentionally limited, but developers can switch back to full‑project mode when they need refactoring, debugging, or other advanced features.

Git Staging Support

Among Git‑related feature requests, support for a staging area is the most demanded. JetBrains’ Git integration, built on the same framework as other VCS integrations, uses the concept of changelists instead of a staging area. Changelists are more flexible because they can manage multiple independent sets of changes that are not yet ready to commit. Recent support for moving file parts between changelists essentially covers the primary use cases of a traditional staging area.

Future IDE versions will offer both a Git staging area mode and a changelist mode, allowing developers to choose the UI that best fits their workflow.

Additional Planned Features

Other upcoming enhancements include machine‑learning‑based code completion, simplified environment configuration for beginners, automatic detection of project refactoring opportunities, and Code Vision, which displays rich contextual information directly within the code editor.

For full details, see the official announcement: JetBrains Blog – IntelliJ‑Based IDE Features Roadmap for 2020 .