Air in IDEs settings

Air in IDEs settings are grouped under AI | Air. Which agents are available, and whether an agent starts in the chat or terminal surface, is set on the Agents page instead. For information about available agents, refer to Browse, install, and update agents. For information about the model, effort, and mode that an agent starts with, refer to Configure and manage presets.

Air

AI | Air settings with Agents, Presets, and Sounds groups: automatic agent updates, the preset for new sessions, and sound events.

Setting	Description
Automatically update agents	Download updates for agents in the background. Agents whose current terms you have not accepted are not updated, and running sessions keep the version that they started with.
Prevent system sleep while agents are working	Keep the system awake while an agent is working or while a session is waiting for your review.
Start a new session with	Choose whether new sessions start with the Last used agent or preset or with the Default agent or preset.
Play Air sounds when	Play sounds for the selected events. Clear the checkbox to turn off all Air in IDEs sounds. An agent finishes its work An agent stops with an error An agent needs your input Starting or stopping dictation: when you start or stop dictating a prompt. Air in IDEs plays these sounds only when you are not viewing the chat of the session. To preview a sound, click next to the event.

Accounts

Configure the AI providers that agents work through. Add a provider for every API key that you have, and switch between the configured providers as your tasks require.

Setting	Description
AI Providers	The providers that agents work through. Each entry shows the provider and the kind of credentials that it uses, for example a personal API key. Use on an entry to edit the provider or to delete its configuration.
More Providers	Add a provider and fill in the details that it requires, such as its API key. The set of fields depends on the provider that you select.

If your organization supplies AI access, the AI Providers list also holds an entry for your JetBrains Account. The list on that entry holds the organizations that supply credits to your account. The text next to the list shows how many of your monthly credits are left. Use on that entry to open your JetBrains Account settings in the browser.

Sessions

Setting	Description
Show only sessions from the current project	Limit the Agent Sessions tool window to the current project. Clear the checkbox to list the sessions of all projects. The default value depends on whether sessions open in a separate window.
Show which sessions changed each file	List the uncommitted changes of a project under the sessions that made them. Air in IDEs reads the session history to match the changes to the sessions. When this option is off, only a session that runs in a temporary worktree shows its changed files.
Show session cost	Show the exact or estimated cost in session metadata.
Open sessions in a separate window	Open sessions in a separate window instead of the frame of the source project.
Use a compact New Session button in the main toolbar	Show only the agent icon on the New Session button in the main toolbar. Clear the checkbox to show the New Session label as well.
Color session tabs by source project	When project colors are enabled, give the separate session window the color of its source project. This setting does not affect the color labels that you add to sessions in the Agent Sessions tool window.
Show agent activity	Choose where to show the counters of sessions that need your attention, are running, or have recently completed: Never, Agent Sessions Title Bar (the header of the Agent Sessions tool window), Main Toolbar, or Both. The session list and the tool window stripe always show this activity. For more information, refer to Track agent activity without the tool window.
Use the Caps Lock LED for agent activity	On macOS, use the LED of a compatible `Caps Lock` key to signal agent activity. Air in IDEs uses the Input Monitoring permission only to control the LED: it does not read the text that you type or change the `Caps Lock` state.
Show Claude usage in the status bar	Show your Claude usage in the status bar.

