Chat with AI | AI Assistant Documentation

Start a chat

To begin working with AI Assistant, open the AI Chat tool window. You can then start a conversation.

Open AI Chat

To open the AI Chat tool window, click AI Chat on the right toolbar (in DataGrip, click More tool windows in the header and select AI Assistant).

The tool window opens with Chat mode selected by default. If you previously switched to an agent, you can switch back to Chat mode by clicking the button and selecting it from the list.

Start a new conversation

If you already have an open chat and want to start a new one, click New Chat or press Alt+Insert.

Select a model

You can choose the model that processes your requests. AI Assistant supports models provided through the JetBrains AI service, configured third-party provider, or locally running model.

To select a model you want to use:

In the chat, click the button next to the model's name.
Select the desired model from the list.
If you are unsure which model to choose, you can set it to Auto. AI Assistant will automatically select the model that offers the best balance between performance and cost.

AI Assistant provides hints for each model next to its name:

– these models are better suited for tasks that require logical reasoning, structured output, or deeper contextual understanding.
– these models can process images, allowing you to add visual context to your request.
– models marked with this icon may consume more tokens, resulting in higher quota usage.
– these models may produce varying results, meaning that their behavior or performance is less predictable.

Manage context

AI Assistant uses context from your project to generate responses. It can collect this context automatically or you can add it manually.

Enable codebase mode

By default, AI Assistant automatically gathers relevant context to provide a response. If you prefer to add the context manually, you can disable this behavior. To do this, click and disable the Enable Codebase Mode setting.

After that, you can add the relevant information manually via the button or using @ references.

Add attachments manually

You can add the relevant context manually by clicking the Add attachment button. You can then select the category of attachment, and the item you want to add.

Below you can find detailed instructions on adding specific types of context to your query:

Add files or folders to context

Adding files and folders to the context gives AI Assistant access to relevant code and project structure, helping it understand dependencies and provide more accurate, context-aware answers.

To add a file or folder to the context:

In the chat, click Add attachment.
Select the Files and Folders option from the menu and specify the file or folder you want to add.
Alternatively, you can add a file or folder to the chat using the @ reference:
- To reference a file, use @file:file_name.
- To reference a folder, use @folder:folder_name.
You can also drag and drop a file or folder directly into the chat.
Type your question in the chat and submit the query.

AI Assistant will use the attached file or folder to collect additional context when providing an answer.

Add images to context

AI Assistant can extract relevant information from images and use it as context when processing your requests. It can read code snippets from screenshots, analyze error messages, or interpret other visual context.

To add an image to your request:

In the chat, select the model that supports image processing. Such models are marked with the icon.
Click Add attachment.
Select the Add Image option from the menu and specify the image you want to add. If needed, you can attach multiple images.
The attached image must not exceed 20 MB in size.
Alternatively, you can add an image to the chat by referencing it via @file:file_name, copying and pasting it, or dragging and dropping it into the chat.
Type your question in the chat and submit the query.

AI Assistant will process the image and extract relevant information needed to generate a reply.

The extracted code snippets can then be further processed as needed.

Add context from UI

When asking questions in the chat, you can add context to your query directly from a UI element. It can be a terminal, tool window, console, etc. For example, you can attach a build log from the console to ask why your build failed.

In the chat, click Add attachment.
Select the Add context from UI option from the menu.
Select the UI element that contains data that you want to add to the context.
When adding context this way, be mindful of the files you include, as some may be explicitly marked as restricted in the .aiignore file. Adding them as context bypasses this restriction, allowing AI Assistant to process them.
Type your question in the chat and submit the query.

AI Assistant will consider the added context when generating the response.

Attach database object

Available in: DataGrip and IDEs with Database Tools and SQL plugin starting from IDE version 2025.2

You can attach a specific database object to your request in AI chat to provide the LLM with additional context. To do this:

In the chat, type @, then start typing or select dbObject:.
From the list of database objects that appears, select the one you want to attach.
If you want to attach a whole schema, you can also click Add Attachment in the chat, then select the Database Schema option and specify the schema. In DataGrip, click Attach Schema and select one from the list.
You can see which object was attached to your message and navigate to it by clicking the corresponding attachment in the chat.
Type your question in the chat and submit the query.

Mention database context

Available in: DataGrip and IDEs with Database Tools and SQL plugin starting from IDE version 2026.1

AI Assistant can manage settings for the file created from a code snippet automatically. For this, provide any context relating to the SQL dialect, a data source, or a schema in the chat. Also, if you ask AI Assistant about a file that already has a data source attached, it attaches that data source to the newly created file.

Database context is applied to a newly created file

Attach selection as context

Sometimes, it is necessary to explain a specific part of the code, a runtime warning, terminal output, or other results shown in various tool windows while working with your code. AI Assistant allows you to select this content and add it to the chat as context for your request.

