FAQ about Code With Me

Code With Me is a plugin for PhpStorm and other JetBrains IDEs (except for Rider and DataGrip for now) that enables you to collaboratively review, edit, and debug code with your colleagues in real time.

Since version 2021.1, the Code With Me plugin comes as a bundled one in the supported IDEs; you don't need to install it manually.

The Code With Me plugin is compatible with PhpStorm 2020.2.1 and later.

As a host, you need to have the PhpStorm license and the PhpStorm version 2020.2.1 or later installed on your machine with the Code With Me plugin installed.

As a guest, you only need an invitation link. After you open the link in your browser, JetBrains Client (a free lightweight application based on IntelliJ platform) will be automatically downloaded, and you can join the corresponding Code With Me session.

When you open an invitation link in your browser, JetBrains Client (a free lightweight application based on IntelliJ platform) is automatically downloaded.

If you are using your JetBrains account or an offline activation code to register you IDE, your license will be applied to the Code With Me plugin automatically.

If you are using a license server to register the IDE, the Code With Me plugin needs to be activated manually.

For more information about activating the Code With Me license, refer to Code With Me license.

The information on how to use Code With Me is available here.

The information about quick Code With Me setup is available here.

If you need information for full environment servers' setup, refer to Code With Me administration guide

No IDE is required to connect as a guest, you only need an invitation link. After you open the link in your browser, a free lightweight client application will be automatically downloaded and you can join the Code With Me session.

The host can start a session to invite other participants (guests) and share project code with them. Session participants either follow each other or navigate the code independently. The session participants can edit code located on the host’s computer. The host can start a debugging session and share its state and actions.

The number of concurrent participants in the Code With Me session depends on the license you have.

Plugins that perform customization of the IDE are supported. The guest cannot download and enable any language or framework related plugins.

No, but as a guest, you can customize your local environment and add a keymap of your choice by installing and enabling the needed plugin.

The minimum and recommended requirements can be found here

However, for guests only a lightweight client application is downloaded, so the requirements for disk space and computer resources are lower than for a host.

If you work in a local network, you can bypass proxy restrictions by using a private on-premises server.

As an alternative, you can add the following urls to the allowed addresses:

• https://code-with-me.global.jetbrains.com

• https://download.jetbrains.com

• https://download-cf.jetbrains.com

• https://download-cdn.jetbrains.com

• wss://codewithme-relay-1.europe-north1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-2.europe-north1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-1.us-east1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-2.us-east1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-1.asia-northeast1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-2.asia-northeast1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-1.southamerica-east1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-2.southamerica-east1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-1.asia-south1-gke.intellij.net

• wss://codewithme-relay-2.asia-south1-gke.intellij.net

Not all the tool windows are available for the guests.

No. When a guest connects to the lobby server, the application that makes this connection (depending on the user flow, this might be the Code With Me IDE plugin, the Toolbox application, or the launcher downloaded via the browser) checks the version of the host IDE to which it will connect and downloads the corresponding JetBrains Client with the exact same build number of the host IDE.

If the JetBrains Client in the exact version was downloaded before, the cached JetBrains Client is used.

Each new IDE version comes with numerous UI and protocol improvements. To take advantage of these continuous improvements, a matching JetBrains Client with the exact same build number as the JetBrains IDE is released. This client is downloaded transparently for the user, depending on how the connection is initiated, by the Code With Me plugin, the Toolbox application, or the launcher when the first-time connection is established to an IDE of that version. The client is then cached for later reuse.

The Code With Me plugin generally has the same build number as the IDE with which it is bundled. This is a technical coincidence, but not a strict technical requirement. For host IDEs, the bundled Code With Me plugin therefore usually has the same build number as the JetBrains Client that guests must use to connect to that host IDE. However, in general, any plugin build that is compatible with the IDE version it is intended to run in will work to connect to any host IDE in any version.

The Code With Me plugin downloads the JetBrains Client from the location provided by the lobby server. If a version with the exact same build number as the host IDE is already locally cached, it will not attempt to download the client again.

Code With Me for Business also supports running Code With Me in air-gapped environments, where the JetBrains Client can be downloaded from some internal repository. See the local storage guide for further details.

Note that starting with the IDE version 2024.1, the Code With Me plugin will reuse the JetBrains Client bundled into the running IDE if the client and host IDEs have the exact same version. Then, no JetBrains Client download is needed.

The JetBrains Client can only be used to connect to a host IDE with the exact same build number. This is a strict build restriction. Therefore, the JetBrains Client follows exactly the same product and support lifecycle as the JetBrains IDE it depends on.