{"slug": "jetbrains-thinkrail", "title": "JetBrains Thinkrail", "summary": "JetBrains has launched ThinkRail, an agentic IDE built around the open-source `pi` coding agent that isolates each agent session in its own `git worktree` workspace with a separate branch and working directory. ThinkRail adds a Monaco-based workbench, concurrent `pi` sessions with per-session model selection and live token and cost readouts, a connected graph of `SPEC.md` files the agent maintains through dedicated `spec_*` tools, and MCP server support with approval prompts for non-read-only calls. JetBrains said full extension support is next, so ThinkRail can create the tools it needs based on how a user works.", "body_md": "ThinkRail is the agentic IDE that gets better every time you use it — learning your project through living specs today, and building its own capabilities tomorrow.\n\nWe built a rich interface around the [`pi`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent)\ncoding agent, isolated work into separate workspaces, and gave the agent durable project knowledge\nthrough living specs and reusable skills. Next, we're adding full extension support, so ThinkRail can\ncreate the tools it needs based on how you actually work.\n\n**Website:** [thinkrail.ai](https://thinkrail.ai/) · **Blog:** [thinkrail.ai/blog](https://thinkrail.ai/blog/)\n\n⭐ If you find ThinkRail useful, give it a star — it helps others discover it.\n\n*A `pi` session and the change it made, scoped to an isolated git-worktree workspace.*\n\n- **Isolated workspaces.** Open any git repo as a project and cut workspaces from it as`git worktree` s,\neach with its own branch and working directory. Agents work in parallel without touching your\ncheckout; merge the good branch, delete the rest. You can also attach existing worktrees or explicitly\nwork in the project folder itself. Finished and dormant workspaces settle onto a per-project shelf on\ntheir own — when their pull request merges or closes, or after a quiet week — and come back the moment\nyou work in them. The topbar shows where the active branch stands against`origin` and its pull request,\nwith the next step one click away: publish, push, or open a PR described from the plan, the commits,\nyour PR template, or an agent-written draft. Once a GitHub PR is open it shows the CI checks and review\ndecision, and lets you mark it ready, hand failing checks or a diverged branch to the agent, merge it\nwith the repository's last-used method, reopen it, or delete the remote branch.\n- **A real IDE around the agent.** A splittable workbench of Monaco editor tabs, a Files tree with live git\nchange marks and a Changed view, terminals, and documents — all scoped to the active workspace. Leave\nanchored review comments on files and diffs and send them to a chat as structured context, or open the\nworktree in your installed IDE.\n- **Chats that stream like the engine thinks.** Several concurrent`pi` sessions per workspace, each with\nits own model and live token and cost readout. Steer a running turn or queue a follow-up, delegate to\nsubagents, and work a shared plan the agent updates and you edit — each completed step can be committed\nand reviewed on its own.\n- **Specs as ground truth.** A connected graph of`SPEC.md` files lives beside the code; the agent reads,\nsearches, and maintains it through dedicated`spec_*` tools, so intent survives the session. The\nread-only Specs tool renders the graph as a tree in the workbench.\n- **Skills and workflows.** Portable Agent Skills you already keep for other coding agents are read in\nplace, and bundled workflows guide project setup, design brainstorming, and shipping a pull request —\npushing the workspace branch and opening or updating its GitHub PR through your own`gh` .\n- **Agent tools beyond the shell.** Web research, and inline diagrams, option comparisons and file previews\nrendered right in the chat — when the agent proposes a UI change it shows a before/after mockup you can\ncomment on like a diff. Settings → Extensions lists the ThinkRail extensions the agent gets and lets you switch\neach one off.\n- **MCP servers.** Connect the MCP servers in your`pi`` mcp.json` (or add them, and a few presets, from\nSettings): ThinkRail asks in the chat before calls the server does not mark read-only (or always allows\nthe tools you trust in a project), keeps servers a repository\ndefines off until you approve them, signs you in to OAuth servers from Settings, and shows each chat's\nservers next to its background commands and subagents.\n- **Your providers, your credentials.** Sign in with[JetBrains AI](https://www.jetbrains.com/ai/) or\nconnect any provider through`pi` 's own auth. ThinkRail has no accounts of its own.\n- **Desktop app or browser.