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Freedom251 › Blog › Copilot cloud agent

JetBrains IDEs: Delegate Coding Work to GitHub Copilot Cloud Agent

By Freedom251 Team · · 8 min read

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To hand off a coding task from a JetBrains IDE, enable Cloud Agent in Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat, open Copilot Chat, describe the work, and click Delegate to Cloud Agent. The cloud session works against a GitHub repository and produces a pull request; after it finishes, you are added as a reviewer.

GitHub documents this JetBrains integration as a public preview. Controls, availability and behavior can change, and access depends on your Copilot plan, repository eligibility and organization policy.

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What “delegate to Cloud Agent” means in a JetBrains IDE

Delegation moves a task from your local JetBrains editor into a GitHub-hosted Copilot cloud session. Instead of changing the files currently open on your workstation, the cloud agent works on a repository and prepares a pull request for you to inspect. The session returns a link to that pull request, and GitHub adds you as a reviewer when the agent completes its work.

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This is different from asking Copilot to edit a file in the current IDE session. Local agent mode operates inside the editor, can modify project files and can run commands as permitted by your settings. Cloud delegation is a hand-off: the work runs remotely, the review boundary is a pull request, and the JetBrains-specific control is a separate Cloud Agent setting and delegation button.

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Because the JetBrains support is in public preview, do not treat a particular button position, wording or workflow as permanent. If an update changes the interface, look for the Cloud Agent control in Copilot Chat settings and the unified sessions view.

Check access before you start

Use a paid Copilot plan

GitHub states that Copilot cloud agent is available on paid Copilot plans. Your account must therefore have an eligible paid subscription, and your organization may impose additional controls. A plan that provides ordinary chat completion does not automatically mean that cloud delegation is enabled for every repository.

Install the GitHub Copilot plugin

Cloud delegation is provided through the GitHub Copilot plugin for JetBrains. In the IDE, open Settings (or Preferences on macOS), choose Plugins, search for GitHub Copilot, install or update the plugin, and restart the IDE if it asks you to. Sign in with the GitHub account that owns the Copilot access you intend to use.

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GitHub lists these JetBrains products as compatible with its plugin:

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Compatible IDE or client Notes
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Android Studio Supported JetBrains-based Android development environment
CLion, DataGrip, DataSpell and GoLand Supported specialist IDEs
JetBrains Client and Code With Me Guest Supported remote and collaboration clients
MPS, PhpStorm, PyCharm and Rider PyCharm Professional, Community and Educational editions are listed
RubyMine, RustRover and WebStorm Supported language-focused IDEs

Plugin support and Cloud Agent availability are related but not identical. An IDE can install the plugin while your account, repository or administrator policy still prevents delegation.

Use an eligible GitHub repository

The documented scope is repositories stored on GitHub, except repositories owned by managed user accounts and repositories where the feature has been explicitly disabled. Open the project you intend to work on from its GitHub-hosted source, and confirm that your account has the permissions needed to create or update a pull request. A project that exists only on a local disk, or that is hosted on another Git service, is outside this documented cloud-agent flow.

Confirm organization policy

For Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, an administrator must enable the Editor preview features policy. An organization or enterprise administrator can also disable agent capabilities. If you are working under a company account, ask an administrator to verify the policy before troubleshooting your local installation.

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How to enable Copilot Cloud Agent in JetBrains

  1. Open the IDE’s Settings (or Preferences on macOS).
  2. Navigate to Tools → Copilot → Chat.
  3. Select Enable Cloud Agent. If the control is unavailable, check your plugin version, GitHub sign-in and organization policy.
  4. If your account is on Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise, have an administrator enable Editor preview features for the relevant organization or enterprise.
  5. Apply the setting and close the dialog. Reopen Copilot Chat if the cloud option does not appear immediately.

Enabling the option does not start a job or modify a repository. It makes cloud delegation available in the chat interface; you still choose when to send a task.

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How do I delegate a task from IntelliJ or another JetBrains IDE?

  1. Open Copilot Chat in the JetBrains IDE.
  2. Enter a prompt that identifies the repository context, desired change, constraints and validation steps. State which files or subsystem are in scope, what behavior should change, and which tests or checks should run.
  3. Locate the control beside the Send button and click Delegate to Cloud Agent.
  4. Review the confirmation or session information shown by Copilot Chat. The session starts in the cloud and returns a link to the pull request it is preparing.
  5. Open the pull request when you want to inspect progress or review the resulting changes. When the agent finishes, GitHub adds you as a reviewer.

A useful prompt is specific without dictating implementation blindly. For example, ask the agent to “add validation for the account-import endpoint, preserve the existing API response format, update affected tests, and report any test that cannot run.” Include the target branch or issue context when your repository uses a defined contribution process. Do not put passwords, access tokens or private keys in the prompt.

