ThinkRail

ThinkRail is an open-source agentic IDE from JetBrains, with around 2,300 stars on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license. It wraps the pi coding agent in a real desktop IDE, so vibe coding happens inside isolated workspaces instead of a bare terminal chat.

Overview

ThinkRail starts from a simple premise: an agentic IDE should get better every time you use it. It builds a rich interface around the pi agent, isolates work into separate workspaces, and gives the agent durable project knowledge through living specs and reusable skills. Open any git repository as a project, cut workspaces from it, and let agents work in parallel without touching your checkout.

Key Features

• Isolated workspaces: Each workspace is a git worktree with its own branch and working directory. Merge the good branch and delete the rest, or attach existing worktrees and work in the project folder itself.
• A real IDE around the agent: A splittable workbench of Monaco editor tabs, a Files tree with live git change marks, terminals, and documents, all scoped to the active workspace.
• Streaming chats: Several concurrent pi sessions per workspace, each with its own model and a live token and cost readout. Steer a running turn, queue a follow-up, and delegate to subagents.
• Specs as ground truth: A connected graph of SPEC.md files lives beside the code. The agent reads, searches, and maintains it through dedicated spec tools, so intent survives the session.
• Skills and workflows: Portable Agent Skills you already keep for other coding agents are read in place, and bundled workflows guide project setup, design brainstorming, and shipping a pull request.
• MCP servers and provider freedom: Connect the MCP servers in your pi mcp.json, with approval asked before non-read-only calls. Sign in with JetBrains AI or any provider through pi’s own auth; ThinkRail has no accounts of its own.

💳 Pricing

ThinkRail is free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license. There is no paid tier; you bring your own model provider credentials, with JetBrains AI sign-in available as an option.

Who Is It For

ThinkRail is for developers who vibe-code with AI agents and want that work isolated, reviewable, and grounded in project specs. It suits anyone who runs several agent sessions at once and wants the IDE itself to remember how their project works.