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October 5, 2026 | agents / IDEs / provider custody

The agent panel is a conduit, not the whole machine.

JetBrains Air now puts several coding agents inside one IDE panel. The panel can group the work. It cannot tell you which process runs, which account pays, or where the prompt goes unless you inspect the route.

Before the first task, write down four facts: agent, execution host, provider account, and data destination.

The plugin exists. The route still varies.

JetBrains opened early access for Air in its IDEs on October 1. The company publishes the plugin in JetBrains Marketplace and bundles it with 2026.3 early-access IDE builds. The Marketplace API returned current plugin artifacts when we checked, including version 263.6259.32.[1][2]

Air is an agent panel, not an agent provider. JetBrains says it ships with no agents installed. It can detect supported agents already on the machine, connect other agents through the Agent Client Protocol, or use agents tied to JetBrains AI. Those choices can look similar in the panel while using different processes and accounts.

One session list can hide several custody chains.

A protocol connection does not settle placement.

The Agent Client Protocol standardizes communication between an editor and a coding agent. Its documentation says local agents run as editor subprocesses over JSON-RPC on standard input and output. Remote agents may communicate over HTTP or WebSocket, but full remote support remains in progress.[3]

That protocol answers how the client and agent exchange messages. It does not pick the writable checkout, provider account, billing owner, or network destination. An IDE can make many agents feel native without making their operating boundaries identical.

Local, owned-account, and team-cloud runs are different products.

JetBrains says a third-party subscription used in the IDE sends data directly to that provider under the existing agreement. JetBrains AI uses JetBrains terms. The company also says cloud runs currently require a JetBrains AI subscription.[1]

Its Air Teams documentation draws another boundary. Team cloud tasks and automations always use the JetBrains AI provider and spend JetBrains AI credits. Agents added through acp.json stay local and are unavailable to those cloud environments.[4]

Treat the panel as a switchboard.

Choose the route before you delegate. Name the agent binary or managed service. Name the machine or cloud environment that can touch files. Name the account that authenticates and pays. Name the service that receives prompts, code, tool output, and telemetry.

Then test the stop. Disable the plugin, sign out, revoke the provider token, or end the cloud task. Record which action stops the process and which action only removes its display. A clean panel is not proof that a remote job ended.

Interactive makeover / conduit switchboard

Select a route. Map its four circuits.

Traditional purpose replaced: a provider dropdown beside a prompt box. Better version: one route selector and four independent circuit checks produce a custody card without claiming that a task ran.

Choose the run route

The route changes the questions. The circuit checks only mark fields for review. They do not inspect an installation or provider account.

Session route
Route circuits
0 of 4 circuits mappedLocal ACP agent
Client panel / custody route

Agent conduit switchboard

The route is selected. No circuit is mapped.

Start with the exact agent executable or managed service.

All four mapped circuits means the card structure is ready. It does not prove that the named process ran, the provider received only the stated data, billing matched, or the stop ended a worker.

One panel / four records

Native-looking does not mean single-owner.

01 / AGENT

Name the worker

Record the binary, managed agent, plugin, protocol adapter, and exact version.

02 / HOST

Name the machine

Record the process host, checkout, writable paths, container, and network boundary.

03 / ACCOUNT

Name the payer

Record the login, subscription or API account, cost owner, and usage view.

04 / DATA

Name the recipient

Record which service receives prompts and code, then test the stop and revocation route.

Sources read

Source log and evidence boundary
  1. JetBrains, "A New Agentic Experience: JetBrains Air in IDEs - EAP Now Open", published October 1 and read October 5, 2026. JetBrains documents the IDE plugin, supported agent routes, local and cloud choices, worktrees, third-party provider handling, disable path, and Junie Lite offer.
  2. JetBrains Marketplace, Air alpha plugin, checked October 5, 2026. We also queried the official Marketplace updates API for plugin 33314. It returned downloadable artifact records, including version 263.6259.32. We did not download or install the plugin.
  3. Agent Client Protocol introduction, read October 5, 2026. The protocol documentation defines editor-agent interoperability, local subprocess communication over JSON-RPC and standard input/output, and the current remote transport status.
  4. JetBrains Air Teams documentation, "Supported agents", last modified October 1 and read October 5, 2026. It separates team cloud tasks using JetBrains AI credits from local agents added through acp.json and lists supported account routes in the Air app.

Evidence boundary: JetBrains describes its product, provider routes, and data handling. ACP documents its transport model. The Marketplace API confirms that plugin artifacts exist. Pimp My IDE designed the switchboard and custody card. We did not install Air, connect a provider account, send source code, start a cloud run, or verify network traffic.