** A native desktop app, or the`thinkrail` CLI that opens the same app in your\nbrowser. Both embed the same engine host; app state lives under`~/.thinkrail` .\n- **Your language.** Settings → Language follows your system language or a language you pick; English and\nSimplified Chinese are built in. Add a language ThinkRail doesn't ship yet by dropping a translated`en.json` into`~/.thinkrail/locales` — it applies as you save. Agent replies and tool output stay as\nthe agent wrote them.\n\n*The project's spec graph as a tree, with the spec itself rendered alongside.*\n\nThinkRail ships in two additive forms: a native desktop installer and the self-contained `thinkrail` CLI.\nBoth are published with `SHA256SUMS` on the [releases page](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/releases).\n\nDownload the `thinkrail-desktop-*` asset for your platform:\n\n- \n**macOS (Apple Silicon)** — open the DMG. There is no Intel desktop build.\n- \n**Windows x64** — extract the complete setup ZIP, then run its setup executable in place, next to its\npayload.\n- \n**Linux x64 / ARM64** — extract the setup tarball and run`installer` . Desktop builds need glibc 2.38+\nwith GTK 3, WebKitGTK 4.1, Ayatana AppIndicator 3, and librsvg 2 — Ubuntu 24.04 or newer:\n\n```\nsudo apt install libgtk-3-0 libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 libayatana-appindicator3-1 librsvg2-2\n```\n\nPackaged stable and nightly desktop builds check for updates in the background and offer them in\n**Settings → Updates**: **Download** → **Preparing update** → **Install & Restart**. Nothing is applied until\nyou choose **Install & Restart**. ThinkRail then shows the installation's progress and log, closes, and\nreopens on the new version. After the restart it tells you whether the update installed. If it didn't, it\nexplains why and offers to retry. The updater appears only when the package carries a valid HTTPS feed\nidentity; installations that predate that identity need one manual installation first.\n\nThe installer downloads the right binary, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, and puts `thinkrail` on your PATH.\n\n**macOS / Linux** (also Windows under Git Bash):\n\n```\ncurl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.sh | bash\n```\n\n**Windows** — the same command works from cmd and PowerShell:\n\n```\npowershell -c \"irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.ps1 | iex\"\n```\n\nThen run `thinkrail`, optionally with a git repo to open as a project:\n\n```\nthinkrail ~/code/my-repo\n```\n\n`thinkrail` needs `git` on your PATH and a model provider — sign in with JetBrains AI from the app or use\nyour own provider credentials. `thinkrail --help` lists the flags; `thinkrail --version` prints the build.\n\n## **Nightly builds, pinned versions, updates, and uninstall**\n\nThe installer takes `--channel stable|nightly` and `--version`; a pinned version must belong to the\nselected channel:\n\n```\ncurl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --channel nightly\ncurl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --channel stable --version 0.1.2\ncurl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --channel nightly --version 0.2.0-nightly.10\n```\n\nOn Windows the options are environment variables (`THINKRAIL_CHANNEL`, `THINKRAIL_VERSION`,\n`THINKRAIL_PREFIX`, `THINKRAIL_NO_MODIFY_PATH`):\n\n```\n$env:THINKRAIL_CHANNEL='nightly'; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.ps1 | iex   # PowerShell\nset \"THINKRAIL_CHANNEL=stable\" && set \"THINKRAIL_VERSION=0.1.2\" && powershell -c \"irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.ps1 | iex\"   # cmd\n```\n\nInstalled stable and nightly CLI hosts periodically offer **Run Update** in **Settings → Updates**. It runs\nthe host machine's `thinkrail update` in the background — also when the UI is open in a browser on another\nmachine — and a successful update asks you to restart the host manually. You can run `thinkrail update`\ndirectly on any platform: it re-runs the installer for the installed channel and replaces\n`<prefix>/bin/thinkrail[.exe]`; pass `--channel` or `--version` only for an explicit override.\n\n`thinkrail uninstall` removes the executable, the PATH entry the installer added, and the install metadata,\nand asks whether to delete your `~/.thinkrail` app state (kept by default — `--remove-data` deletes it,\n`-y` skips the questions).\n\nPrefer a manual install? Download a binary and `SHA256SUMS` from the releases page and verify the checksum.\nFor self-update to work, rename it to `thinkrail` (`thinkrail.exe` on Windows) and place it at\n`<prefix>/bin/thinkrail[.exe]`; a binary kept under its release filename or elsewhere must be replaced\nmanually or reinstalled with the script.