Track, open or cancel a cloud session

Copilot Chat provides a unified sessions view for cloud-agent work. Use it to see running and completed sessions rather than starting a second task because the first one appears quiet.

Monitor progress

Open the unified sessions view from Copilot Chat and select the relevant session. It shows the session state and gives you the pull-request link supplied when the job started. A session may remain active while the agent edits files, runs checks or prepares its branch, so the IDE window itself is not a reliable indicator of completion.

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Open the pull request in a browser

Use the session’s pull-request link to switch to GitHub’s normal review interface. The pull request is the durable record of the cloud agent’s changes, discussion and checks. Review the diff, test results and generated description there, even if the task sounded small.

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Cancel a running job

From the sessions list, select the running cloud-agent job and use the cancel action. Cancel when the task has become irrelevant, the prompt was wrong, or the agent is taking an unsafe direction. Cancellation stops the session; it does not constitute approval of any partial changes. Inspect the pull request or branch state afterward and close or delete it according to your repository’s policy.

Cloud Agent versus local IDE agent mode

Both options accept natural-language development requests, but they have different execution and review models.

Decision point Cloud-agent delegation Local IDE agent mode
Where work runs A GitHub cloud session associated with a repository Inside the current JetBrains IDE project session
Primary output A branch and pull request for review Edits to working files and command results in the editor
How it starts Enable Cloud Agent in Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat, then click Delegate to Cloud Agent Choose the local agent mode in Copilot Chat and approve actions as prompted
Command and file access Performed by the remote session under the repository’s cloud-agent context Can edit project files and run commands on the local environment
Review boundary Pull-request diff, checks and reviewer workflow Your local diff, IDE inspections and any local review process
Policy dependencies Paid plan, eligible GitHub repository and any required preview policy Administrator or editor settings can control command approval; an organization or enterprise administrator may disable agent mode

Choose cloud delegation when you want an asynchronous, reviewable pull request or want the task separated from your working tree. Choose local agent mode when you need immediate feedback from local files, tools, services or uncommitted changes that are not available in the remote repository context. Neither mode is an automatic substitute for human review.

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Why you might not see “Delegate to Cloud Agent”

The Cloud Agent setting is missing

  • Update or reinstall the GitHub Copilot plugin from Settings → Plugins, then restart the IDE.
  • Verify that you are signed in to the GitHub account associated with a paid Copilot plan.
  • Return to Settings → Tools → Copilot → Chat and check whether Enable Cloud Agent is selected.
  • Confirm that your IDE is one of the products listed as compatible.

The setting exists but delegation is unavailable

  • Ask a Business or Enterprise administrator whether Editor preview features is enabled.
  • Check whether the repository is hosted on GitHub, is not owned by a managed user account and has not had the feature disabled.
  • Verify that your account has permission to work with the repository and create a pull request.
  • Remember that public-preview availability can change independently of your plugin installation.

The button appears but the session will not start

Reopen Copilot Chat, confirm the repository’s remote points to GitHub, and retry with a smaller, clearly scoped prompt. If the session starts but no pull-request link appears, use the unified sessions view to check its state before submitting another job. A duplicate request can create competing branches or pull requests and complicate review.

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Write prompts that produce a reviewable pull request

  • Define the outcome: name the user-visible behavior or defect to change.
  • Set boundaries: identify directories, APIs or components that are in scope and explicitly say what must not change.
  • Specify validation: list unit tests, linters, build commands or documentation updates expected for the repository.
  • Call out compatibility: mention supported language versions, public API stability, migration limits or database constraints.
  • Request reporting: ask the agent to describe files changed, checks run and unresolved issues in the pull request.

Break broad modernization projects into separate sessions. A narrowly defined task is easier to cancel, review and revert than a request that combines architecture changes, dependency upgrades and unrelated cleanup.

Review the result before merging

  1. Read the pull-request description and compare it with the task you intended to delegate.
  2. Inspect every changed file, including generated files, configuration and dependency manifests.
  3. Check automated tests and run additional checks required by your project.
  4. Look for security-sensitive behavior such as permission checks, logging of user data, secret handling and changes to deployment configuration.
  5. Leave review comments or request revisions before approving. Your reviewer status does not mean the changes are pre-approved.

The cloud agent’s pull request gives you a clean review boundary, but responsibility for correctness, security and licensing remains with the project maintainers. Treat public-preview behavior and generated code as changeable until your team has validated it in its own workflow.

Can Copilot create a pull request from my IDE?

Yes, when Cloud Agent is enabled and the repository and account meet the documented requirements. Clicking Delegate to Cloud Agent starts the cloud session, which works on the repository and returns a pull-request link. The agent adds you as a reviewer after completion; you still decide whether to request changes, approve or merge.

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Copilot cloud agentDeveloper ToolsGitHub CopilotIntelliJ IDEAJetBrains IDEsPull Requests

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