Try The New Toolbox App 2.6 EAP With Remote Development Support

Ivan Kuzmin

With the latest update, the Toolbox App now supports remote development, allowing you to manage your JetBrains tools and projects both locally and on remote servers. This allows you to connect to cross-platform hosts, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, and use integrated OpenSSH for secure and customizable SSH connections. You can download the latest Toolbox EAP from the JetBrains website or update it from the Toolbox EAP channel in the Toolbox App Settings → Appearance and Behavior → Update quality: EAP. 

Cross-platform hosts: Connect to Linux, Windows, and macOS

With the Toolbox App, remote development with JetBrains IDEs is now possible on Linux, Windows, and MacOS hosts. This allows you to manage your development environments both locally and across all remote hosts using major operating systems.

Remote JetBrains IDE tools management

Building upon its local tool management capabilities, the Toolbox App has extended its functionality to remote environments. This means you can install, access, update, and monitor your JetBrains IDEs on remote hosts just as easily as you do locally, ensuring a consistent and efficient workflow across all of your development environments.

Secure and full-featured SSH support 

SSH support in the Toolbox App is backed by OpenSSH, bringing enterprise-level security and flexibility to remote development. Instead of relying on a limited, custom SSH implementation, the Toolbox App uses the standard OpenSSH executable, which integrates smoothly with the SSH configurations you already rely on. Just import them to the Toolbox App and start working.

This also means you can leverage the full range of OpenSSH capabilities, including ProxyJump, multi-factor authentication (MFA), reverse proxy setups, custom IdentityFile configurations, and askpass integration. Even advanced enterprise use cases, such as replacing the SSH binary entirely, are fully supported. 

The Toolbox App uses the same trusted OpenSSH tools you already know, making setting up remote connections easier, more secure, and fully customizable to fit your workflow.

Try it out 

Getting started with remote development in the Toolbox App is simple. First, download or update to the latest Toolbox App EAP release. Once installed, switch to the SSH context to see your available remote connections.

Next, connect to your remote host by copying the SSH command you usually use in the terminal or by entering your username and host details, such as those from the EC2 console. As a general rule, if the connection works in the terminal, it should work in the Toolbox App as well.

Once connected, install your preferred JetBrains IDE, and you’re ready to go. For the best experience, we recommend trying the latest 2025.1 EAP versions, which include the latest remote development updates. To get the latest EAP version, select the EAP update channel in the tool settings.

If you already have your SSH connections set up in your SSH config or JetBrains Gateway, you don’t need to start from scratch. The Toolbox App allows you to import your existing configurations, so you can pick up right where you left off. Just bring in your saved connections, and you’ll be ready to connect and work without any extra setup.

The Toolbox App doesn’t stop at SSH, either. If you’re using an orchestration solution, whether in-house or commercial, there’s support for that too. With the available Plugin API, the Toolbox App can be extended to fit your specific needs. Several plugins for popular orchestrators are already in development, so stay tuned for updates. If you’re looking to migrate your in-house orchestration solution to Toolbox, feel free to reach out to us for guides and documentation.

We’d love for you to try these new features. Your feedback helps us improve, so please let us know your thoughts in the comments or through our issue tracker.

The JetBrains Toolbox team