# Clone in JetBrains IDEs

> Add Diffinery to Get from Version Control in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand and the other JetBrains IDEs, sign in with your passkey, and clone, push and share without tokens.

Source: https://diffinery.com/docs/repositories/clone-in-jetbrains-ides

When you clone a repository in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand or another JetBrains IDE, **Get from Version Control** lists GitHub and GitLab. The Diffinery plugin adds **Diffinery** to that list, shows your repositories, and signs Git in for you, so clone, pull and push work without a token or password. It works in every JetBrains IDE from version 2024.3 on, including PhpStorm, RubyMine, CLion, Rider, RustRover and Android Studio.

![Get from Version Control in IntelliJ IDEA with Diffinery listed under GitHub, GitHub Enterprise and GitLab, showing "Sign in to Diffinery" with a Sign In with Browser button.](https://diffinery.com/docs/images/jetbrains-get-from-vcs.webp)

## 1. Install the plugin

The plugin comes from diffinery.com rather than the JetBrains Marketplace. Add diffinery.com as a plugin repository once, and the IDE installs the plugin and its updates from there like any other:

1. Open **Settings** (`Ctrl+Alt+S`, or **IntelliJ IDEA → Settings…** on a Mac) and choose **Plugins**.
2. Choose the gear icon (⚙) next to the **Installed** tab, then **Manage Plugin Repositories…**.
3. Choose **+**, paste this address, and choose **OK**:

   ```text
   https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml
   ```

4. On the **Marketplace** tab, search for **Diffinery** and choose **Install**.
5. The IDE says that Diffinery isn't a JetBrains plugin. Choose **Accept**, then **OK** to close Settings. The plugin starts right away; no restart is needed.

![The Plugins page of IntelliJ IDEA's Settings, with Diffinery found on the Marketplace tab and its Install button.](https://diffinery.com/docs/images/jetbrains-plugins.webp)

To install from a terminal instead, close the IDE and run its command-line launcher with the plugin's ID and the repository address, for example for IntelliJ IDEA:

```sh
idea installPlugins com.diffinery https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml
```

Use `pycharm`, `webstorm`, `goland` and so on for the other IDEs, or the script in the IDE's `bin` folder, such as `bin/idea.sh` on Linux. The IDE asks you to accept the plugin the next time it starts.

Without the plugin repository: download [diffinery-jetbrains.zip](https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/diffinery-jetbrains.zip), then choose the gear icon (⚙) on the **Plugins** page → **Install Plugin from Disk…** and pick the file. A plugin installed this way doesn't update itself.

## 2. Clone a repository

1. Choose **File → New → Project from Version Control…**, or **Clone Repository** on the welcome screen.
2. Choose **Diffinery** in the list on the left.
3. The first time, choose **Sign In with Browser…**. Your browser opens Diffinery's consent page. (For a [self-hosted Diffinery](#self-hosted-diffinery), choose **Use another server…** first.)
4. On the consent page, check that it says **Diffinery plugin for JetBrains IDEs**, published by diffinery.com, keep **Act as** set to you and **Access** set to **Write**, and choose **Connect**. The browser shows **You're signed in to Diffinery**; close the tab and go back to the IDE.
5. Pick a repository. The list shows your repositories and your organizations', most recently pushed first. Type to search every repository you can read, or paste `owner/name` or a diffinery.com link.
6. Check the **Directory** and choose **Clone**. The IDE clones the repository and opens it.

![Diffinery's consent page for the JetBrains plugin: "Connect Diffinery plugin for JetBrains IDEs to Diffinery", an app published by diffinery.com that sends you back to an app on this computer, with Act as set to you and Write access selected.](https://diffinery.com/docs/images/jetbrains-consent.webp)

![The Diffinery page of Get from Version Control, signed in to diffinery.com as ada, with a search for "hello" finding the private repository ada/hello-editor and the directory it clones into.](https://diffinery.com/docs/images/jetbrains-repositories.webp)

**Git → Clone from Diffinery…** goes straight to the Diffinery page.

## Check that it works

- **Settings → Version Control → Diffinery** shows your login.
- In the cloned project, **Git → Pull…** and **Git → Push…** work without asking for a password.
- On diffinery.com, **Settings → Access tokens → Connected apps** lists **Diffinery plugin for JetBrains IDEs**.

## Open in IntelliJ IDEA from diffinery.com

Every repository's **Clone** box on diffinery.com has an **IntelliJ IDEA** button. It opens the IDE through JetBrains Toolbox, which asks where to clone. For a private repository, the plugin signs Git in when Git asks; without it, Git asks for your username and an [access token](https://diffinery.com/docs/accounts/tokens). The link follows this pattern:

```text
jetbrains://idea/checkout/git?idea.required.plugins.id=Git4Idea&checkout.repo=https%3A%2F%2Fdiffinery.com%2Facme%2Fwebsite.git
```

## Share a local project on Diffinery

In a project that's a Git repository with at least one commit, choose **Git → Share Project on Diffinery…**. Choose the owner (you or one of your organizations), the name, and whether it's private. The plugin creates the repository, adds it as the `origin` remote (or `diffinery`, if `origin` is taken), and pushes the current branch. A notification links to the new repository.

