Using Pythinker Code CLI in IDEs

Pythinker Code CLI supports integration into IDEs via the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), letting you use AI-assisted coding directly inside your editor.

Prerequisites

Before configuring your IDE, make sure Pythinker Code CLI is installed and you have completed the login setup.

The ACP adapter is exposed as the pythinker acp subcommand. The IDE launches it as a child process and communicates over stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC. Each time the IDE creates a session, the CLI reuses its existing authentication state — no need to log in again.

Path note

Child processes launched from an IDE GUI on macOS typically do not inherit the terminal shell's PATH. If pythinker is not in a system directory like /usr/local/bin, use the absolute path in your IDE configuration. Run which pythinker in a terminal to find the active path.

Using Pythinker Code CLI in Zed

Zed is a modern editor with native ACP support.

Add the following to Zed's config file at ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Pythinker Code CLI": {
      "type": "custom",
      "command": "pythinker",
      "args": ["acp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Configuration fields:

• type: fixed value "custom"
• command: path to the Pythinker Code CLI executable. If pythinker is not on PATH, use the full path (e.g. /Users/you/.local/bin/pythinker).
• args: startup arguments. The acp subcommand switches the CLI into ACP mode.
• env: additional environment variables; usually leave this empty. Zed injects a default environment automatically.

After saving, open a new conversation in Zed's Agent panel and it will launch a Pythinker Code CLI ACP subprocess using the configuration above. MCP servers declared in Zed's agent_servers section are also forwarded to the pythinker side via the ACP protocol.

Using Pythinker Code CLI in JetBrains IDEs

JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.) support ACP through the AI chat plugin.

If you do not have a JetBrains AI subscription, you can enable llm.enable.mock.response in the Registry to access the AI chat panel in ACP-only scenarios. Press Shift twice and search for "Registry" to open it.

In the AI chat panel menu, click Configure ACP agents and add the following configuration:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Pythinker Code CLI": {
      "command": "~/.local/bin/pythinker",
      "args": ["acp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

JetBrains is strict about the command field — always use an absolute path, which you can get by running which pythinker in a terminal. After saving, Pythinker Code CLI will appear in the AI chat's agent selector.

Using Pythinker Code CLI in Paseo

Paseo is a self-hosted orchestrator that runs and supervises agent CLIs from your desktop, web, and mobile. It connects to Pythinker Code CLI over ACP, the same way an IDE does.

Pick Pythinker Code CLI from Paseo's built-in ACP provider catalog, or add a custom provider in ~/.paseo/config.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "providers": {
      "pythinker": {
        "extends": "acp",
        "label": "Pythinker Code CLI",
        "command": ["pythinker", "acp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Paseo's generic ACP adapter does not drive the login flow, so complete the terminal login first (see Prerequisites) — otherwise session creation fails with Authentication required.

Troubleshooting

• Session disconnects immediately / IDE shows "agent exited": usually a wrong command path or a missing login. Run pythinker acp in a terminal first to verify — if it blocks waiting for stdin, the CLI itself is fine and the problem is in the IDE configuration; if it exits immediately with an error, follow the error message (most commonly you need to run /login).
• IDE shows "auth required": the CLI has no usable authentication token. Exit the IDE, run pythinker in a terminal to complete login, then restart the IDE.
• MCP tools not visible: check the pythinker acp reference capability table to confirm that the MCP transport type configured in your IDE is supported. The Pythinker Code CLI ACP adapter currently supports http, stdio, and sse transports; acp transport MCP servers are silently dropped and a warning is written to the log.

Next steps

• pythinker acp reference — ACP capability matrix and method coverage details
• pythinker command reference — full subcommand list