What happened
Cursor shipped a JetBrains plugin. As of the April 26 changelog, Cursor’s AI coding features — including its agent mode, inline edits, and chat — now run inside IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs. The integration uses the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), a standardized way for AI agents to connect to different editors without rebuilding from scratch.
Until now, using Cursor meant using Cursor’s own editor — a VS Code fork. JetBrains users who wanted Cursor’s AI had to switch editors entirely or run both side by side. That friction kept a massive chunk of professional developers locked out. JetBrains claims over 16 million users across its IDE family.
NOTE
ACP (Agent Client Protocol) is distinct from Anthropic’s MCP. ACP standardizes how AI agents interact with IDEs — think of it as a universal adapter between an AI backend and any code editor’s UI. MCP handles tool and context integration for models.
Why it matters
JetBrains dominates in Java, Kotlin, Python, and PHP development. IntelliJ IDEA is the default IDE for most enterprise Java shops. PyCharm holds significant market share among Python developers who need deep framework support (Django, FastAPI, data science tooling). These developers couldn’t use Cursor without abandoning years of muscle memory, custom keybindings, and JetBrains-specific features like their database tools and built-in profilers.
The ACP approach is the more interesting technical signal here. Instead of forking each IDE (the way Cursor forked VS Code, or Windsurf forked VS Code), Cursor built a protocol layer that lets its AI backend plug into any editor that supports ACP. This is a platform play. If ACP gains adoption, Cursor could expand to Neovim, Emacs, or any editor that implements the protocol — without maintaining separate forks.
For Cursor’s competitors, this raises the stakes. GitHub Copilot already works across VS Code, JetBrains, and Neovim. Windsurf (Codeium) has a JetBrains plugin too. Cursor was the outlier — locked to a single editor despite having arguably the strongest agentic coding features. That gap just closed.
TIP
If you install the Cursor JetBrains plugin, check that your JetBrains IDE is on the latest stable release. Early ACP integrations can be sensitive to IDE version mismatches, and JetBrains ships updates frequently.
Who should care
Java and Kotlin developers on IntelliJ IDEA — especially teams in enterprise environments where switching to a VS Code fork wasn’t an option due to toolchain dependencies or company policy.
Python developers on PyCharm who’ve been using Copilot or Codeium but want to try Cursor’s agent mode for multi-file refactors and codebase-aware edits.
WebStorm users building full-stack TypeScript apps who want agentic AI without losing WebStorm’s built-in test runners and framework integrations.
IDE and tooling teams watching the ACP standard. If this protocol gains traction, it could reshape how AI coding tools distribute — away from forked editors and toward pluggable backends.
WARNING
The JetBrains plugin is new. Expect rough edges — particularly around features that depend on deep editor integration like inline diffs and multi-file apply. Cursor’s VS Code fork has had years of polish; the JetBrains plugin hasn’t.
Practical takeaway
Install the Cursor plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace and test it on a real task — not a toy project. Try a multi-file refactor or an agent-driven feature build. Compare the experience against whatever AI tool you’re currently running in JetBrains. The plugin is free to try with a Cursor account. If you’ve been waiting to evaluate Cursor because you didn’t want to leave IntelliJ or PyCharm, that excuse is gone.