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JetBrains users can hand a coding task to GitHub Copilot’s cloud agent directly from Copilot Chat. Enable Cloud Agent in Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat, describe the work, and select Delegate to Cloud Agent. The agent works in a cloud session associated with a pull request; when it finishes, GitHub adds you as a reviewer so you can inspect the proposed changes.
GitHub documents this JetBrains integration as a public preview. Labels, availability, and behavior can change, and access depends on your Copilot plan, repository location, and organization policy.
What delegation from a JetBrains IDE actually does
Delegation is a handoff from your local IDE conversation to a remote Copilot cloud-agent session. You provide a task in Copilot Chat, and the cloud agent carries out the work against an eligible GitHub repository. The result is presented through a pull request rather than as an uncommitted set of files in your current editor window.
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The pull request is the review boundary. You receive a link to it when the session starts, and GitHub adds you as a reviewer after the agent completes its work. You can then inspect the diff, read the description and checks supplied by your repository, request changes, or merge according to your normal project process. Do not treat delegation as an automatic merge: the documented flow gives you a pull request and reviewer status, not an instruction to approve without inspection.
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Cloud delegation is different from running Copilot in local agent mode. Local agent mode operates in your IDE session and can edit project files and run commands as needed. Cloud delegation starts a separate cloud session that works toward a pull request. Both are agent workflows, but they have different locations, controls, and review outcomes.
Check access before you start
Most failed setup attempts come from an unmet account, repository, plugin, or policy requirement. Verify each item before looking for the delegation button.
Copilot plan
GitHub documents cloud-agent availability for paid Copilot plans. A signed-in IDE account without an eligible paid entitlement may still show Copilot Chat while lacking cloud-agent access. If your organization provides Copilot, the organization’s assignment and policy settings determine whether your account can use the feature.
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The documented scope is repositories stored on GitHub. Repositories owned by managed user accounts are excluded, as are repositories for which the feature has been explicitly disabled. A project opened from a local folder, another Git host, or an excluded account will not satisfy this requirement merely because the folder contains a Git repository.
Compatible JetBrains IDE and plugin
Install the GitHub Copilot plugin and sign in to the GitHub account that has the required access. GitHub lists these compatible products:
| JetBrains product | Compatibility listed by GitHub |
|---|---|
| IntelliJ IDEA | Ultimate, Community, and Educational |
| Android Studio | Supported |
| CLion | Supported |
| Code With Me Guest | Supported |
| DataGrip | Supported |
| DataSpell | Supported |
| GoLand | Supported |
| JetBrains Client | Supported |
| MPS | Supported |
| PhpStorm | Supported |
| PyCharm | Professional, Community, and Educational |
| Rider | Supported |
| RubyMine | Supported |
| RustRover | Supported |
| WebStorm | Supported |
Names and edition distinctions matter. For example, the compatibility list explicitly includes IntelliJ IDEA Community and Educational, and PyCharm Professional, Community, and Educational. Use the IDE’s Plugins settings to search for “GitHub Copilot,” then install or update the official plugin shown there.
Organization or enterprise policy
If your Copilot seat is supplied through Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, an administrator must enable the Editor preview features policy. The JetBrains cloud-agent integration is a public preview, so an administrator can leave that preview policy disabled even when Copilot Chat itself works. Agent-mode controls can also be restricted by organization or enterprise settings.
Install or update the GitHub Copilot plugin
- In the JetBrains IDE, open Settings on Windows or Linux, or Preferences on macOS.
- Select Plugins and search the marketplace for GitHub Copilot.
- Install the plugin if it is missing, or apply an available update if an older version is installed.
- Restart the IDE if JetBrains requests it.
- Open Copilot Chat and complete the sign-in flow with the GitHub account that owns or can access the target repository.
Plugin installation alone does not turn on cloud delegation. It provides the Copilot integration; the cloud-agent switch is a separate setting inside Copilot Chat.
How to enable Copilot cloud agent in JetBrains
- Open the IDE’s Settings.
- Navigate to Tools → Copilot → Chat.
- Select Enable Cloud Agent.
- If you use Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, confirm with your administrator that Editor preview features is enabled for the relevant organization or enterprise.
- Close settings and reopen Copilot Chat if the interface does not refresh immediately.
The setting controls whether the JetBrains Chat interface can hand a prompt to a cloud session. It does not convert every Copilot interaction into a remote job; you still choose delegation for each task.
How do I delegate a task to Copilot from IntelliJ or another JetBrains IDE?
Use a prompt that identifies the repository context, intended behavior, and boundaries of the change. A useful request says what outcome you want, where the change belongs, and any tests or compatibility constraints the agent should respect. Avoid a vague instruction such as “improve this project”; identify a concrete issue or feature instead.
- Open the project that is connected to an eligible GitHub repository.
- Open Copilot Chat from the JetBrains IDE.
- Enter the task prompt. Include relevant file paths, expected behavior, acceptance criteria, and tests to run when those details are known.
- Locate the control beside the Send button.
- Select Delegate to Cloud Agent.
- Wait for the session to initialize. Copilot returns a link to the pull request associated with the work.
- Open the pull request and review the proposed changes in GitHub when the agent reports completion.
The delegation button is the decisive action. Sending the prompt normally keeps the conversation in the IDE; selecting Delegate to Cloud Agent starts the cloud workflow. Because the output is a pull request, phrase the prompt as work another contributor could submit for review, not as an instruction to overwrite your uncommitted local edits.