To get an explanation:

Select the content you want explained. This can be a code snippet from the editor, a runtime error, terminal output, or other console messages shown in a corresponding tool window.
The selection is automatically added to the chat as context.
In the chat, ask AI Assistant to explain the selection.

Use @mentions

You can use @mentions to add specific items, such as files or symbols, to your request as context.

Available categories

@thisFile refers to the currently open file.
@selection refers to a piece of code that is currently selected in the editor.
@projectStructure refers to the structure of the project displayed in the Project tool window.
@problems refers to the issues detected in the currently open file.
@localChanges refers to the uncommitted changes.
@file: invokes a popup with selection of files from the current project. You can select the necessary file or image from the popup or write the name of the file (for example, @file:Foo.md or @file:img.png).
@folder: refers to a folder in the current project. The selected folder, along with all its contents, is added as context to the prompt.
@rule: adds a project rule into prompt. You can either select a rule from the invoked popup or write the rule name manually.
@dbObject: refers to a database object such as a schema or table. For example, you can attach a database schema to your request to improve the quality of generated SQL queries.
@commit: adds a commit reference into prompt. You can either select a commit from the invoked popup or write the commit hash manually.
@symbol: adds a symbol into prompt (for example, @symbol:FieldName).
@jupyter: for PyCharm and DataDrip, adds a Jupyter variable into prompt (for example, @jupyter:df).

Review attachments

You can review any attachment by clicking it. The item will be opened in a separate window.

If the request was already sent, you can find the attachments that were added to it by clicking the button.

The attachments provided by AI Assistant in the answer are always shown but can be hidden if needed by clicking .

Set a message trimming threshold

Each language model has a context window – the maximum amount of context it can process at once. If this limit is exceeded, the model may produce incomplete responses or discard earlier parts of the conversation.

To ensure your requests stay within the model's capacity, you can configure a message trimming threshold. If this threshold is exceeded, AI Assistant starts prioritizing smaller files and extracting key content from larger ones to optimize the amount of context sent to the model.

To set a message trimming threshold:

Go to Settings | AI Assistant.
Alternatively, hover over the trimmed attachment, marked with the icon, and click Adjust threshold.
In the Message Trimming Threshold section, select a value for the Trim message if it exceeds % of a model context window setting.
Click OK to save changes.

As a result, when your message exceeds the specified threshold, AI Assistant trims the attachments to ensure the model can process the request. The trimmed content is marked with the icon.

Use /commands

Commands act as shortcuts for specific actions, allowing you to save time when typing your query. You can use them in combination with @mentions.

By default, the following / commands are available:

/docs – searches the IDE documentation for information on the specified topic. If applicable, AI Assistant will provide a link to the corresponding setting or documentation page.
/explain – explains a mentioned entity.
/help – provides information about AI Chat features.
/refactor – suggest refactoring for the code selected in the editor.
/web – searches for information on the internet. AI Assistant will provide an answer and attach a set of relevant links that were used to retrieve the information.

Process responses

In Chat mode, you can apply or reuse AI-generated suggestions using the actions available in the top-right corner of the code snippet.

Asking AI Assistant programming-related questions

Apply – apply the suggestion to the currently open file.
Copy to Clipboard – copy the code snippet.
Insert Snippet at Caret – insert the code snippet into the editor.
Create File from Snippet – creates a new file from the snippet.
The file is created in the folder selected in the Project tool window (in Rider, in the project selected in the Explorer tool window). If a file is selected instead of a folder, the new file is created in the same folder as the selected file.
Run Snippet – execute the generated command or code.

Apply a suggestion to the current file

Code snippets generated by AI Assistant in the Chat mode can be applied to the currently open file. The changes are applied to the entire file, with relevant code adjusted to integrate the updates.

To apply the suggestion:

Locate the code snippet that you want to apply.
Click the Apply button.
In the editor, review the changes by clicking Next Change or Previous Change buttons.
When you are ready to apply the changes, click Accept All. Otherwise, click Discard All to reject the changes.
You can reject a specific change by clicking the Revert button in the gutter.

Regenerate the response

If you do not like the answer provided by AI Assistant, click Regenerate this response at the end of the response to generate a new one.

View chat history

AI Assistant stores chat history separately for each project across IDE sessions. You can find the saved chats in the Chat History list.

Names of the chats are generated automatically and contain the summary of the initial query. Right-click the chat's name to rename it or delete it from the list. Search for a particular chat name using Ctrl+F.

Besides searching for a specific chat, you can also search within a chat instance. To revisit a specific part of the conversation:

In the chat instance, press Ctrl+F. Alternatively, click and select Find in Chat.
In the search field, type your query. AI Assistant will highlight all occurrences of the specified text in the chat.
You can also search for multiple lines by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Enter or clicking New Line after each specified line.
Use buttons to navigate to the next/previous occurrence.