Getting Started with JetBrains Air IDE: Parallel AI Agents for Real Codebases
JetBrains Air entered public preview today — an agentic IDE built on the Fleet codebase that supports running multiple AI coding agents in parallel. If you’ve been following the agentic IDE space and want to get hands-on, this guide walks through installation, initial configuration, and your first parallel agent workflow. Prerequisites Before you start, confirm you have: A JetBrains account — Air requires a JetBrains account, even in public preview. Free accounts work during the preview period. JetBrains AI subscription (optional for basic use, required for premium models) — if you want to use Claude or GPT-5 as your underlying model, you’ll need a JetBrains AI subscription. The default model (JetBrains’ own hosted model) is available free during preview. System requirements: macOS 13+, Windows 11, or Ubuntu 22.04+. M1/M2/M3 Mac or Windows ARM is recommended for performance. 16GB RAM minimum, 32GB recommended for larger codebases. Step 1: Download and Install Air Go to jetbrains.com/air and click Download Public Preview You’ll be prompted to log in to your JetBrains account Download the installer for your platform Run the installer — Air installs independently from other JetBrains IDEs and does not replace or affect IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, or other products The install is straightforward. Air does not use the JetBrains Toolbox App for management during the preview period — it’s a standalone installer. ...