Connecting Claude to IntelliJ IDEA: A Developer's Guide to MCP Integration
Z
Zack Saadioui
8/10/2025
Unlocking Your IDE: A Guide to Connecting Claude Code & IntelliJ IDEA with an MCP Server
Hey everyone, hope you're doing awesome. I've been diving deep into some pretty cool workflow enhancements lately & I stumbled upon something that's been a GAME CHANGER for my coding sessions. We're talking about bridging the gap between your powerful IDE & the AI assistant you're probably already using.
Honestly, the copy-paste dance between a large language model (LLM) like Claude & my IntelliJ IDEA was starting to get old. It's clunky, breaks your flow, & just feels… inefficient. You know the drill: you have a question about your code, you copy a snippet, you paste it into a web interface, get a suggestion, & then paste it back. Turns out, there's a much, MUCH better way.
We're going to talk about connecting Claude Code directly to your JetBrains IDE (specifically IntelliJ IDEA, but this applies to others too) using something called the Model Context Protocol, or MCP. And let me tell you, it makes your IDE feel like it's on steroids.
So, What's the Big Deal with MCP Anyway?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's break down what MCP even is. Think of it like a universal adapter, a USB-C port for AI. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard, pioneered by Anthropic, that creates a standardized way for AI models to connect with different applications, data sources, & tools.
In a typical setup, an application like Claude Desktop or Claude Code acts as a "client," & it connects to an "MCP server" running in another application, like your IDE. This connection allows the AI to access context, information, & even execute commands within that application. It’s a direct line of communication, eliminating the manual back-and-forth.
The beauty of this is that it's not just a one-trick pony. You can have MCP servers for all sorts of things, like GitHub, Slack, or even custom tools you build yourself. But for developers, the most powerful integration is arguably with your Integrated Development Environment.
Why You ABSOLUTELY Want to Connect Claude to IntelliJ
Integrating Claude with IntelliJ via MCP isn't just a neat party trick; it fundamentally changes how you write, debug, & think about code. Here are some of the biggest benefits I've seen:
Direct Code Context: This is the big one. Claude can see your current code, understand your project structure, & navigate through your files. No more feeding it isolated snippets. It gets the whole picture, leading to far more relevant & intelligent suggestions.
In-IDE Modifications: Claude can directly apply fixes, refactor code, or write new functions right inside your editor. Imagine asking the AI to "refactor this method to be more efficient," & watching it happen in real-time in your IDE. It's pretty magical.
Run Tests & Analyze Results: You can have Claude execute your run configurations or terminal commands. This means you can ask it to run your test suite, analyze the output for failures, & even suggest fixes based on the results.
Eliminate Confirmation Fatigue: You can configure the MCP server to allow Claude to execute commands without needing your confirmation every single time, which streamlines the workflow even further.
Natural Language Automation: The whole process becomes conversational. You can automate complex tasks using natural language prompts, turning your IDE into a true AI-powered partner.
It's all about creating a seamless, powerful feedback loop where the AI has the context it needs to be genuinely helpful, right where you do your work.
The "How-To": Connecting Claude Code & IntelliJ IDEA
Alright, let's get to the good stuff. The BEST part about this is that JetBrains has made it incredibly simple. Starting with version 2025.2 of their IDEs, IntelliJ IDEA comes with an integrated MCP server built right in. This means you don't have to jump through a ton of hoops.
The Easy Peasy Auto-Configuration Method
For most of you, this is all you'll need to do. It’s a straightforward process that takes just a couple of clicks.
Enable the MCP Server in IntelliJ:
Open up your IntelliJ IDEA settings. You can do this by going to
1
File > Settings
on Windows/Linux or
1
IntelliJ IDEA > Settings
on macOS.
In the settings window, navigate to
1
Tools > MCP Server
.
Simply click the checkbox to Enable MCP Server.
Auto-Configure the Claude Client:
Right below the enable checkbox, you'll see a section called
1
Clients Auto-Configuration
.
