Docker containers are one of the most popular and easiest ways to set up an environment and start working with it. Instead of using Remote toolchain for Docker in CLion, you can now use the native Docker toolchain. It avoids redundant source code synchronization, as the project folder is simply mounted to the container.

CLion also bundles the Docker plugin, which brings the Services tool window and many docker-specific actions to the IDE.

In some cases the environment in which the compiler runs is initialized via script. It can initialize compiler environmental variables, customize the PATH variable, and more.

Use Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Toolchains and select Add environment | From file in CLion to source such a script for the toolchain you are using.

A new System toolchain on Windows, similar to the same toolchain type on Linux and macOS, allows configuring CMake, compiler, and debugger executables without selecting a predefined environment (like MinGW, Cygwin, WSL, or Visual Studio). This might be used for the ARM toolchain or other embedded toolchains on Windows.

A new UI for setting the CMake generator was added to the CMake Profile settings page (Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | CMake). Users can use the default value for the toolchain selected or set any generator from the predefined list.

When the UI field is used, CMake options on the same page are updated automatically and vice versa.

Heavily templated standard library types, or types with global and obvious namespace specifiers, can produce long entries in the variables view during debugging.

To improve the debugging experience, CLion now performs some additional processing to render types in the variables view in a more readable and friendlier way:

• Strip auxiliary namespaces, global and function scope specifiers, and standard library ABI version namespaces.
• Simplify standard library types by replacing standard library types with more readable aliases.
• You can also remove types completely from the presentation. This can help focus on the variable values.

A new View as Array… action is now available for any pointer variable and adds a watchpoint that renders a pointer value as array. The action is available in the context menu in the variables view. All you need to do is specify the size of the array.

As part of the ongoing debugger UI redesign, Evaluate expression is now integrated right in the Debug tool window. This makes it more discoverable and easy to use.

FreeRTOS thread view was expanded by adding objects and heap views:

• The Task table shows a list of tasks with status information.
• The Queue table shows currently active queues, semaphores, and mutexes.
• The Timer table lists the software timers.
• The Heap Usage table shows the current heap usage and memory block allocation.

CLion 2021.3 adds type hints for deduced types to increase code readability. The new hints help with types for auto variables, in structured bindings, and for lambda return types.

You can disable or enable specific type hints in Settings | Editor | Inlay Hints | C/C++ or right from the hint’s context menu.

If the type hint includes the template instantiation, the template arguments can be collapsed by simply clicking on the angle brackets. Also, Ctrl+Click allows you to navigate to the declaration of the type you clicked on.

When exploring the structure of the file in the Structure tool window (Alt+7) or in the Structure pop-up (Ctrl+F12), you can distinguish functions with the same names more easily, as CLion now shows qualified names for the member functions there.

LLVM tools in CLion were upgraded to v14.0.0. This improves the accuracy of the Clangd-based language engine and updates bundled Clang-Tidy and ClangFormat executables. For Clang-Tidy, this also means there are a few new checks you’ll be notified about when CLion is first launched after the update.

CLion’s data flow analysis now treats different calls differently, and so has become more accurate. This specifically means that:

• CLion analyzes each function for each call site separately.
• Parameters and return values for different call sites are analyzed separately.

Sometimes, you may have several commits that are ready to ship while others are still a work in progress. In such cases, you may want to push only the ones you are confident about. The new Push All up to Here action allows you to push commits up to the one you have selected in the Log tab of the Git tool window.

Store your project build configuration in new and universal CMake Presets, and CLion will automatically detect and import the necessary CMake Build Presets.

It will notify you and suggest reloading the presets if any changes are introduced to them, either in the editor or externally.

You can manage the imported presets in Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | CMake.

Learn more

In the Before Launch section of the Run/Debug configuration, users can now specify CMake Target tasks, both built-in and user-specified. These tasks will be performed before starting the selected target.

CLion now automatically detects GNU Autotools, Kbuild, and PERL MakeMaker projects. When these projects are loaded as Makefile projects, CLion automatically detects preconfiguration scripts and executes them to get the Makefile and load the project from it.

If you open a project in CLion without loading the Makefile project model, you can still load it later. This might happen if your project requires some custom preconfiguration steps and no final Makefile is available until those steps are finished. To load it, call the context menu on the project's top-level Makefile and select Load Makefile Project.

When you use the Microsoft Visual C++ toolchain on Windows, CLion provides its own LLDB-based debugger. Data rendering in this debugger was improved in v2021.2:

• Natvis customization features such as Inheritable attribute, format specifiers, and CustomListItems are now supported.
• Built-in renderers were improved by adding one-line colored summaries for all structures not covered by Natvis, enabling formatting for wide/Unicode strings, and showing the [Raw View] for Natvis-generated values.

Learn more

Instead of the internal console used by CLion, on Windows, it’s now possible to switch to the cmd.exe console to run and debug applications. Use the Run in external console checkbox in Run/Debug configuration to change the behavior.

While stepping through assembly code, you can now add/remove breakpoints on instruction lines. For non-default configuration of these address breakpoints, use the right-click context menu menu.

To improve debugging with LLDB, LLDB v12.0 is now bundled. Remote debugging of any arbitrary executable from CLion is now possible with LLDB (in addition to GDB). Use the new Remote Debug configuration to provide arguments to connect to the remote host. On a remote host, you'll need to launch lldb-server/debugserver. Check out our web help for more details.

If you debug applications with FreeRTOS in CLion, a view with the task lists is now available. You can switch to the task you are interested in to explore task variables and more.

Learn more

Diagnose common cases of dangling pointers and escaping from a local scope by using static analysis. This capability is made possible by the Lifetime Safety proposal that CLion has partially implemented. GSL annotations are also supported to let you mark your code and make local analysis more accurate.

