GitHub Copilot for JetBrains IDEs Gains New Features and Claude Agent Preview

GitHub Copilot has announced a substantial update for its integration within JetBrains IDEs, bringing a suite of new features designed to enhance developer productivity and collaboration. A key highlight is the introduction of support for organization and enterprise agents directly within the IDEs. This allows administrators to define and publish custom agents, ensuring that development teams can access a curated set of AI tools that adhere to organizational standards and workflows. These agents are automatically distributed to eligible users, simplifying the process of sharing and governing AI-powered development practices across an enterprise. Another significant improvement targets the Copilot CLI sessions. Previously, developers had to wait for a response to complete or cancel it before sending new messages. With this update, users can now queue follow-up messages while a request is still running. The system also offers a "Steer with Message" option, enabling developers to redirect an agent's current task if it's veering off course, providing more dynamic control over AI assistance. The update also includes the public preview of Claude as an agent provider for GitHub Copilot in JetBrains IDEs. This integration expands the choice of underlying AI models available to developers, allowing them to leverage Claude's capabilities for code generation and assistance. To utilize this, users need to install the Claude Code CLI and configure it within their IDE settings. It's noted that the Claude agent currently operates in a bypass permissions mode, meaning file edits and tool calls are automatically approved, with configurable permissions planned for a future release. Enterprise and Business subscribers will also need administrator-enabled Editor preview features to access this. Further enhancements include improvements to the model picker, offering a more intuitive selection process for AI models. A new per-turn AI credits indicator has been added, providing transparency into the consumption of AI resources. Additionally, the update focuses on general user experience and reliability improvements, ensuring a smoother and more dependable AI-assisted coding environment. The cloud agent is also now generally available, indicating broader access to these advanced features.