What is ThinkRail?
ThinkRail is an agentic IDE built around the pi coding agent. The project lists it as a JetBrains InnovationHub project under the Apache-2.0 open source licence. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.
You open a git repository as a project and cut workspaces from it as git worktrees, each with its own branch, files, terminals and chats. Agents work in parallel without touching your checkout. The IDE includes a splittable workbench of Monaco editor tabs, and each workspace can run several concurrent pi sessions, each with its own model.
Project intent is kept in living specs that the agent reads and maintains, and the team says full extension support is next.
ThinkRail screenshots
Explore the interface. Open a screenshot to view it at full size.
Source: official ThinkRail project page.
Key capabilities
- Workspace isolation Creates or attaches Git worktrees with separate branches and working directories for parallel agent tasks.
- Code review Combines editor tabs, terminals, file changes and anchored comments that can be sent to an agent conversation.
- Agent sessions Runs concurrent pi chats with model selection, token and cost readouts, editable plans and subagent delegation.
- Persistent specifications Maintains a connected graph of SPEC.md files beside the code through dedicated agent tools.
- Extension controls Installs pi packages and manages skills, extensions and MCP servers, including repository-server approval and OAuth sign-in.
- Pull request workflow Opens and updates GitHub pull requests, displays checks and review decisions, and exposes merge and branch actions.
Where ThinkRail fits
ThinkRail fits development workflows where developers delegate implementation tasks to coding agents while reviewing changes in the same environment. Worktree-based isolation supports parallel experiments or independent changes, while living specifications retain project intent between conversations. Existing pi users can reuse their configuration and skills rather than maintain a separate agent setup.
Before deployment, teams should check platform dependencies, Git credentials, model-provider access and billing, and the permissions granted to extensions and MCP tools. Local model servers are supported, but local execution does not mean the application sends no telemetry. Organizations should review the always-sent basic analytics and error reports separately from the optional additional usage sharing.
Install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JetBrains/thinkrail/main/install.sh | bashReviews of ThinkRail
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