Claude Code IDE Integrations

Complete guide to using Claude Code with VS Code, JetBrains, and terminal editors.

VS Code Extension

Installation

1. Open VS Code Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
2. Search for "Claude Code"
3. Install the official Anthropic extension
4. Or: code --install-extension anthropic.claude-code

Features

• Inline chat — Ask Claude about selected code
• Terminal integration — Claude Code runs in VS Code terminal
• File context — Automatically shares open file context
• Diff view — Shows proposed changes as diffs
• Status bar — Shows Claude Code status and costs

Key Bindings (VS Code)

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Claude"	Command palette actions
Select code → right-click → "Ask Claude"	Ask about selection

VS Code Settings

// .vscode/settings.json
{
  "claude-code.model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "claude-code.autoStart": false,
  "claude-code.terminal.fontSize": 14
}

Status Line Configuration

The status line shows at the bottom of the Claude Code terminal:

// settings.json
{
  "statusLine": {
    "enabled": true,
    "show": ["model", "cost", "context"]
  }
}

JetBrains Plugin

Installation

1. Open Settings → Plugins
2. Search "Claude Code" in Marketplace
3. Install and restart IDE

Supported IDEs

• IntelliJ IDEA
• PyCharm
• WebStorm
• GoLand
• Rider
• PhpStorm
• RubyMine
• CLion
• DataGrip

Features

• Terminal-based Claude Code integration
• File context sharing
• Code selection queries
• Project structure awareness

Terminal Usage

Supported Terminals

• macOS Terminal
• iTerm2
• Alacritty
• Kitty
• Windows Terminal
• Warp
• Hyper

Terminal Tips

# Start Claude Code
claude

# Start with specific project
cd /path/to/project && claude

# Use with tmux
tmux new-session -s claude
claude

# Use with screen
screen -S claude
claude

Terminal Configuration

# Add to .bashrc or .zshrc

# Alias for quick access
alias cc="claude"
alias ccp="claude -p"

# Function for pipe usage
ccr() {
  cat "$1" | claude -p "review this code"
}

# Function for quick questions
ccq() {
  claude -p "$*"
}

Multi-Directory Support

# Add additional directories to Claude's context
claude --add-dir /path/to/related/project
claude --add-dir /path/to/shared/libs

# Multiple directories
claude --add-dir ./frontend --add-dir ./backend --add-dir ./shared

Remote Development

SSH

# Claude Code works over SSH
ssh user@remote-server
claude

Docker

# Run Claude Code in Docker
docker run -it -v $(pwd):/workspace -w /workspace \
  -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY \
  node:20 npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code

GitHub Codespaces

Claude Code works in Codespaces with terminal access.

VS Code Remote

Works with VS Code Remote SSH, Containers, and WSL extensions.

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: Claude Code Review
on: [pull_request]
jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
      - run: |
          claude -p "Review the changes in this PR for bugs and improvements" \
            --output-format json \
            --max-turns 10 \
            --dangerously-skip-permissions
        env:
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

GitLab CI

claude-review:
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
    - claude -p "Review this merge request" --output-format json --max-turns 10 --dangerously-skip-permissions
  variables:
    ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Vim/Neovim Integration

Claude Code can be used alongside Vim/Neovim via terminal split:

# In a terminal split, run Claude Code
# It can edit files that Vim also has open
# Use :e! in Vim to reload after Claude makes changes

Neovim Plugin Ecosystem

Some community plugins provide Claude Code integration for Neovim.

Troubleshooting IDE Issues

VS Code Extension Not Loading

1. Check VS Code version (requires 1.80+)
2. Ensure Claude Code CLI is installed globally
3. Check Output panel → "Claude Code" channel for errors
4. Restart VS Code

Terminal Not Rendering Properly

1. Ensure terminal supports Unicode
2. Check TERM environment variable
3. Try export TERM=xterm-256color
4. Increase terminal font size

Permission Issues in IDE

1. Check .claude/settings.json permissions config
2. Ensure IDE terminal has access to shell profile
3. Check proxy settings if behind firewall