JetBrains × Zed: Open Interoperability for AI Coding Agents in Your IDE (blog.jetbrains.com)

JetBrains announced a collaboration with Zed to adopt the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), an open standard that allows AI coding agents to run inside editors — including JetBrains IDEs — when both sides support ACP. The move is explicitly aimed at eliminating vendor lock‑in: developers can choose their preferred agent while retaining their familiar IDE workflows. Key UX features include streaming updates, human-reviewable diffs, and explicit approval of agent actions so teams can observe intent and retain control over file and terminal access. Technically, ACP makes agents editor‑agnostic and lets the IDE mediate access to workspace resources (files, terminal, tooling) rather than giving agents unrestricted access. That design improves predictability, security, and auditability of agent behavior while keeping interactions fast (shorter feedback loops) and natural within existing refactoring, debugging, and navigation flows. JetBrains brings large‑scale IDE expertise; Zed contributes protocol design and early adoption experience. Next steps include early implementations, developer previews, and partner extensions; related JetBrains updates in the post note new agent integrations (Claude Agent) and an upcoming AI quota model to manage subscription usage.