Use Claude Code Inside Your IDE

You don’t have to leave your editor. Claude Code has official and community extensions for major IDEs.

VS Code

The official extension embeds Claude Code in VS Code’s terminal panel:

1. Install “Claude Code” from the VS Code marketplace
2. Open the command palette: Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Linux/Windows)
3. Type “Claude Code” to access commands

It gives you inline diffs, @-mentions for open files, and conversation history in the sidebar.

JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm)

The official JetBrains plugin (beta) adds Claude Code to any JetBrains IDE:

1. Go to Settings > Plugins > Marketplace
2. Search “Claude Code”
3. Install and restart

Neovim

claude-code.nvim integrates Claude Code as a floating terminal:

-- lazy.nvim
{
  "greggh/claude-code.nvim",
  keys = {
    { "<leader>cc", "<cmd>ClaudeCode<cr>", desc = "Claude Code" },
  },
}

Emacs

claude-code.el provides a full CLI interface with ediff integration for reviewing changes.

Tip

Even with IDE integration, the standalone terminal gives you more flexibility for multi-session workflows. Use the IDE extension for quick in-editor tasks, and the terminal for longer sessions.