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IDE Plugins

4 min read

Integrate Claude Code directly into your favorite code editor

title: IDE Plugins description: Integrate Claude Code directly into your favorite code editor

Claude Code offers native integration with popular IDEs, bringing AI-powered coding assistance directly into your development environment. This guide covers installation and configuration for each supported editor.

VS Code Extension

Installation

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + X)
  3. Search for "Claude Code"
  4. Click Install

Or install from the command line:

Bash
code --install-extension anthropic.claude-code

Setup

After installation:

  1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
  2. Type "Claude: Sign In"
  3. Follow the authentication prompts

Features

| Feature | Shortcut | Description | |---------|----------|-------------| | Inline Chat | Cmd/Ctrl + I | Chat with Claude about selected code | | Code Actions | Cmd/Ctrl + . | Quick fixes and refactoring suggestions | | Generate Code | Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + G | Generate code from natural language | | Explain Code | Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E | Get explanations for selected code | | Find Bugs | Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + B | Analyze code for potential issues |

Configuration

Open settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,) and search for "Claude":

JSON
{
  "claude.model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
  "claude.maxTokens": 4096,
  "claude.temperature": 0,
  "claude.showInlineHints": true,
  "claude.autoComplete": true,
  "claude.codeActions": true
}

Inline Chat

Select code and press Cmd/Ctrl + I to open inline chat:

Text
Selected code: function calculateTotal(items) { ... }

You: Add input validation and handle edge cases
Claude: [Provides improved code with validation]

Code Lens

Claude adds CodeLens hints above functions:

TypeScript
// 💡 Explain | 🔧 Improve | 🧪 Test
function processOrder(order: Order): Result {
  // ...
}

Click any hint to get Claude's assistance.

Panel View

Open the Claude panel for longer conversations:

  1. Click the Claude icon in the Activity Bar
  2. Or use Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C

The panel supports:

  • Multi-turn conversations
  • File references (@file)
  • Code generation with preview
  • Conversation history

JetBrains Plugins

Supported IDEs

  • IntelliJ IDEA
  • WebStorm
  • PyCharm
  • PhpStorm
  • GoLand
  • RubyMine
  • Rider
  • CLion
  • DataGrip

Installation

  1. Open Settings/Preferences (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)
  2. Go to Plugins → Marketplace
  3. Search for "Claude Code"
  4. Click Install and restart IDE

Or install from JetBrains Marketplace:

Text
https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/claude-code

Setup

  1. Go to Settings → Tools → Claude Code
  2. Enter your API key or sign in
  3. Configure default model and preferences

Features

| Feature | Shortcut | Description | |---------|----------|-------------| | Ask Claude | Alt + C | Open Claude chat for selection | | Generate | Alt + G | Generate code from description | | Refactor | Alt + R | AI-powered refactoring | | Document | Alt + D | Generate documentation | | Test | Alt + T | Generate unit tests |

Tool Windows

Claude appears in two locations:

  1. Right Panel - Quick chat for selected code
  2. Bottom Panel - Full conversation interface

Intentions

Right-click on code to see Claude intentions:

  • "Ask Claude about this"
  • "Explain this code"
  • "Generate tests for this"
  • "Find potential bugs"
  • "Suggest improvements"

Configuration

Text
Settings → Tools → Claude Code

Model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
Max Tokens: 4096
Include Context: ☑ Current file ☑ Open files ☑ Project structure
Auto-suggestions: ☑ Enabled

Neovim Integration

Installation

Using lazy.nvim:

Lua
{
  'anthropics/claude.nvim',
  dependencies = {
    'nvim-lua/plenary.nvim',
  },
  config = function()
    require('claude').setup({
      api_key = vim.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
      model = 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514',
    })
  end
}

Using packer.nvim:

Lua
use {
  'anthropics/claude.nvim',
  requires = { 'nvim-lua/plenary.nvim' },
  config = function()
    require('claude').setup()
  end
}

Setup

Add your API key to your shell configuration:

Bash
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-api03-..."

