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TechQuiet 9d · day 11

OpenIDEA: Rust-based IntelliJ IDEA clone launches on GitHub

New IDE mimics JetBrains' interface with Rust backend, but Hacker News questions whether it's truly Rust and if benchmarks are fair.

newest coverage 9d agosummary written 10d ago15 pieces41 likes & upvotes57 comments Hacker NewsMastodonNewswires

What to know

  • OpenIDEA claims to replicate IntelliJ IDEA's interface and workflow in a native Rust-based app, but its actual composition is 60% TypeScript frontend and only Rust glue code, drawing criticism over misleading framing.
  • Performance benchmarks comparing OpenIDEA to IntelliJ IDEA lack feature parity, making claims about memory and speed reductions questionable.
  • IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition has been free and open-source since 2009, raising questions about the necessity and value of a from-scratch rebuild.

The dispute Whether OpenIDEA represents a genuine technical innovation or is primarily a repackaging of existing components (Tauri, TypeScript, LSP) marketed with exaggerated Rust credentials. · positions read across 12 posts and comments

most voices

The 'rebuilt in Rust' claim is misleading; most implementation is TypeScript with only Tauri glue code in Rust.

  • “It seems it uses CodeMirror [1] in the Tauri frontend (60% of total code is typescript), but uses rust in the backend (30%).”

    exceptione · Hacker News ↗
many voices

Performance benchmarks are unfair because they don't account for feature parity between OpenIDEA and IntelliJ IDEA.

  • “In the benchmark[1] the cpu, memory and quit time (!) are compared, but does it makes any sense without feature parity?”

    atrokhymchuk · Hacker News ↗
many voices

A rebuild is unnecessary because IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition is already free and open-source.

  • “why do we even need the rebuilt? idea is already opensource[0].”

    atrokhymchuk · Hacker News ↗

l0ng-ai OpenIDEA project creatorJetBrains IntelliJ IDEA publisher

OpenIDEA: Rust-based IntelliJ IDEA clone launches on GitHub
github.com

How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments

Peak 11 pieces in 3h at Nov 1, 3 AM; 15 pieces over 11 days (1 article · 2 posts · 12 comments) Nov 1, 3 AM — 11 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts · 8 comments — Hacker News 9, Newswires 1, Mastodon 1Nov 1, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Nov 1, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Nov 1, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Nov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 6 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 12 AM — quietNov 2, 3 AM — quietNov 2, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Hacker News 1Nov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 12 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 12 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 12 PM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietNov 7, 12 AM — quietNov 7, 3 AM — quietNov 7, 6 AM — quietNov 7, 9 AM — quietNov 7, 12 PM — quietNov 7, 3 PM — quietNov 7, 6 PM — quietNov 7, 9 PM — quietNov 8, 12 AM — quietNov 8, 3 AM — quietNov 8, 6 AM — quietNov 8, 9 AM — quietNov 8, 12 PM — quietNov 8, 3 PM — quietNov 8, 6 PM — quietNov 8, 9 PM — quietNov 9, 12 AM — quietNov 9, 3 AM — quietNov 9, 6 AM — quietNov 9, 9 AM — quietNov 9, 12 PM — quietNov 9, 3 PM — quietNov 9, 6 PM — quietNov 9, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 3 PM — quietToday, 6 PM — quiet 1–4
Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9yesterdaynow · 8:40 PM ET
  1. 4

    Debate intensifies over misleading 'rebuilt in Rust' framing

    A commenter argues the 'rebuilt in Rust' claim is misleading: code processing uses standalone LSP processes, the frontend is WebView with TypeScript, and only the Tauri glue code is Rust. They also express skepticism about memory usage claims.

    “Calling it "OpenIDEA" is a bit misleading...saying that it was rebuilt in Rust is at least as much misleading: the code processing is still standalone LSP processes, frontend is WebView with typescript, only Tauri glue code is Rust.”
    — avallach

    • Correction: Rust is more than just Tauri glue code (https://github.com/l0ng-ai/openidea/issues/568#issuecomment-...). But considering that in an IDE the two performance critical parts are code processing (LSP) and frontend, I wonder how much benefit can you really get by making everything except of them in Rust.Overall I actually agree that VSCode…

      avallachHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 5 posts in this stretch

    • Calling it "OpenIDEA" is a bit misleading. IntellijIDEA is free and open source (Apache 2.0) since 2009. Paid subscription basically gives you extra plugins. And as others pointed out, saying that it was rebuilt in Rust is at least as much misleading: the code processing is still standalone LSP processes, frontend is WebView with typescript, only…

      avallachHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗

    • 10 years ago and earlier it was cool IDE.What are they doing now? crisis of ideas and just hyping? pity.

      zhismeHacker News9d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    all of them →
  2. 3

    Critics question need for rebuild when IntelliJ is already open-source

    Commenters point out IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition has been free and open-source since 2009, and raise concerns that performance benchmarks lack feature parity.

    “why do we even need the rebuilt? idea is already opensource[0]. In the benchmark[1] the cpu, memory and quit time (!) are compared, but does it makes any sense without feature parity?”
    — atrokhymchuk

    • why do we even need the rebuilt? idea is already opensource[0].In the benchmark[1] the cpu, memory and quit time (!) are compared, but does it makes any sense without feature parity?[0]:

      atrokhymchukHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch

    • Uses Typescript for the most part, not much better than Electron stuff, cannot use the InteliJ plugins powered by the JVM, it is vibe coded, no thanks.

      pjmlpHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    all of them →
  3. 2

    Developers question actual Rust composition and architecture

    HN commenters examine the codebase and note the project uses CodeMirror in a Tauri frontend (60% TypeScript), Rust in backend (30%), and LSP processes. The claimed memory reduction is questioned given the WebView overhead.

    “It seems it uses CodeMirror [1] in the Tauri frontend (60% of total code is typescript), but uses rust in the backend (30%).”
    — exceptione

    • Interesting project. It seems it uses CodeMirror [1] in the Tauri frontend (60% of total code is typescript), but uses rust in the backend (30%). Surprising to see that Tauri is apparently good enough for the three platforms it needs to support (or it uses a lot of hacks, I don't know). The advertised memory reduction is remarkable as I expected a…

      exceptioneHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch

    • 2025 was all about 'Rust' on HN and 2026 is all about 'rebuilding everything in Rust'. Comical on one level and yet intriguing.

      jarymHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗

    • From the promo video:> completion from language serversThat's exactly the thing that I like about idea: It's better than that.

      mqusHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    all of them →
  4. 1

    OpenIDEA project launches on GitHub

    OpenIDEA, an IDE claiming to rebuild the IntelliJ IDEA experience in Rust, appears on GitHub. The project offers IntelliJ IDEA-style keymaps, tool windows, search-everywhere, editor, code insight, debugger, Git, terminal, database and HTTP clients for 60+ languages across macOS, Windows, and Linux.

    “OpenIDEA brings the IntelliJ IDEA way of working — its keymap, its tool windows, its search-everything habits — to a native app with a Rust core.”
    — OpenIDEA project description · source
    1. 1 outlet OpenIDEA: The IDE you know, rebuilt in Rust

      first by HN Frontpage, 10d ago

    • So that I understand...I guess the logic here is: If I love this project, I should renew my JetBrains subscription...so that they can keep having money to fix bugs in their IDE...so that you can keep reverse engineering it?Am I seeing this right?

      BetelbuddyHacker News10d agoview on Hacker News ↗

What people are saying 2 voices from 1 site · best of 12 · verbatim