![The Share Project on Diffinery dialog: owner ada, repository name difference-engine, and Private ticked.](https://diffinery.com/docs/images/jetbrains-share.webp)

## How sign-in and Git passwords work

- Signing in uses Diffinery's [OAuth sign-in](https://diffinery.com/docs/connect/how-sign-in-works), the same one Claude and Codex use. The IDE never sees your passkey. It gets a token that lasts 8 hours and renews itself while the IDE runs; after 30 days unused the connection lapses and the IDE asks you to sign in again.
- The token is kept in the IDE's password storage (your system keychain, or the IDE's own encrypted file, as set under **Settings → Appearance & Behavior → System Settings → Passwords**).
- When Git, run by the IDE, needs a password for diffinery.com, the plugin answers with your signed-in account. Git in a terminal outside the IDE doesn't ask the plugin: let the [`diffinery` CLI](https://diffinery.com/docs/repositories/git#let-the-cli-handle-credentials) answer there (`diffinery login`, then `diffinery auth setup-git`).
- **Sign out** on the Diffinery page of Get from Version Control, or in **Settings → Version Control → Diffinery**, disconnects the IDE on Diffinery too. **Disconnect** under **Settings → Access tokens → Connected apps** on diffinery.com does the same from the website.
- **Use an access token…** signs in with a token you paste instead, for an [agent](https://diffinery.com/docs/agents/overview) account or a computer without a browser. Create one under **Settings → Access tokens** with Write access. A pasted token isn't renewed, and isn't revoked when you sign out.

## Settings

**Settings → Version Control → Diffinery** shows the account you're signed in with, with **Sign In with Browser…**, **Use an access token…** and **Sign out**, and the **Server**: `https://diffinery.com` unless you use a [self-hosted Diffinery](#self-hosted-diffinery). Changing the server signs you out.

## Self-hosted Diffinery

The plugin works with any Diffinery, such as one your company runs at `https://git.example.com`.

1. Install the plugin from your server: in step 1 above, add your server's plugin repository instead, `https://git.example.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml`. The IDE then installs updates from your server. From a terminal: `idea installPlugins com.diffinery https://git.example.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml`.
2. Open **Get from Version Control → Diffinery**. Under **Sign In with Browser…**, the page shows **Server: diffinery.com** and:
   - **Use git.example.com**, when the IDE installs plugins from that server's repository. One click switches to it.
   - **Use another server…**, which asks for the address (such as `git.example.com`), checks that a Diffinery answers there, and switches to it. Enter `diffinery.com` to go back.
3. The page now shows **Server: git.example.com**. Choose **Sign In with Browser…**; your server's consent page opens.

**Git → Share Project on Diffinery…** offers **Use Another Server…** too when you aren't signed in, and **Settings → Version Control → Diffinery → Server** sets the address by hand. An address must use `https`, except `http://localhost` for a server on your computer. Changing the server signs you out of the old one, and Git's passwords are answered only for the server you're signed in to.

## Troubleshooting

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| No **Diffinery** in Get from Version Control | Check the plugin is installed and enabled under **Settings → Plugins → Installed**. It needs the IDE's bundled Git plugin, which is on by default. |
| Searching the Marketplace tab doesn't find Diffinery | Check the plugin repository address under ⚙ → **Manage Plugin Repositories…**: `https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml`. Behind a proxy, set it under **Settings → Appearance & Behavior → System Settings → HTTP Proxy**. |
| The browser opens but the IDE doesn't continue after **Connect** | The browser hands the answer to the IDE on a one-time address on your computer (`127.0.0.1`). Make sure the IDE's **Sign In to Diffinery** progress is still showing, then try again. A firewall or proxy that blocks local addresses stops it; use **Use an access token…** instead. |
| "This app isn't registered with Diffinery" on the consent page | The **Server** in **Settings → Version Control → Diffinery** points at a server without the JetBrains sign-in. Use **Use an access token…**, or update the server. |
| Git still asks for a password | Check that the remote is on the server you're signed in to (**Git → Manage Remotes…**). A password saved earlier for diffinery.com in the IDE's password storage or Git's credential helper can win; remove it. |
| "Your Diffinery sign-in has expired or was disconnected" | The connection was disconnected on diffinery.com or went unused for 30 days. Choose **Sign In…** in the notification. |
| An older IDE than 2024.3 | Update the IDE, or clone with the clone URL and an [access token](https://diffinery.com/docs/accounts/tokens) under **Repository URL** in Get from Version Control. |

## For AI agents reading this page

- To clone a Diffinery repository yourself, use Git with a token (`git clone https://diffinery.com/OWNER/REPO.git`, with your token as the password through a credential helper), or the [MCP server](https://diffinery.com/docs/agents/mcp)'s tools. The plugin is for people using a JetBrains IDE.
- When a person asks how to open a Diffinery repository in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm or another JetBrains IDE, point them to this page: they add `https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml` under **Settings → Plugins → ⚙ → Manage Plugin Repositories…**, install **Diffinery**, then use **Get from Version Control → Diffinery**. Don't try to complete the browser sign-in for them.
- The plugin repository at `https://diffinery.com/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml` names the current version and its download; the plugin's ID is `com.diffinery`.
- For a self-hosted Diffinery, the plugin repository is `https://SERVER/-/jetbrains/updatePlugins.xml`, and the person chooses **Use another server…** (or the one-click **Use** link that names their server) on the Diffinery page of Get from Version Control before signing in.
- For VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, see [Clone in VS Code, Cursor and other editors](https://diffinery.com/docs/repositories/clone-in-your-editor).