Do we still need a full IDE in the age of AI agents?

Short summary

As developers increasingly delegate builds, tests, linting, and git operations to AI agents like Claude Code, a lightweight editor may replace the traditional full-featured IDE. The author is building Jelly to complement agents rather than compete with them—focusing on code review, navigation, and occasional edits while agents handle the heavy lifting. This reflects a fundamental shift in how developers interact with code: guiding intelligent agents rather than writing every line themselves.

• •AI agents now handle most traditional IDE functions (builds, tests, linting, git)
• •Author building Jelly—a lightweight editor for code review and navigation, not heavy lifting
• •Represents a paradigm shift from developers writing code to developers guiding AI agents

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.