JetBrains launches AI coding agent

JetBrains has launched an AI coding agent, named Junie, with the ability to quickly solve coding tasks that otherwise could take hours, according to JetBrains.

Developers using Junie can delegate routine tasks or collaborate with the tool to partner on more complex tasks, said Andrew Zakonov, product leader for Junie, in a January 23 blog post. By combining the power of JetBrains IDEs with large language models, Junie can generate code, run inspections, write tests, and verify that tests have passed, Zakonov said. To use Junie, developers explain a task and let the agent collect the context and write code. Developers then can review the result and make changes.

Junie is currently available in the JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate and PyCharm Professional IDEs and will come to WebStorm next. The OS X and Linux platforms are supported. Developers can sign up for a wait list to get access. SWEBench Verified, an OpenAI benchmark for evaluating LLM performance on software tasks, found that Junie can solve 53.6% of tasks on a single run, Zakonov said.

JetBrains has a goal of ensuring that Junie does not disrupt the coding experience but empowers developers to do more. Developers can install it in their IDE and begin by delegating simple tasks. When comfortable, developers can have Junie handle more complex tasks, integrate Junie into their team workflow, and start redefining tasks to boost productivity, Zakonov said. Junie can adapt to a developer’s coding style and follow specific coding guidelines, resulting in better code quality and control over how Junie performs tasks, he said.