# JetBrains

IntelliJ IDEA and other JetBrains IDEs work with platform projects, though with a leaner integration than VS Code.

> Source: https://www.mainpath.ai/en/docs/jetbrains/

Platform projects consist of ordinary Git repositories, so you can work on them with IntelliJ IDEA and other JetBrains IDEs. MainPath integration is leaner here than in [Cursor, VS Code and Antigravity]({{< relref "vscode-cursor-antigravity" >}}): there is no extension with a welcome page and start buttons, and you set up project configuration in the IDE yourself.

## What MainPath provides

The [MainPath Toolbox]({{< relref "local-app" >}}) can install IntelliJ IDEA during developer setup and open projects in it with one click if you choose it as the default tool there. The project folder contains an `.idea` directory, symlinked from `local-configuration`, which serves as the shared place for team settings. In JetBrains, open the parent project folder under `~/Documents/MainPath/<organization-slug>/<project-slug>` with all repositories, so backend, app and configuration sit in one window.

## What you set up yourself

Run configurations, SDK assignment and module structure are created in the IDE; MainPath does not generate them. You start applications in the IDE terminal inside the respective repository with the mp CLI:

```bash
mp run-local
```

Runtime versions come from the repository's `.tool-versions`; when the IDE asks for an SDK, pick the version listed there so that local builds and the pipeline match.

## AI assistant in JetBrains

MainPath rules for Cursor, Claude Code and Codex come from the agent plugin (`mp agent install`), not from files in the project folder. If you use the JetBrains AI Assistant, point it in your prompt or in its settings to the same conventions (start via `mp run-local`, no changes to `.gitlab-ci.yml` and `env/*.generated.env`). You can start Claude Code and Codex independently of the IDE in the terminal of the project folder. How to add project-specific instructions is described in [Your own rules for AI agents]({{< relref "ai-instructions" >}}).