\n\n| Platform | Desktop | CLI | \n|---|---|---|\n| macOS Apple Silicon | DMG | signed binary | \n| macOS Intel | no Electrobun build | not prebuilt — [build from source](#developing-thinkrail) | \n| Windows x64 | signed setup executable and app binaries | signed `.exe` | \n| Linux x64 / ARM64 | setup tarball, unsigned | unsigned | \n\nJetBrains signs the Windows CLI, the desktop setup executable, and every executable and DLL the desktop app installs. The macOS CLI is signed but not yet notarized. Signed and notarized desktop DMGs require the coordinated JetBrains service pipeline; older published DMGs and locally built packages may still be unsigned and blocked by Gatekeeper. Linux artifacts are unsigned.\n\nThinkRail collects basic usage events — launches, chat creation, message sends, provider connections — tied to\na random installation ID. Usage analytics never include prompts, code, files, credentials, or account\nidentity. Error reports are also always sent, tied to the same installation ID, so we can fix crashes: the\nerror type and code and where in ThinkRail's own code it happened. They never include error messages, file\npaths, names, URLs, or anything from your projects or extensions. Additional product\nusage and how you found ThinkRail are shared only while **Share additional usage\ndata** is on; the switch is offered at first launch and lives in **Settings → Privacy**. When launching from\nthe command line, `thinkrail --no-analytics` (or `THINKRAIL_NO_ANALYTICS=1`) turns additional sharing off for\nthat run. With additional sharing on, a packaged build may open the ThinkRail blog in your browser once to\nlink your installation to the website visit that brought you here — only where you accepted marketing cookies on the\nwebsite or no consent is required — and that link expires after 30 days.\n\nThinkRail is a thin host that runs `pi` in-process and bridges it to a rich web UI. `pi` owns models,\nskills, compaction, cost, and session state; the app owns the workspace, the editor, and the wire — it\nnever assembles prompts behind your back. Three rings:\n\n- **Engine host** —`packages/server` (+`packages/shared` ): a`Bun.serve` HTTP+WS host with one in-process`pi` session per chat, launched by`apps/cli` or`apps/desktop` .\n- **The wire** —`packages/contracts` : the typed, versioned protocol between host and UI.\n- **UI client** —`apps/web` : React 19 + Zustand + Tailwind v4, shipped independently; it dials a host over\nthe wire and depends on the contracts only.\n\n[`goal-and-requirements.md`](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/goal-and-requirements.md) and [`architecture.md`](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/architecture.md) are the\ncanonical product and design specs. ThinkRail is developed spec-first: a `SPEC.md` sits beside every\nmodule, and a change that moves a boundary, contract, or decision updates the spec in the same change.\n\nYou need **Bun** 1.4.4 (the pinned package manager and runtime), **Node.js** ≥ 22.19 (required by the\nin-process `pi` engine), and an authenticated `pi` provider for agent work.\n\n```\ngit clone https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail.git\ncd thinkrail\nbun install\nbun run dev                          # host + web client together; Ctrl+C stops both\nbun run --filter @thinkrail/cli dev  # browser launcher\nbun run build:binary                 # standalone CLI artifact\nbun run desktop:dev                  # package and open the Electrobun app\nbun run desktop:build                # package without opening it\n```\n\n[`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) covers the checks, the end-to-end suites, desktop packaging, and the\nrepository layout.\n\nContributions are welcome — see [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md). This project and community are\ngoverned by the [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).\n\nLicensed under the [Apache License 2.0](https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/blob/main/LICENSE).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/jetbrains-thinkrail", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/JetBrains/thinkrail", "published_at": "2026-10-25 16:27:12+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-25 16:44:12.594489+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "ai-tools", "developer-tools", "agent-protocols", "ai-products"], "entities": ["JetBrains", "ThinkRail", "pi", "Monaco", "GitHub", "MCP"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/jetbrains-thinkrail", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/jetbrains-thinkrail.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/jetbrains-thinkrail.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/jetbrains-thinkrail.jsonld"}}