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- Goal: describe the user-visible or developer-visible result.
- Scope: identify the module, package, service, or files that should be considered.
- Constraints: state language, framework, API, compatibility, or style requirements that must remain intact.
- Validation: name the relevant tests, linters, or checks the agent should run when available.
- Non-goals: explicitly exclude unrelated refactors or dependency upgrades.
These details reduce ambiguity and make the resulting pull request easier to evaluate. They do not guarantee a correct implementation; the pull request still needs normal human review.
How to track, open, or cancel a cloud-agent session
Copilot Chat provides a unified sessions view for cloud-agent work. Use it to see sessions started from the IDE and to return to a job after you have closed the original chat panel.
Open the pull request
Select the relevant session in the unified sessions view and use the option to open its pull request in a browser. The pull request is the authoritative place to inspect the branch’s proposed changes, discussion, and repository checks. When the work is complete, GitHub adds you as a reviewer, so review notifications and approval actions follow the repository’s usual process.
Cancel a running job
From the session list, select the running cloud-agent session and choose the cancellation action. Cancel a job when the prompt was incorrect, the repository changed in a way that makes the task obsolete, or the agent is taking a direction you no longer want. Cancellation stops the running session; it does not approve or merge a pull request that may already have been created.
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Distinguish session state from local IDE state
A cloud session’s progress is not the same thing as the state of your open editor buffers. Keep local, uncommitted work separate from delegated tasks, and use the pull request link and unified sessions view to follow the remote job. If you need to continue editing immediately on your machine, work in the IDE while treating the cloud pull request as a separate change set that must later be reconciled.
Cloud delegation versus local IDE agent mode
Choose the workflow based on where you want the work to happen and how you want to review it. GitHub’s documentation supports a qualitative distinction, not a claim that one mode is faster or more accurate.
| Decision point | Cloud-agent delegation | Local IDE agent mode |
|---|---|---|
| Where work runs | A separate cloud session associated with an eligible GitHub repository | Inside the current JetBrains IDE session |
| How you start it | Enable Cloud Agent in Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat, then choose Delegate to Cloud Agent beside Send | Use the IDE’s agent-mode controls in Copilot Chat |
| Typical output | A pull request link; you are added as a reviewer when the agent finishes | Edits to project files and commands run in the local development environment |
| Repository requirement | GitHub-hosted repository within the documented eligibility rules | Works against the project available to the local IDE, subject to organization and editor controls |
| Policy considerations | Paid-plan access, repository restrictions, and the Editor preview features policy for Business or Enterprise | Command approval depends on administrator or editor settings; organization or enterprise administrators may disable agent mode |
| Best fit | A task you want prepared as a reviewable contribution while you continue other work | Interactive implementation where you want immediate file and command control |
Neither mode removes the need to understand the proposed change. Local edits can be inspected before you commit; cloud work can be inspected in the pull request. Select cloud delegation when the pull-request boundary and remote execution are useful, and local mode when direct interaction with the working tree is more important.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why you may not see “Delegate to Cloud Agent”
Cloud Agent is not enabled
Return to Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat and verify that Enable Cloud Agent is selected. Reopen Copilot Chat after changing the setting.
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Confirm that the IDE is signed in to the GitHub account with paid Copilot access. If your organization supplies the seat, verify that the seat is assigned to this account rather than a different personal or work identity.
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An administrator has blocked preview features
For Copilot Business or Enterprise, ask an organization or enterprise administrator to check the Editor preview features policy. The feature’s public-preview status means an administrator may intentionally keep it unavailable.
The repository is outside the supported scope
Check that the project’s remote points to a repository hosted on GitHub and that it is not owned by a managed user account. Also check whether the feature was explicitly disabled for that repository. A valid local checkout cannot override a repository-level restriction.
The plugin is missing or outdated
Use Settings → Plugins to find GitHub Copilot, install the plugin, apply updates, and restart the IDE if prompted. Then sign in again and revisit the Chat settings.
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Local agent mode and cloud delegation are separate. Local agent controls may appear even when Cloud Agent is disabled, while the cloud button appears only when the cloud workflow is enabled and allowed by account and policy settings.
Review and policy checklist after delegation
- Open the pull request from the unified sessions view and read the complete diff.
- Confirm that the changes are limited to the task you requested.
- Check tests, build results, generated files, dependency changes, and configuration edits according to your project’s normal standards.
- Look for secrets, credentials, personal data, or changes to access controls before approving.
- Resolve conflicts with other branches and verify that the pull request targets the intended base branch.
- Use the repository’s review, approval, and merge rules; being added as a reviewer does not replace those rules.
- Cancel a running session if the task is no longer wanted, then close or update any pull request it already created according to your team’s process.
Cloud-agent access and local agent-mode behavior are policy-controlled features. If an administrator changes a setting, a previously available control can disappear without a change to your project files or JetBrains installation.
Quick Recap
Key facts to remember
- JetBrains cloud-agent support is documented as a public preview.
- The enablement path is Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat → Enable Cloud Agent.
- Delegation starts in Copilot Chat with Delegate to Cloud Agent beside the Send button.
- The cloud agent works through a pull request and adds you as a reviewer when it finishes.
- Paid Copilot access, GitHub repository eligibility, and organization policy all affect availability.
- Local IDE agent mode edits files and runs commands in the editor, while cloud delegation creates a separate reviewable cloud session.
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