Chat

Setting	Description
Open chats in	Choose where sessions open: Editor: open each session in an editor tab. Single Tool Window: open sessions in the Chat tool window on the right side of the main window. For more information, refer to Open sessions in the Chat tool window.
Use a single tab in the Chat tool window	Open all sessions in one tab of the Chat tool window instead of a separate tab for each session. The change applies after you reopen the project.
Save and restore editor tabs for each chat	Remember the editor tabs that are open while you work with a chat, and reopen them when you return to that chat.
Font size	Set the size of the text in the prompt, your messages, and agent replies relative to the IDE font size. The hint next to the list shows the difference, for example 1 point larger than the IDE font size.
User message alignment	Place your messages on the Left or Right side of the conversation.
Limit message width to	Wrap messages at the specified number of characters instead of using the full width of the view.
While the agent is working, put follow-up messages in the queue	Add follow-up messages to the queue while the agent is working. Press `Enter` to queue a message and `Ctrl` + `Enter` to send it right away. When this option is off, the two shortcuts trade places.
Show playful status words while the agent is working	Show words like Pondering or Brewing instead of Running in the status of a working agent.
Open files and local links in	Choose where files and local links open: New tab: open the file or local link in an editor tab. Split: open the file or local link in an editor split, which keeps the chat visible next to it. Use this target to read the response of the agent and inspect the file that it refers to at the same time. This is the default target. Adaptive: choose the target from the layout that is available: If the chat is docked and there is enough space, the file opens in a split. If the chat is docked and there is not enough space, the file opens in an editor tab. If the chat is detached from the main IDE window, the file opens in the main IDE window.
When Chat is detached, open targets in the main IDE window	While a chat is detached from the main IDE window, open files and links in the main window instead of in the detached one. `Ctrl` + `Click` sends a single link to the main IDE window.
Open web links in	Choose whether web links open in the IDE browser or in an External browser.
Markdown files	Open the Markdown files that a session lists in Preview or in Source.
Local HTML files	Open the local HTML files that a session lists in the IDE browser or in Source.
Diff listed entries	Open the diff entries that a session lists in the Diff viewer or in Source.

MCP Servers

Turn on the MCP servers that Air in IDEs passes to new agent sessions. Your own servers are defined in the mcp.json file:

C:\Users\<username>\.jetbrains\mcp\mcp.json

/Users/<username>/.jetbrains/mcp/mcp.json

/home/<username>/.jetbrains/mcp/mcp.json

You add, change, or remove your servers by editing this file. A change applies to the next session that you start. For more information, refer to Connect external MCP servers.

AI | Air | MCP Servers settings with github and miro-mcp under Your servers, the YouTrack server under Provisioned by your organization, and jetbrains_air_ide under From plugins. Each server has a checkbox that turns it on or off.

Setting	Description
Search servers	Filter the list of servers.
Edit MCPs	Open mcp.json in the editor to add, change, or remove your servers.
Reload	Reload the Your servers list after you edit mcp.json.
Your servers	Servers from your mcp.json file. The group header shows the path to the file. A new server is off by default. To copy the configuration of a server, click next to it and select Copy Configuration.
Provisioned by your organization	Servers that your organization sets up for you. These servers are off until you turn them on.
From plugins	Servers that installed plugins provide, such as the `jetbrains_air_ide` server with the IDE tools of the project that owns the session.

To turn a server on or off, select or clear the checkbox next to it.

Commit Message

Add your own instructions to the prompt that Air in IDEs uses to generate commit messages. For more information, refer to Generate a commit message.

Setting	Description
Prompt for generation	Your instructions for the agent that writes commit messages, such as the format or the length of the message. If your instructions conflict with the conventions of the project, the project conventions take priority.
Insert $GIT_BRANCH_NAME	Add the `$GIT_BRANCH_NAME` variable to the prompt. Air in IDEs replaces it with the name of the current branch.
Restore default prompt	Replace your instructions with the default prompt.

Worktree

Configure where Air in IDEs creates temporary worktrees and when it deletes them, and manage the worktrees of each project. For information about running sessions in worktrees, refer to Fork in a new temporary worktree.

Setting	Description
Worktrees root directory	The directory where Air in IDEs creates temporary worktrees. By default, it is ~/.air/worktrees/temporary.
Set a limit of worktrees per project	Limit the number of temporary worktrees that Air in IDEs keeps for each project. This option is disabled by default.
Automatically delete temporary worktrees after days of inactivity	Delete the temporary worktrees that have not been used for the specified number of days. This option is disabled by default. Uncommitted changes in a deleted worktree are lost.
Worktrees list per project	Select a project to list its temporary worktrees. Each entry shows the name and path of the worktree and the date when it was last used. To delete a worktree, hover over its entry and click . Uncommitted changes in the worktree are lost.

04 November 2026