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JetBrains goes all-in on agents with Central

But at what cost to developers?
April 16, 2026

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Key takeaways:

  • JetBrains is betting on a future most customers haven’t arrived at.
  • The portfolio is growing faster than it’s simplifying: is this a coherent stack or just sprawl? Engineering leaders will need to decide for themselves.
  • Trust is the real product. Developers need to know what Central costs and that the terms won’t change mid-contract.

JetBrain’s new Central platform signals a significant shift in how it sees software development. Whether its existing customers agree is another matter.

The IDE maker recently introduced JetBrains Central, a unified production system that “connects tools, agents, and infrastructure, allowing automated work to run, be monitored, and be managed across teams.”

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