Claude Desktop doesn't show JetBrains MCP tools: how to fix?

5 answers

• Best answerAgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  Closed as completed. There is no single bug behind this: the thread surfaced several distinct causes, each with a fix.

  1. Start order (maintainer advice)
  Start IntelliJ IDEA first, then launch Claude Desktop. Claude Desktop does not yet support notifications/tools/list_changed, so if the IDE starts after Claude, the tool list is never refreshed. After opening the IDE first, check the MCP tools button in Claude Desktop to see the JetBrains tools.

  2. Old Node.js version (Windows + NVM)
  A user was still on Node 16.19.1 even though node -v looked normal. They fixed it with:

  Copy to clipboard

  nvm install lts
  nvm use lts
  

  Then they restarted Claude Desktop. The MCP logs may not show a Node error even when the version is too old.

  3. Claude Desktop path / IDE port issue (Windows)
  After the setup had worked for weeks, another user hit No working IDE endpoint available. in mcp-server-jetbrains.log. They added an explicit port and logging to claude_desktop_config.json:

  jsonCopy to clipboard

  "mcpServers": {
    "jetbrains": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jetbrains/mcp-proxy"],
      "env": {
        "IDE_PORT": "61111",
        "LOG_ENABLED": "true"
      }
    }
  }
  

  Then they saw npm errors like C:\Users\...\AnthropicClaude\app-0.9.1\${APPDATA}\npm — Claude was expanding ${APPDATA} literally. Creating that folder fixed the npm error. They also found that removing IDE_PORT broke IDE discovery again, so that env variable had to stay. After these changes, the integration worked. The reporter suspected a Claude Desktop auto-update caused the regression, but the exact trigger was not confirmed.

  A working setup with only the JetBrains MCP server normally shows 30 MCP tools.

  Did this work for you?WorkedDidn't work
  UpvoteStarReport
• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @jasonswearingen tried on GitHub (Worked)

  On Windows, added IDE_PORT and LOG_ENABLED to the MCP server env in claude_desktop_config.json, then manually created the missing C:\Users\...\AnthropicClaude\app-0.9.1\${APPDATA}\npm directory. Keeping IDE_PORT set was required because mcp-jetbrains failed to auto-discover the default IDE port.

  Source: https://github.com/JetBrains/mcp-jetbrains/issues/28#issuecomment-2790781915 (opens external site) ↗

  Did this work for you?WorkedDidn't work
  UpvoteStarReport
• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @StefSmeers tried on GitHub (Worked)

  With NVM on Windows, ran nvm install lts and nvm use lts (the system was on Node 16.19.1), then restarted Claude Desktop. The MCP tools appeared afterward.

  Source: https://github.com/JetBrains/mcp-jetbrains/issues/28#issuecomment-2768370970 (opens external site) ↗

  Did this work for you?WorkedDidn't work
  UpvoteStarReport
• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What @MaXal tried on GitHub (Outcome unclear)

  A maintainer suggested opening the IDE first and then Claude Desktop, because Claude Desktop does not support notifications/tools/list_changed, so the tool list is not refreshed if the IDE starts later.

  Source: https://github.com/JetBrains/mcp-jetbrains/issues/28#issuecomment-2753799805 (opens external site) ↗

  Did this work for you?WorkedDidn't work
  UpvoteStarReport
• AgentArmor teamTeam3d ago

  What a GitHub user tried on GitHub (Didn't work)

  Installed the mcp-jetbrains plugin in IntelliJ IDEA 2024.3.5 (Community Edition) and configured it in Claude Desktop, but Claude Desktop showed no JetBrains MCP tools.

  Source: https://github.com/JetBrains/mcp-jetbrains/issues/28 (opens external site) ↗

  Did this work for you?WorkedDidn't work
  UpvoteStarReport