VSCode is really the primary platform for AI/agentic plugins, receiving priority over other IDEs such as IntelliJ, this is understandable as it is free, supporting many languages, and really good.
As a long-time IntelliJ user, I’m beginning to question whether it still makes sense to remain on this platform.
Perhaps I’m too impatient and agentic plugins may reach parity on IntelliJ within a year but a year is quite a long time to wait in this really fast-evolving landscape.
While your observation is generally true, and I share your overall concern about my IDE of choice, in this specific example it doesn’t apply as the Claude Code plugin for IntelliJ offers exactly the same integration as their plugin for VSCode.
Is your affirmation based on a testing of both plugin? I'm genuily wondering the plugin quality as IntelliJ plugin is still in beta and the VScode one not
I use IntelliJ (WebStorm) as my daily driver, and Claude Code is an integral part of my workflow. I didn’t check VSCode specifically, but I did read the link to that extension - everything they describe is precisely how the Claude Code works within WebStorm (despite being labeled “Beta”)
Appreciate your input, but if you haven’t actually tested the VSCode integration, it’s hard to compare. Reading a feature list isn’t the same as using the tool.
Okay, I just tried the Claude Code extension in VSCode - the experience is 100% identical to how it works within IntelliJ, even using the same icons and shortcuts to turn it on/off.
I was using webstorm some years ago, but after the switch to VS Code I never looked back. For me at least it was very laggy, UI bloated, and autocomplete would be unreliable for me due to constant "indexing".
As a long-time IntelliJ user, I’m beginning to question whether it still makes sense to remain on this platform.
Perhaps I’m too impatient and agentic plugins may reach parity on IntelliJ within a year but a year is quite a long time to wait in this really fast-evolving landscape.
The intellij plugin in beta: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/27310-claude-code-beta-...