AI Assistant 2026.1 Help

Activate agents

AI Assistant provides a set of integrated agents (such as Junie, Claude Agent, and Codex), as well as supports adding external or custom ACP-compatible agents.

Integrated agents can be activated using different authentication methods, depending on the agent and your configuration.

Activating an agent lets you use it in AI Chat. Other AI Assistant features may be unavailable depending on the selected activation method.

Integrated agents

You can activate integrated agents using one of the following authentication methods:

  • JetBrains AI subscription

  • API key (BYOK)

  • Provider account (OAuth)

  • Provider-specific methods (such as Anthropic Console)

Not all authentication methods are supported by every agent:

Agent

JetBrains AI

Provider account (OAuth)

API key (BYOK)

Provider-specific

Junie logo Junie

Supported

Not supported

Supported

Not supported

Claude Agent

Supported

Not supported

Supported

Anthropic Console

Codex logo Codex

Supported

Supported

Supported

Not supported

The selected authentication method is used for both request processing and billing. You can check which method is currently active in Settings | Tools | AI Assistant | Providers & API keys, in the Agent Authorization section.

View agent authentication method

If you want to change the authentication method, you can revoke the current one and select a different option. For the changes to take effect, you will need to create a new chat.

Activate an agent using a JetBrains AI subscription

All integrated agents can be used with a JetBrains AI subscription. However, the activation flow differs depending on the agent:

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Junie.

    Select the agent

  3. Authorize using your JetBrains Account with an active JetBrains AI subscription.

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Claude Agent.

    Select the agent

  3. Send a message to trigger the authentication prompt.

  4. In the prompt, select JetBrains.

    Select JetBrains AI

  5. Authorize using your JetBrains Account with an active JetBrains AI subscription.

Activate JetBrains AI using any available method. For example:

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Start with JetBrains AI.

    Select the agent

  3. Authorize using your JetBrains Account with an active JetBrains AI subscription.

Activate an agent using an API key (BYOK)

Junie, Claude Agent, and Codex support activation using an API key (BYOK). However, the activation flow differs depending on the agent:

  • Junie requires configuration in the IDE settings

  • Claude Agent lets you choose the authentication method in AI Chat

  • Codex requires configuration in the IDE settings

  1. Navigate to Settings | Tools | AI Assistant | Providers & API keys.

    AI Assistant Models & API keys settings

  2. In the Third-party AI providers section, select the desired Provider.

  3. Enter your API key in the API Key field and click Test Connection to verify that the connection is established.

  4. Click OK to apply changes.

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Claude Agent. The chat switches to the selected agent.

    Select the agent

  3. If the agent is not installed, complete the installation.

    Install and Continue

  4. Send a message to trigger the authentication prompt.

  5. In the prompt, select API Key. The settings page opens.

    Select API Key

  6. In the Third-party AI providers section, select Anthropic as the Provider.

    AI Assistant Models & API keys settings

  7. Enter your API key in the API Key field and click Test Connection to verify that the connection is established.

  8. Click OK to apply changes.

  1. Navigate to Settings | Tools | AI Assistant | Providers & API keys.

    AI Assistant Models & API keys settings

  2. In the Third-party AI providers section, select OpenAI as the Provider.

  3. Enter your API key in the API Key field and click Test Connection to verify that the connection is established.

  4. Click OK to apply changes.

After completing these steps, open the AI Chat tool window, select the agent for which you have configured an API key, and start using it.

Activate an agent using a provider account (OAuth)

Currently, only Codex supports activation using a provider account:

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Codex.

    Sign in to Codex with ChatGPT account

  3. If the agent is not installed, complete the installation.

    Install Codex

  4. Click Log in via ChatGPT account. The OpenAI sign-in page opens.

    Log in via ChatGPT account

  5. Sign in with your ChatGPT account to authorize the agent.

After completing these steps, you can start using the agent in AI Chat.

To verify that your ChatGPT account is used, click the JetBrains AI widget in the window header toolbar.

Third-party provider in JetBrains AI widget

Activate an agent using a provider-specific method

Some agents support provider-specific activation methods. For example, Claude Agent can be activated using Anthropic Console.

To activate Claude Agent using Anthropic Console:

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Select Claude Agent.

    Select the agent

  3. If the agent is not installed, complete the installation.

    Install and Continue

  4. Send a message to trigger the authentication prompt.

  5. In the prompt, select Anthropic Console.

    Select Anthropic Console

  6. Complete the authorization.

After completing these steps, open the AI Chat tool window, select the agent, and start using it.

Add ACP agents

AI Assistant supports the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), allowing you to connect external AI agents. You can install an ACP-compatible agent and use it in the AI Chat without the JetBrains AI service subscription.

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Click Add ACP Agents.

    Add ACP Agent

  3. On the Agents page, select the agent that you want to install and click Install.

    the Agents settings page

    During installation, the IDE automatically:

    • Downloads the required agent files.

    • Downloads and manages a Node.js or Python runtime if required. If a compatible runtime is already available, the IDE reuses it instead.

    • Prepares the agent for use.

  4. Enable Pass custom MCP servers and Pass IntelliJ MCP server settings if you want the agent to access tools from configured MCP servers or the bundled MCP server.

  5. Click OK to apply changes.

As a result, the selected agent is installed and becomes available for use in AI Chat.

Alternatively, you can manually add custom ACP-compatible agents:

  1. Open the AI Chat tool window.

  2. Click the button in the upper-right corner of the AI Chat tool window and select Add Custom Agent.

    Add a custom agent

  3. In the acp.json file, provide the agent configuration details.

As a result, the custom agent becomes available in AI Chat.

Revoke the agent's authorization

To use a different authentication method or sign out of the provider account, you need to revoke the agent authorization. To do this:

  1. Navigate to Settings | Tools | AI Assistant | Providers & API keys.

  2. In the Agent Authorization section, click Revoke (or Log out for Codex) next to the agent whose authorization you want to revoke.

    Revoke authorization

  3. Click OK.

For ACP-compatible agents, including Claude Agent, you can also reset the authentication directly in AI Chat:

  1. In the chat, click the Options button.

  2. Select the Reset ACP Authentication option from the list.

    Reset ACP Authentication option

  3. Start a new chat by clicking the New Chat button or pressing Alt+Insert.

  4. Send a message to trigger the authentication prompt.

  5. Select the authentication method you want to use.

    Select authentication method

The agent uses the selected method until you reset authentication again.

23 April 2026
Use JetBrains AI subscriptionBring your own key (BYOK)