JetBrains is moving from X11 to Wayland support by default for their IntelliJ-based IDEs

JetBrains has announced that all IntelliJ-based integrated development environments (IDEs) will support native Wayland starting with version 2026.1. In Wayland-capable Linux desktop environments, these IDEs will automatically enable native support, departing from the previous default of running as X applications. This update is especially relevant as Wayland is now the main display server across major Linux distributions.

Following their established development process, JetBrains will first introduce native Wayland support in Early Access Program (EAP) releases. This staged rollout aims to gather feedback from Linux users who can test the new mode and help identify issues before general availability. Since the 2024.2 preview, JetBrains has made improvements in stability for Wayland server implementations, introduced drag-and-drop and input methods support, and progressed toward achieving native-looking window decorations.

While the transition strives to keep the interface appearance largely consistent, users may observe differences and issues in dialogs, popups, window decorations, and splash screens due to architectural distinctions between Wayland and X11. For users on systems without Wayland, or for those preferring X11, IntelliJ-based IDEs will remain compatible and can run via XWayland. This ensures ongoing support for a range of Linux desktop setups.