Claude Code in IDEs

Reproducible practice

Verify an IDE-assisted edit without confusing extension and CLI state

Prove editor context, diff review, terminal verification, and rollback on one disposable change.

Prerequisites

• VS Code 1.94+ or a supported JetBrains IDE, a trusted workspace, and the official integration.
• A valid account; JetBrains and integrated-terminal CLI flows require the standalone claude executable.
• A clean task branch and a known targeted test.

Steps

1. Verify the terminal path separately

   The VS Code panel bundles a private CLI, but the integrated terminal does not inherit it on PATH.

   command -v claude
   claude --version
   claude auth status --text

2. Open one file and select a narrow region

   Ask the IDE panel to explain the selection and cite related files before requesting an edit.

3. Request one reversible change

   Use the panel's plan or diff review, reject unrelated hunks, and avoid mixing simultaneous edits from the terminal session.

4. Verify in the integrated terminal

   Run the project-owned targeted test and inspect git diff after the IDE reports completion.

   git diff --check
   git diff --stat
   # Run the targeted project test

Expected result

The IDE shows the intended selection and inline diff, the terminal test evaluates the saved files, and the diff is independently reviewable.

Validation

• Confirm the file is saved before running tests.
• Check that selected-code context did not silently expand the task scope.
• Reload the IDE and verify the changed file remains the same on disk.

Failure handling

Cleanup or rollback

• Reject the proposed diff or use the IDE checkpoint for changes made by that session.
• Confirm with git diff that rollback did not remove pre-existing user changes.

Boundaries and when not to use it

• IDE availability and menus vary by editor version, remote environment, provider, and rollout.
• Checkpoints cover Claude edits, not every external edit or irreversible command.