Quick Answer
Yes. Cursor officially became available in JetBrains IDEs through ACP (Agent Client Protocol) on March 4, 2026, so you can use Cursor inside IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs without moving your repo into the Cursor editor.
As verified on 2026-03-27, the shortest working path is:
- JetBrains IDE 2025.3.2 or later
- JetBrains AI Assistant plugin enabled
- paid Cursor plan
- no JetBrains AI subscription required for ACP agents
Open AI Chat, choose Install From ACP Registry, install Cursor, sign in, and start with a small repo task.
What Changed Recently
This guide is worth updating because several 2026 announcements changed the real decision:
| Date | Official news | What it changes for you |
|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2026 | JetBrains and Zed launched the ACP Agent Registry | Installing agents in JetBrains is now a registry flow, not a manual config-first workflow. |
| January 23, 2026 | JetBrains added OpenAI Codex directly to AI Chat | Cursor is no longer the only serious agent option inside JetBrains, so you should compare before committing. |
| March 4, 2026 | Cursor joined the ACP Registry | This is the actual launch that made Cursor installable in JetBrains AI Chat. |
| January 27, 2026 | Cursor published its large-codebase indexing update | JetBrains plus Cursor ACP is more compelling on big repos because time-to-first-query improved significantly on large shared codebases. |
The important change is not only that Cursor works in JetBrains. The important change is that JetBrains AI Chat is turning into a multi-agent surface, and Cursor is now one strong option inside it.
Should You Use Cursor ACP or Stay Native in JetBrains?
As of 2026-03-27, the practical choice looks like this:
| Choose Cursor ACP if... | Choose a JetBrains-native option first if... |
|---|---|
| you already pay for Cursor or your team standardized on it | you want to stay inside JetBrains billing and authentication flows |
| you specifically want Cursor's model routing, indexing, and agent behavior | you want to try Codex with JetBrains AI, ChatGPT auth, or your own OpenAI API key |
| you want one Cursor account across Cursor editor, CLI, and JetBrains | you only need a strong agent in JetBrains and do not care whether it is Cursor specifically |
| you are okay with Cursor's separate usage model | you want JetBrains to manage more of the agent surface directly |
Cursor is not competing with "nothing" anymore. In JetBrains, Cursor now competes with other agent choices inside the same AI Chat surface.
Requirements You Actually Need
Here are the current requirements checked against JetBrains and Cursor sources on 2026-03-27:
| Requirement | Current status | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| JetBrains IDE version | 2025.3.2 or later | That is the version JetBrains cites for installing agents from the ACP Registry. |
| AI Assistant plugin | Required | ACP agents are surfaced through the AI Chat UI. |
| JetBrains AI subscription | Not required | JetBrains explicitly says ACP-compatible agents can be used without a JetBrains AI service subscription. |
| Cursor plan | Paid plan required | Cursor says its JetBrains ACP integration is available to users on paid plans. |
| WSL | Not supported | JetBrains docs currently list WSL as a limitation for ACP-compatible agents. |
If you saw older posts or drafts saying "JetBrains 2025.1+" or implying you need a JetBrains AI subscription, treat those as outdated.
What You Get Inside JetBrains
Cursor's March 4 announcement says the JetBrains integration brings over the parts of Cursor that matter most for repo work:
- model choice across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Cursor models
- secure codebase indexing and semantic search
- agent-driven work inside IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs
- JetBrains-side tooling and chat surface, with Cursor as the agent backend
That is enough for real codebase tasks, not just chat. But it is still not the full Cursor editor experience.
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Update your IDE and plugin first
Before you troubleshoot anything else, confirm:
- Your JetBrains IDE is on 2025.3.2 or newer.
- The AI Assistant plugin is installed and updated.
- Your Cursor account is on a paid plan.
If Cursor does not appear in the registry, the missing piece is usually the IDE version or an outdated AI Assistant plugin.
Step 2: Open AI Chat and the agent picker
In JetBrains:
- open the AI Chat tool window
- open the agent selector
- choose Install From ACP Registry
You can also go through Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > Agents.
This matters because the current workflow is registry-based. You do not need to start by hand-editing ~/.jetbrains/acp.json unless you are adding a custom agent that is not in the registry.
Step 3: Install Cursor from the ACP Registry
Search for Cursor and click Install.
JetBrains says registry installs automatically download the required agent files and, if needed, manage the Node.js or Python runtime for you. In other words, this path is simpler than the older manual ACP setup.
Step 4: Configure MCP access only if you need it
If your JetBrains setup already uses MCP tools, review these toggles in Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > Agents:
- Pass custom MCP servers
- Pass IntelliJ MCP server
If you only want a basic Cursor-in-JetBrains setup, you can skip this on day one. If you expect Cursor to use your existing MCP tools, do not skip it.
Step 5: Authenticate with your Cursor account
After installation, select Cursor as the active agent and complete the sign-in flow.
JetBrains says registry agents support authentication flows, and Cursor says you should authenticate with your existing Cursor account. No separate JetBrains AI subscription is required for this part.
Step 6: Start with one bounded repo task
Do not start with a huge refactor. Start with one task that is small enough to review in a diff and narrow enough to validate in one terminal run.
Good first prompts:
Read this repository and identify where request retry logic is implemented. Do not edit anything yet. Summarize the relevant files first.
In this module, add handling for 429 responses and keep the change limited to the HTTP client layer. Show the proposed edits before expanding scope.
