JetBrainsd service

The daemon (jetbrainsd) is a background service that coordinates JetBrains tools on your machine. It starts automatically when you launch the Toolbox App or certain JetBrains IDEs.

Jebrainsd service handles the URL requests and forwards them to the Toolbox App or an IDE. Specifically, any jetbrains:// URI (for example, SSH, OAuth callback, and so on) triggers the daemon process. The daemon receives URI from the system, forwards it to the Toolbox App, where the standard logic is applied.

If a newer version of the daemon is bundled in PhpStorm, it will update automatically on the initial launch of the IDE. Note that the update occurs only on the first startup.

The daemon runs with user-level privileges (not admin/root). All communication is strictly local – no ports are opened for external access.

Check the daemon location

There is an archive inside the PhpStorm distribution.
When you start PhpStorm, it unpacks the archive into the extract directory. The extract directory is located under the daemon bundle directory.
~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/Daemon/bundles/extract/
~/.local/share/JetBrains/Daemon/bundles/extract/
%LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\Daemon\bundles\extract\
After unpacking, the IDE starts the daemon.
The daemon executes from the extract directory only once and then is copied to the following permanent location based on your OS:
~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/Daemon/bundles/current/
~/.local/share/JetBrains/Daemon/bundles/current/
(respects XDG_DATA_HOME)
%LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\Daemon\bundles\current\
The daemon then runs from the main location and exits the temporary one.

24 June 2026