JetBrains Launched Air Agentic Development System

The new open system integrates individual development, team coordination, and organization-level governance controls.

Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Isometric editorial illustration of a tiered, modular block structure, representing a centralized governance system for software development workflows.
JetBrains has introduced Air, an open-source agentic development system designed to bridge individual coding tasks with enterprise-level governance. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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JetBrains has officially launched the Air open system to support agentic software development across IDEs. The platform aims to bridge the gap between individual coding tasks and organizational oversight.

Why it matters

The system seeks to unify developer workflows with centralized management, allowing teams to maintain control while incorporating diverse external agents and tools into their daily operations.

The Air system supports macOS, Windows, and Linux environments while integrating command-line terminal agents through the Air Gateway. It features a governance module for managing AI usage policies, auditing, and organizational spending limits.

The players

JetBrains

This software development company provides professional tools for developers and has been in operation for 26 years.

Claude Code

This is an external command-line terminal agent that connects to the new Air environment.

Codex

This is a command-line terminal agent capable of being integrated into the Air environment.

The details

Developers can now supervise multiple agent sessions and inspect automated changes directly through IDE tooling or the new Junie CLI. JetBrains has also rebranded its former Central system to Air Governance as part of this comprehensive rollout.

Timeline

  1. March 2026: JetBrains launched the original Air as a public preview for macOS.

  2. July 2026: The company launched its AI for Teams and Organizations suite.

  3. Early August 2026: Testing began for the Air Alpha plugin for IntelliJ-based IDEs.

  4. September 22, 2026: JetBrains formally unveiled the full JetBrains Air system.

The Tech Race

The transition to agentic development represents a fundamental shift in software engineering where AI agents perform complex tasks under developer supervision. This positions JetBrains to compete by offering a centralized governance layer that legacy, standalone IDEs lack.

Developers can now streamline their interaction with autonomous coding agents through their existing IDEs and command-line terminals. For organizations, the new governance features offer a practical way to audit AI-generated code and enforce budget limits on development.

The takeaway

The move toward agentic systems signifies that the future of coding will rely heavily on managing multiple automated agents rather than just writing individual lines of code. Professionals should focus on mastering the coordination tools that ensure AI outputs remain secure and auditable.

Further reading

Learn more about the latest industry trends in Artificial Intelligence.

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Do you trust that human-operated coding software will remain essential as AI agents become more capable?