Find duplicated validation logic in this feature and suggest the smallest safe refactor. Do not touch tests yet.
These work because they bound scope. The main failure mode with ACP agents is not that the model is bad. It is that the task was too open-ended.
A Better First Evaluation Than "Write Me a Feature"
If you want to decide whether Cursor ACP is worth keeping, test it in this order:
1. Repo understanding
Start read-only:
Explain how this feature is structured. List the entry point, the main files involved, and the highest-risk place to edit.
What you want to see: the agent uses semantic search and indexing well enough to identify the right code before editing.
2. One limited edit
Then ask for a constrained change:
Rename this config field across the project from `maxRetries` to `retryLimit`, but do not change behavior. Update production code only.
What you want to see: a small, reviewable diff instead of a sprawling cross-repo rewrite.
3. One narrow validation step
Then validate inside the IDE workflow:
Run the narrowest available test, lint, or typecheck command for the files you changed, and summarize failures before editing anything else.
What you want to see: the agent behaves like a coding assistant inside your existing JetBrains loop, not like a chatbot that guesses whether the code works.
If those three steps feel reliable, the integration is probably worth keeping.
What Changed Compared with Older Advice
If you have seen earlier JetBrains ACP guidance, these are the important updates:
- The launch date is March 4, 2026, not March 27. March 27 is the verification date for this article.
- The minimum version is 2025.3.2 or later, not 2025.1 or later.
- You do not need a JetBrains AI subscription to run ACP agents such as Cursor.
- Registry install is now the default path, so manual
acp.jsonsetup is no longer the best first recommendation for Cursor. - JetBrains now has other strong agent options, especially Codex, so "Cursor versus nothing" is the wrong comparison in 2026.
This is exactly why the article needed a refresh.
Where Cursor ACP Still Has Limits
1. It is not full Cursor parity
Cursor itself describes JetBrains ACP as a foundation for deeper integrations. That is useful guidance: expect real agent functionality, but do not assume every new Cursor feature lands in JetBrains on day one.
2. Large repos still depend on indexing quality
Cursor's current docs and security notes make it clear that codebase indexing is automatic, incremental, and influenced by ignored files. If a large repo feels noisy, clean up generated directories and review .gitignore or .cursorignore before blaming the model.
3. The cost model is still Cursor's cost model
Cursor ACP in JetBrains is not a separate JetBrains product purchase. The agent is tied to your Cursor account and its usage model. For most individuals, the lowest paid entry point is still Cursor Pro at $20 per month as of 2026-03-27.
4. WSL users should stop early
JetBrains currently lists ACP-compatible agents as unsupported in WSL. If that is your setup, do not burn time debugging a workflow the docs already say is unsupported.
Common Failure Points
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor is missing from JetBrains | IDE or AI Assistant plugin is too old | Update to JetBrains 2025.3.2 or later and update the AI Assistant plugin |
| Cursor installs but asks you to pay | your Cursor account is on Hobby | move to a paid Cursor plan |
| You think you need JetBrains AI credits | confusion between JetBrains AI and ACP agents | use Cursor auth; JetBrains says ACP agents do not require a JetBrains AI subscription |
| Cursor cannot see your MCP tools | MCP exposure is off | enable Pass custom MCP servers and/or Pass IntelliJ MCP server |
| The agent feels weak on a large repo | indexing is incomplete or noisy | wait for indexing to settle and exclude generated content |
| You are on WSL | unsupported platform path | switch to a supported local JetBrains setup |
FAQ
Do I need to leave IntelliJ IDEA or PyCharm to use Cursor now?
No. That is the point of the March 4, 2026 launch. Cursor is available inside JetBrains IDEs through ACP.
Is Cursor ACP in JetBrains free?
Not in the practical sense. JetBrains does not require its own AI subscription for ACP agents, but Cursor says its JetBrains ACP integration is for users on paid Cursor plans.
Is manual acp.json editing still required?
Not for Cursor. The registry flow is the default and simpler path. Manual acp.json setup is still useful for custom agents that are not in the registry.
How do I keep Cursor updated inside JetBrains?
JetBrains says a blue dot appears next to agents with an update available in Settings > Tools > AI Assistant > Agents. Update from there.
What is the safest first task to test?
A small read-understand-edit-validate loop in an existing repo. Ask for relevant files first, then make one limited change, then run one narrow check.
Bottom Line
Cursor in JetBrains is real now, and the March 2026 launch is more useful than it first sounds because it lands inside a broader JetBrains shift toward a multi-agent AI Chat.
The practical takeaway is simple:
- use Cursor ACP if you already want Cursor's agent stack and do not want to leave JetBrains
- compare it against JetBrains-native Codex if you just want a strong agent inside JetBrains and care about auth or billing flexibility
- do not assume full Cursor editor parity yet
That is a much stronger and more current framing than "Cursor works in JetBrains now."
Verification Note
Verified on 2026-03-27.
Official sources used for this refresh:
- Cursor announcement: Cursor is now available in JetBrains IDEs (published March 4, 2026)
- JetBrains announcement: Cursor joined the ACP Registry and is now live in your JetBrains IDE
- JetBrains docs: Agent Client Protocol (subscription rules, install flow, WSL limitation, MCP settings, and agent updates)
- JetBrains announcement: ACP Agent Registry is live
- JetBrains announcement: Codex is now integrated into JetBrains IDEs
- Cursor pricing
- Cursor codebase indexing docs
- Cursor research note: Securely indexing large codebases (published January 27, 2026)
- Cursor security page