A dedicated multi-agent development environment — assign tasks to Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini CLI, and Junie concurrently, isolate their execution in Docker containers or Git worktrees, and review all results in one place.
What It Is
JetBrains Air (air.dev) launched in public preview in March 2026. It is a standalone agentic development environment — not an IDE extension or chat panel — purpose-built for orchestrating multiple coding agents running independent task loops in parallel. Air is built on the technology base of JetBrains Fleet, the distributed IDE that JetBrains originally announced in 2021, shipped in preview, then discontinued in 2023, before repurposing for Air.
Core Workflow
Air separates agent execution from code review into a deliberate loop:
- Define a task — reference files, classes, methods, or commits directly so agents receive precise code context rather than vague prompts
- Execute in parallel — tasks run locally by default, or sandboxed in Docker containers or Git worktrees for isolation and concurrent work
- Review results — full diff in the context of the entire codebase, with integrated terminal, Git client, and built-in preview
Supported agents out of the box: Claude Agent, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, Junie.
Strengths
- First commercial environment designed explicitly for multi-agent parallel execution (vs. single-agent chat panels bolted onto IDEs)
- Precise code context referencing — agents get method-level references, reducing hallucination on large codebases
- Docker/worktree isolation prevents agents from interfering with each other or the main branch during concurrent work
- Integrates with JetBrains Central for governance, cost tracking, and audit logging
Limitations and Risks
- macOS only at public preview launch; Windows and Linux support planned but no timeline committed
- Built on Fleet, which JetBrains already discontinued once — long-term investment risk if Air fails to gain traction
- Public preview quality — not suitable for production teams requiring stability
- Adds a new UI surface separate from IntelliJ/WebStorm; team adoption requires workflow change
- No access to JetBrains' deep PSI static analysis engine, which is the core differentiator of IntelliJ-family IDEs
Relationship to JetBrains Central
Air is the execution component within the broader JetBrains Central platform. Air Team (forthcoming) will extend Air to multi-human coordination, enabling teams to assign tasks to both human developers and AI agents from a shared queue.
Key Characteristics
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Launch | Public preview, March 2026 |
| Platform | macOS (Windows/Linux planned) |
| Agents supported | Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini CLI, Junie |
| Execution modes | Local, Docker containers, Git worktrees |
| Built on | JetBrains Fleet codebase |
| Provider | JetBrains |
| Website | air.dev |
| Docs | jetbrains.com/help/air |
| Blog | Air public preview announcement |