Key concepts
This topic defines the terms used across the JetBrains Air in IDEs documentation.
- Agent
A coding agent that JetBrains Air in IDEs can run, such as Codex, Junie, or another supported agent. An agent can come from a local installation on your machine or from the agent registry.
- Session
A session is one conversation with an agent. It includes the conversation history, attached context, and the process JetBrains Air in IDEs uses to run the agent while the session is active.
Refer to Agent Session View overview for details.
The account or credentials that an agent uses during a session: the login that the agent manages itself, JetBrains AI, or a provider configured in JetBrains Air in IDEs.
Refer to Configure agent authorization for details.
- Context
Project information that you attach to a request or session, such as files, commits, or a skill. Context gives the agent the information it needs to work with the same project or data that you see in the IDE.
Refer to Attach context for details.
- Preset
A named, reusable configuration that specifies the agent, model, effort, and access level for a session.
Refer to Create a custom preset for details.
- ACP agent
An agent that communicates with JetBrains Air in IDEs through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP). ACP standardizes communication between code editors or IDEs and coding agents.
JetBrains Air in IDEs displays an ACP agent's progress, tool calls, permission requests, and forms in a structured interface instead of plain text.
- CLI agent
An agent that JetBrains Air in IDEs runs as a command-line tool. JetBrains Air in IDEs displays a CLI agent in a terminal interface rather than a structured interface.
- Surface
The interface in which a session runs: a chat in the IDE for an ACP agent, or a terminal in a full-screen editor tab for a CLI agent.
- MCP
The Model Context Protocol. JetBrains Air in IDEs uses MCP to provide supported agents with different tools, extending their capabilities.
- Skill
A set of instructions that tells an agent how to perform a specific kind of task. You can attach a skill to a request as part of its context.