What's Happening?
JetBrains has announced the release of a new extension for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) that brings IntelliJ IDEA's Java and Kotlin language intelligence to the platform. This development is part of JetBrains' effort to extend its smart language features
to third-party editors through the Language Server Protocol (LSP). The extension supports Java, Kotlin, and mixed-language projects, offering features such as smart code completion, navigation, code analysis, and refactorings. It also supports build tools like Maven, Gradle, and Bazel, ensuring fast and reliable performance even for large projects. The extension is currently available in a preview phase, free to use, with each build limited to 30 days. After the preview, an IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate license will be required.
Why It's Important?
The introduction of IntelliJ IDEA's capabilities to VS Code through LSP is significant as it allows developers who prefer different environments to access IntelliJ's advanced features. This move could enhance productivity and code quality for developers working in VS Code, a popular editor among developers. By supporting agentic workflows, JetBrains is also positioning itself to cater to the evolving needs of software development, where automation and intelligent code assistance are becoming increasingly important. This could potentially lead to a broader adoption of IntelliJ IDEA's tools across various development environments, impacting how developers approach Java and Kotlin projects.
What's Next?
JetBrains plans to continue developing support for fully agentic, terminal-based workflows, which could further integrate IntelliJ IDEA's capabilities into diverse development environments. The company is also seeking feedback during the preview phase to refine the extension before its stable release. As the extension matures, it may lead to increased competition with other Java and Kotlin language support extensions, prompting further innovation in the space.
