For a long time I ran my coding assistant in a separate terminal window. Claude Code or Mistral Vibe on one side of the screen, IntelliJ on the other. It worked, but I had to switch windows to see what the assistant had done, and then find the files it had touched. More often than I like to admit, I didn't bother. I read the summary in the terminal and moved on.

Now I start the assistant in the terminal inside IntelliJ instead. Same command, claude or vibe, just typed in a different window. The assistant doesn't care where it runs. The difference is on my side.

Every file the assistant changes shows up in IDEA's changelist. The diff is one click away. I don't have to hunt for anything. The changed files are right there next to the conversation. Looking at what just happened becomes easy enough that I actually do it, every time.

One snag with cmd-k

I use cmd-k to open the commit window in IntelliJ. In the IDE terminal, cmd-k clears the screen instead. The terminal grabs the shortcut before the IDE gets a chance to see it. Clearing the screen is the last thing I want in the middle of a session with the assistant, so I removed the binding. It lives under Settings › Keymap › Plugins › Terminal › Clear Buffer. Search for Clear Buffer, right-click it, and choose Remove ⌘K. Now cmd-k opens the commit window with the changed files, wherever my cursor happens to be.

Read on one side, ask on the other

I can also keep a file open in one editor window and the assistant in another. I read the code on one side and ask questions about it on the other. The answers show up next to the code they are about, and I can jump into any file the assistant mentions without leaving the IDE.

I jump back to the terminal with option-F12. Sometimes I forget, and start typing my next prompt into the file I was reading instead. It is usually no big deal, but it is a little annoying.

This setup does want a large screen. I prefer the editor in the middle, and on my 14" laptop that leaves it so narrow that I can't see anything useful in it without dragging the panes around. It works, but it is a lot better at the office, where I have a wide curved screen and everything fits side by side.

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