Cloud tasks
Cloud tasks run in containerized cloud environments instead of on your machine. Run a cloud task when you want an isolated environment, want to work from the web version of JetBrains Air, or want to automate project workflows that do not require direct user involvement.
To quickly run your first task in the cloud, proceed to Quickstart.
When to use cloud tasks
Cloud tasks are useful when local execution is inconvenient or not possible.
You do not have the project on your machine – you can open the project remotely and work with it without cloning or setting it up locally.
You work from different places or devices – you can start and manage tasks from the web version of JetBrains Air, not only from the desktop app.
You need automations – scheduled and event-based workflows run in cloud environments and do not depend on your machine being online. Learn about automations.
You want stronger isolation – tasks run in a remote environment and do not use your local files, local processes, or local credentials unless you explicitly provide the required configuration.
You want reproducible execution – cloud environments can be configured per repository, so tasks run with the same base image, variables, and setup regardless of who starts them.
What is different from local execution
Cloud execution differs from local execution in several important ways.
The environment is remote – the task runs in a cloud environment, not on your machine. Unlike a local run, the environment does not already have your repository checked out. Before you can run cloud tasks, make the repository available to JetBrains Air. Learn how to connect repositories.
The environment does not inherit your local setup automatically – if your project needs specific dependencies, environment variables, secrets, or other setup, you must provide them as part of the cloud configuration. If you do not create one, JetBrains Air uses a default environment, which is enough for simple tasks. Learn how to configure cloud environments.
The environment is suspended when idle – after 75 minutes of inactivity, JetBrains Air suspends the environment and marks the task Suspended. You can resume it until JetBrains Air archives the task after 24 hours of inactivity. See Cloud environment lifecycle.
Task results are pushed to a remote branch – after the task is done, JetBrains Air commits the result to a separate task branch and pushes it to the remote repository, so the changes are not lost when the environment is no longer available.
The review and apply workflow is different – after the task is done, you review the result and then create a pull request from the pushed task branch. Learn more in Run tasks in cloud.
Cloud environment lifecycle
JetBrains Air creates a cloud environment when a task starts and suspends it after a period of inactivity. A cloud task shows one of these states:
State | What it means |
|---|---|
Starting | JetBrains Air is creating and starting the cloud environment for the task. |
Done | The task has finished. The environment is still available, so you can review the result and continue working in it. |
Suspended | JetBrains Air stopped the environment after 75 minutes of inactivity. Your results are safe on the task branch. Click Resume to restart the environment and continue working on the task. See Resume a suspended environment. |
Archived | JetBrains Air archived the task after 24 hours of inactivity. You can still open the task to view its chat history, but you can't resume it, because the environment can no longer be restarted. Your results remain on the task branch. |
Problem | The task ran into an error. See Troubleshoot cloud tasks. |
How to access cloud tasks
You can run cloud tasks from the JetBrains Air desktop app or from the web version of JetBrains Air.
Desktop app – Start a task in JetBrains Air and select Cloud as the run environment.
Web version – Open https://air.jetbrains.cloud in your browser and run tasks there.
To run cloud tasks, you must be signed in with your JetBrains Account.
Organization access and billing
Access to cloud tasks is managed at the organization level. In JetBrains Central Console, an administrator controls whether your users can run cloud tasks and which AI providers they can use. If you administer an organization, see Administer Air for your organization.
Cloud usage is billed to the organization, not to individual users.