The best AI code editors
Every editor ships some AI now. The question worth asking is which agent finishes real work: a change across many files, tested, proven and handed back in a form you can review in minutes.
Statements about other products were checked on 1 October 2026 and are cited at the foot of this page.
What makes one the best
Autocomplete stopped being a differentiator some time ago. The five things below separate an editor that saves you an afternoon from one that hands you a confident mess:
- It finishes. Given a change that spans a codebase, the agent edits every file involved, runs the project's own suite, and repairs what failed, without you steering each step.
- It proves what it did. Success that nobody verified is work moved onto you. The strongest agents show evidence, and say plainly when they have none.
- You never pick the model. Choosing between a dozen models per task is a job, and getting it wrong costs a failed attempt. The best tools make that choice and correct it.
- It scales to bigger work. Subagents, agents running side by side, and long autonomous tasks that keep going until a goal is met.
- It fits a team. Shared rules, skills, hooks and MCP servers, review at every stage, and the same agent outside the editor.
Written by the AstraCode team. Every statement about another product comes from its own documentation and is cited at the foot of this page.
1. AstraCode: best overall for AI-native development
An AI-native coding environment, built around powerful coding agents rather than around a text box. Ask for an outcome and the agent plans it, implements it, runs your suite, then undoes its own change under those tests to confirm they would catch a regression. You receive a diff with the evidence attached. AstraOne picks the model on every task, and a failed check promotes the work to a stronger one automatically.
- Best for: heavy AI-native development, bigger autonomous tasks, and teams that want one agent from editor to pipeline.
- Bigger work: each plan step can go to its own agent; parallel agents work in separate git worktrees;
/goaliterates until the goal is met on evidence and/looprepeats on a schedule; Debug mode reproduces a fault before touching it. - Review: diff review hunk by hunk,
astracode-agent reviewon a branch, and the AstraCode Review GitHub Action on every pull request. - Custom workflows: rules, skills, hooks, memories and MCP servers, kept in the repository for the whole team.
- Automation: the CLI drives the identical agent from scripts and CI jobs.
- Platforms: the editor on macOS and Linux, an extension on Windows, and the CLI in terminals, CI, JetBrains IDEs and Zed. Free to start, no card.
2. Cursor: an AI-first editor
Cursor documents agents, MCP, rules, skills, hooks, subagents, worktrees, a CLI and Bugbot for reviewing pull requests.
- Best for: developers who want an AI-first editor.
3. GitHub Copilot: an assistant in your current editor
Copilot runs as an extension inside the editor you already use, and its documentation covers completions, an agent mode, MCP, skills, hooks, a CLI and code review on pull requests.
- Best for: teams adding an assistant to their existing editor rather than adopting an AI-native one.
4. Windsurf, now Devin Desktop
Windsurf became Devin Desktop under Cognition. Its local agent documents rules, skills, hooks, MCP servers, subagents and worktrees.
- Best for: teams already standardised on Cognition's Devin.
5. JetBrains AI: inside a full IDE
JetBrains integrates its AI tools into its own IDEs. Teams that keep IntelliJ, PyCharm or Rider can also run the AstraCode agent inside them, through the AstraCode CLI and the Agent Client Protocol.
- Best for: teams committed to a JetBrains IDE.
At a glance
| AstraCode | Cursor | GitHub Copilot | Devin Desktop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP, rules, skills and hooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Subagents and parallel worktrees | Yes | Yes | See their docs | Yes |
| A CLI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pull request review | Yes | Yes | Yes | See their docs |
| Model chosen for you, escalated on a failed check | Yes, AstraOne | See their docs | See their docs | See their docs |
| Proves its tests fail without the change | Yes | See their docs | See their docs | See their docs |
Settle it on your own repository
Rankings are a starting point. Pick a codebase you know with a green suite, request a change spanning several files, then sabotage one line the agent wrote and tell it to carry on. The editor worth keeping is the one that catches it. Try the same with AstraCode; it is free to start.
Sources
- Cursor documentation — Cursor's agent, MCP, rules, skills, hooks, subagents, worktrees, CLI and Bugbot. Checked 1 October 2026.
- GitHub Copilot documentation — Copilot's agent mode, MCP, skills, hooks, CLI and code review. Checked 1 October 2026.
- Devin Desktop documentation — Windsurf, now Devin Desktop: its local agent with rules, skills, hooks, MCP servers, subagents and worktrees. Checked 1 October 2026.
- JetBrains AI — JetBrains' own description of the AI tools integrated into its IDEs. Checked 1 October 2026.