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AutoDev 2.0 Officially Released! Agents x Open Source Ecosystem = Infinite Possibilities

· 5 min read

Note: After months of waiting, domestic models (DS V3-0324) finally support AutoDev's capabilities. It's time to release AutoDev 2.0!

In April 2023, we developed AutoDev's first feature: AutoCRUD. After two years of rapid iteration, we've phased out this feature. The new AutoDev 2.0 is here - agent-driven AI programming has fundamentally changed our previous architecture. In AutoDev 2.0, you can:

  • Use coding agent Sketch for automated programming
  • Leverage automated programming planner AutoDev Planner
  • Utilize system migration assistant Bridge for legacy system refactoring
  • Employ Observer to dynamically monitor code changes in IDE
  • Connect to tool ecosystem via Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Use multiple open-source models in different scenarios (coding, reasoning, application, completion, etc.)
  • ...

The best part? AutoDev 2.0 is open-source. You're free to use, modify, and share it. Let's explore this world of infinite possibilities together! Meanwhile, as the second-generation AI programming tool on the JetBrains IDE platform, you can fully leverage JetBrains' plugin ecosystem to empower AutoDev 2.0!

Coding Agent: Sketch​

Our motivation for developing AutoDev 2.0 came from the launch of DeepSeek V3 model. We built Sketch View using the Shire agent language, first applying it to multi-file programming support. We then integrated it into AutoDev 2.0, leveraging the rich IDEA plugin ecosystem to create better IDE programming experiences.

Interactive Decision View: Sketch View​

Sketch View provides a new interactive interface that helps you better understand architectures and make decisions. Key features:

  • Interactive Design. Diverse Patch/Diff processing with Lint checks for generated code
  • Developer Experience. Automatic WebView launch for compilation verification when starting dev services
  • Quality & Security. Dependency security checks when generating dependency files

You can also use it to view code structures and improve code writing.

Isolated Environment Tool Invocation: DevIns​

In AutoDev 1.0, we designed DevIns DSL to build instruction abstractions for isolated environments. With DevIns instructions, AutoDev can:

  • Safe Operations. Perform security checks on instructions like Shell and SQL, instead of relying on unreliable LLM analysis
  • Model Agnostic. Enable tool invocation using CoT across different models without function tool dependencies
  • Key Context. Enrich syntax analysis and architectural views through IDE's PSI interfaces, providing system-critical context

DevIns also integrates seamlessly with MCP ecosystem for better tool invocation.

Visible Task Planning: AutoDev Planner​

Planner is Sketch's core feature, offering a new task planning experience. With AutoDev Planner, you can:

  • Visible Task Planning. Track current task progress through Pin and Planner ToolWindow
  • Dynamic Task Planning. AI dynamically adjusts task plans based on context (model-dependent, may not update in real-time)
  • Manual Task Execution. Manually execute unfinished tasks to better adjust planning

Combined with reasoning models like DeepSeek R1, AutoDev Planner can better adapt task planning to user needs.

Passive Error Observation: Observer​

Observer is a new Sketch feature that helps monitor code changes. It can observe:

  • Test failures. Automatically sends failure context (relevant code) to models
  • Build failures. Sends build logs (Gradle/Maven) to models automatically
  • Dependency addition failures. Automatically reports issues to models
  • ...

Through passive error observation, AutoDev better understands code changes to improve development efficiency.

Legacy System Migration Agent: AutoDev Bridge (Experimental)​

Bridge is our new feature for legacy system migration, including:

  • Migration Paths. LLM-powered generation of system migration paths using "Explore-Sense-Respond" framework
  • Architectural Views. AI-powered tool invocation for deep system scanning to generate C4 model-compliant blueprints
  • Business Logic Analysis. Combines AST parsing and runtime call chain tracing for precise business logic restoration
  • Migration Execution. Generates multi-level verification including unit tests, integration tests, and E2E tests to ensure post-migration functionality

As an experimental feature, AutoDev Bridge isn't fully mature yet, but we believe it will play important roles in future migrations.

DevOps Ecosystem Integration: Bidirectional MCP​

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an excellent open protocol helping AI agents better understand context. In AutoDev 2.0, we've implemented bidirectional integration between MCP and JetBrains plugin ecosystem for better tool invocation:

  • MCP as Tool. Encapsulates MCP through DevIns instructions to invoke third-party tools
  • AutoDev as Service. Exposes AutoDev as MCP service callable by any Agent Tool

This creates seamless integration between AutoDev and the tool ecosystem, enhancing contextual capabilities and reducing hallucinations.

Others​

We've redesigned the UI configuration page. For details, refer to new documentation: https://ide.unitmesh.cc/quick-start

AutoDev 1.x Features​

AutoDev 1.x features remain available, with less-used features like AutoCRUD removed.

Tool Issues Remain: Can Efficiency Really Improve?​

Even with significant efficiency improvements, productivity gains might be limited. How much time do you actually spend writing code?????????????

Install AutoDev 2.0​

Download the latest version from GitHub: https://github.com/unit-mesh/auto-dev

Or add plugin repository via:
Settings → Plugins → Marketplace → Manage Plugin Repositories → Add
https://plugin.unitmesh.cc/updatePlugins.xml
Then search for AutoDev

We're working to relist on JetBrains Marketplace, but manual installation via source code is currently available.