Key Mappings

Default mappings (customizable):

Lua
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>cc', ':ClaudeChat<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ce', ':ClaudeExplain<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>cr', ':ClaudeRefactor<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ct', ':ClaudeTest<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>cg', ':ClaudeGenerate<CR>')

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | :ClaudeChat | Open chat window | | :ClaudeExplain | Explain selected code | | :ClaudeRefactor | Refactor selected code | | :ClaudeTest | Generate tests | | :ClaudeGenerate | Generate code from prompt | | :ClaudeFix | Fix errors in code |

Configuration

Lua
require('claude').setup({
  api_key = vim.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  model = 'claude-sonnet-4-20250514',
  max_tokens = 4096,
  temperature = 0,

  -- UI options
  window = {
    position = 'right',  -- 'right', 'left', 'bottom', 'float'
    width = 80,
    border = 'rounded',
  },

  -- Keymaps
  keymaps = {
    chat = '<leader>cc',
    explain = '<leader>ce',
    refactor = '<leader>cr',
    test = '<leader>ct',
    generate = '<leader>cg',
  },

  -- Include context
  context = {
    current_file = true,
    cursor_context = 50,  -- lines around cursor
    lsp_diagnostics = true,
  },
})

Telescope Integration

If you use Telescope:

Lua
require('telescope').load_extension('claude')

vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>ch', ':Telescope claude history<CR>')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>cp', ':Telescope claude prompts<CR>')

Sublime Text

Installation

  1. Install Package Control if not present
  2. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
  3. Type "Package Control: Install Package"
  4. Search for "Claude" and install

Configuration

Create or edit Packages/User/Claude.sublime-settings:

JSON
{
  "api_key": "sk-ant-api03-...",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
  "max_tokens": 4096,
  "show_in_panel": true
}

Commands

Access via Command Palette or keyboard shortcuts:

  • Claude: Ask - Ask about selection
  • Claude: Explain - Explain code
  • Claude: Generate - Generate code
  • Claude: Refactor - Suggest improvements

Emacs

Installation

Using straight.el:

elisp
(straight-use-package
  '(claude :type git :host github :repo "anthropics/claude.el"))

(require 'claude)
(setq claude-api-key (getenv "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))

Using use-package:

elisp
(use-package claude
  :straight (:host github :repo "anthropics/claude.el")
  :config
  (setq claude-api-key (getenv "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"))
  (setq claude-model "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"))

Key Bindings

elisp
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c c c") 'claude-chat)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c c e") 'claude-explain-region)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c c r") 'claude-refactor-region)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-c c g") 'claude-generate)

Common Configuration

Shared Settings

All IDE plugins support these common settings:

| Setting | Description | Default | |---------|-------------|---------| | model | Claude model to use | claude-sonnet-4-20250514 | | maxTokens | Maximum response length | 4096 | | temperature | Response randomness (0-1) | 0 | | apiKey | Your Anthropic API key | - |

Context Settings

Control what context is sent to Claude:

  • Current file - Include the active file
  • Selection - Include selected text
  • Open files - Include other open files
  • Project structure - Include file tree
  • Git context - Include recent changes

Privacy Settings

Some plugins offer privacy controls:

  • Exclude specific files/patterns
  • Disable telemetry
  • Local processing options

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Loading

  1. Check VS Code/IDE version compatibility
  2. Restart the IDE
  3. Check extension logs for errors
  4. Reinstall the extension

Authentication Issues

  1. Verify API key is correct
  2. Check key hasn't expired
  3. Ensure network connectivity
  4. Try signing out and back in

Slow Responses

  1. Check network connection
  2. Try a different model (Haiku is faster)
  3. Reduce context settings
  4. Check rate limits

No Code Suggestions

  1. Verify auto-complete is enabled
  2. Check file type is supported
  3. Ensure cursor is in valid position
  4. Check extension settings

Best Practices

1. Use Specific Selections

Select specific code rather than entire files:

TypeScript
// ✅ Good: Select just this function
function processData(data: Data): Result {
  // ...
}

// ❌ Avoid: Selecting the entire 500-line file

2. Provide Context in Prompts

Be specific about what you need:

Text
❌ "Fix this"
✅ "Fix the null pointer exception when items array is empty"

3. Review Generated Code

Always review Claude's suggestions before accepting:

  • Check for correctness
  • Verify it matches your style guide
  • Test the changes

4. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Learn the shortcuts for your most common operations to stay in flow.

Next Steps

Sources

Generated with AI using Claude AI by Anthropic

Model: Claude Opus 4.5 · Generated: 2025-12-09 · Build: v0.9.0-b4563d6

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