Find
1
Claude Code
(or Claude Desktop, etc.) in the list & click the Auto-Configure button next to it.
This action tells IntelliJ to automatically find the JSON configuration file for Claude Code on your system & update it with the necessary connection details. It's brilliant.
Restart & You're Done!
The final step is to completely restart your Claude Code application. This ensures it picks up the new configuration settings.
And that's it! Seriously. Once you restart, Claude will have a direct line into your IDE. You can start giving it commands that interact with your project.
Quick Tip: If you're curious & want to see what IntelliJ did, in the
1
Clients Auto-Configuration
section, you can click the little gear icon & select
1
Open Client Settings File
. This will open up the JSON file that was modified so you can see the configuration for yourself.
For the Tinkers: Manual Configuration
Maybe you have a more complex setup, or the auto-configuration didn't work for some reason. Don't worry, there's a manual option that's still pretty easy.
Enable the MCP Server: Follow step 1 from the auto-configuration method above to get the server running.
Copy the Configuration:
In the
1
Settings > Tools > MCP Server
menu, look for the
1
Manual Client Configuration
section.
Here, you'll see two options:
1
Copy SSE Config
&
1
Copy Stdio Config
. This refers to the connection type. For most remote client setups, SSE (Server-Sent Events) is what you'll want.
Click
1
Copy SSE Config
to copy the necessary JSON snippet to your clipboard.
Paste into Claude's Config File:
Now, you need to find Claude's configuration file manually. The location depends on your operating system:
Open this file in a text editor. If it doesn't exist, you may need to create it.
Paste the configuration you copied from IntelliJ into this file. It will likely be a JSON object that you add to the
1
mcpServers
section.
Restart Claude: Just like with the auto-method, a full restart of the Claude Code application is needed for the changes to take effect.
What About WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)?
A lot of developers work within a WSL environment on their Windows machines. There's a setup for that too! A Reddit user outlined a great guide for this scenario which involves a couple extra steps.
The general idea is to:
Install the JetBrains MCP Server plugin from the marketplace in your IDE.
Configure the built-in server in your IDE to accept external connections & note the port.
From your Windows Command Prompt, find your local IP address using
1
ipconfig
.
Inside your WSL terminal, you'll install a proxy package like
1
@jetbrains/mcp-proxy
using
1
npx
.
You'll then configure Claude's JSON file to use this proxy, pointing it to your Windows machine's IP address & the port you configured.
This is a bit more advanced, but it shows just how flexible this system is. It bridges the gap between your Windows-based IDE & your Linux-based development tools.
A Quick Note on Customer Experience & Business
Thinking bigger for a second, this kind of seamless integration between a user & a complex system is exactly what businesses should be aiming for with their customers. When you're talking about customer service & website engagement, the goal is to reduce friction & provide instant, intelligent answers.
This is where tools like Arsturn come into play. Arsturn helps businesses build no-code AI chatbots that are trained on their own data. Imagine a customer landing on your website. Instead of hunting through FAQs or waiting for a support agent, they can just ask a question in a chat window. The Arsturn-powered bot, having been trained on all your product docs, knowledge base articles, & business information, can provide an instant, accurate answer. It's about creating that same kind of intelligent, in-context experience we just set up with our IDE, but for your customers. It boosts engagement, helps generate leads, & provides a level of personalized support that's available 24/7. It's the same principle: give the AI the right context, & it becomes an incredibly powerful tool.
Wrapping It Up
Honestly, taking 15 minutes to connect Claude to IntelliJ has probably saved me hours of tedious work already. The ability to interact with my entire codebase through natural language is something I didn't know I needed, & now I can't live without it.
The process is SO much smoother now that JetBrains has integrated the MCP server directly into their IDEs. The auto-configuration is a breeze, & the manual options provide the flexibility needed for more custom setups.
If you're a developer using Claude & a JetBrains IDE, I can't recommend this enough. Give it a shot.
Hope this was helpful! Let me know what you think or if you have any cool use cases for this setup. Catch you in the next one.