Cling is an interactive C++ interpreter built on top of Clang and LLVM. It allows you to run code without building the project, which can be especially useful for prototyping and learning C++.

Install Cling on your system and benefit from its integration with CLion:

• Start a new Cling session.
• Send included headers or selection to Cling.
• Send the current line to the Cling session via the code intention.

Learn more

Profiling is now possible in remote mode and on WSL. In both cases, the Perf backend is required. Find the instructions in our web help on how to install the Perf tool for your particular kernel release.

You'll also need to configure the path to the Perf tool in CLion Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Dynamic Analysis Tools | Perf.

WSL configuration in CLion has become much easier, as you no longer need an SSH server inside a WSL distribution to work with WSL in CLion. CLion now uses a dedicated WSL API.

CLion now supports WSL whether it's installed from the Microsoft Store or a custom distribution.

Text search through file revisions in Local History appeared in CLion 2021.2, helping you locate the point you want to roll back to more easily.

In v2021.2, we expanded the list of possible pre-commit actions with the ability to execute tests. Tick the Run Tests checkbox and select the configuration to run.

We also added the ability to customize the Analyze code and Cleanup options by clicking Choose profile next to them.

Do you use the Toolbox App to manage CLion installations and updates? Now you won't miss any critical product updates from it. Your IDE will alert you if there is a new version available for download and give you the option to upgrade right from CLion.

You can now enjoy the CLion UI in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. The fully localized UIs are available as non-bundled language pack plugins, which can be installed in CLion from Settings | Plugins.

The list of current DFA-based inspections that benefit from global DFA includes:

• Dangling pointers – detects pointers that may point to already deleted memory.
• Null dereference – detects dereferencing pointers that may contain nullptr.
• Endless loops and Infinite recursion.
• Constant conditions – detects possible conditions that are always true or false.
• Unreachable code and Unused values.
• Escape analysis – detects variables containing references to local variables that escape their scope.

CLion 2021.1 also optimizes many steps in DFA. The performance measurements on Postgres, Eigen, and Clangd projects, among others, show that the overall performance is good and that some characteristics have improved (such as the number of files where DFA execution was terminated by CLion because of a timeout).

In addition to line coverage, CLion 2021.1 can now also calculate Branch Coverage. This method takes into account all the branches of each control structure. Run your CMake application or tests with coverage and check out the new column that’s been added to the Coverage tool window.

Branch coverage is enabled by default and can be adjusted in Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Coverage, but it only works with GCC/gcov or version 12.0.0 and higher of LLVM/llvm-cov.

CLion 2021.1 adds more checks from MISRA C 2012 and MISRA C++ 2008. The full list is maintained on our confluence page and allows you to easily track the progress.

Postfix templates can help you with common language constructs. Type an expression then a dot, and then add the postfix template abbreviation and press the expansion key, or select the required template from the completion list that appears. The expanded template will wrap the given expression. Find the full list of templates in Settings | Editor | General | Postfix Completion.

CLion 2021.1 allows you to work with Makefile projects on a remote machine. Change the toolchain in the Makefile settings to a remote one, then reload the project and it will synchronize with the remote machine. Compile, run, and debug your application remotely from your locally running CLion.

Check out known issues and limitations.

CMake Profile settings in CLion are now stored in a cmake.xml file in the .idea directory and can be shared in the VCS along with the project. Simply select the Share option in Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | CMake.

Clazy, a Qt-oriented static code analyzer, is now integrated into CLion’s Clangd-based engine. CLion currently uses version 1.8. Checks are displayed in the editor and quick-fixes are also available.

Users can configure CLion’s severity level and the level of the Clazy checks in Settings | Editor | Inspections | C/C++ | General | Clazy.

The Set Execution Point action lets you jump to an arbitrary line of code in the editor during a debug session and set the execution point there, skipping all the other commands in between. It now works in the disassembly view, so you can move the execution point while stepping through the assembly code.

A new Tools | Open Remote Host Terminal action opens the project directory on the remote host if it exists. The remote host corresponds to the remote profile that is currently selected, or if a local one is selected, the first remote profile found in the project.

Source files located outside of the project root are now grouped under the External Sources node in the Project tree. This helps prevent the top-level crowding of these files.

CLion can inspect your code before you commit it to help you make sure there are no bugs. Choose a code inspection profile before committing changes to VCS – click the gear icon to display the commit options, select the Analyze code checkbox, click Choose profile, and select the desired profile.

IntelliJ Rust now provides a structured view for the compiler’s build output. The tab opens automatically in the Build tool window when you call a Cargo command that includes a build step. This new feature works with Cargo versions 1.48.0 or later.

Another significant update is the new Change Signature refactoring. It helps you modify a function/method signature, affecting all references. You can quickly change a function’s name or return type, reorder or add/remove parameters, and add an async or unsafe prefix.

The Rename refactoring now gives renaming suggestions for elements like structs, functions, and local variables when you change a name in the editor.

Conditional compilation support has been improved. Find Usages is now available for Cargo features, and completion works for the feature argument in the cfg and cfg_attr attributes. Also, if there are nested attributes inside cfg_attr, the plugin takes that into account during name resolution and code analysis.

Code With Me, a new JetBrains service for collaborative development and pair programming, is now bundled with CLion.

Set the required level of access to your project and share the link with your guests. Your peers do not even need to have an IDE of their own installed to collaborate with you. Embedded audio and video calls, along with chat messaging, will help teams discuss the code, share their knowledge, and cooperate more efficiently.

To learn more about the availability of Code With Me with your current JetBrains license, check out the pricing page.