The Journey to Public Preview

Since its initial announcement, over 137,000 individuals have registered for the private preview of Fleet. The decision to move to a public preview was driven by two main factors: a desire to avoid keeping users waiting and a commitment to fostering an open development process. JetBrains aims to create a product that is informed by community feedback.

At this stage, Fleet is still evolving, and users may encounter limitations with its current features. JetBrains has provided a chart outlining the various programming languages and technologies that Fleet supports, along with their respective statuses. However, users should be aware that some functionalities may not yet perform as intended.

Feedback and Future Development

JetBrains has made it clear that Fleet is not intended to replace its existing IDEs, such as IntelliJ IDEA. Therefore, users should not expect the same comprehensive feature set in Fleet. Instead, it represents an opportunity for JetBrains to offer a distinct user experience for developers. The company is eager to gather input on what functionalities might be missing from Fleet, including specific refactoring tools and integrations.

While Fleet is under active development, JetBrains assures users that its traditional IDEs will continue to receive updates and enhancements. Plans include performance upgrades, a redesigned user interface, and features focused on remote development.

Focus Areas for Improvement

In the coming months, JetBrains will prioritize stabilizing Fleet and addressing user feedback. Key areas of focus include:

• API Support and SDK for Plugin Developers: As Fleet's architecture is distributed, JetBrains is working on simplifying the process for plugin creation. While they aim to provide a robust platform for extensions, patience is requested from developers.
• Performance Enhancements: The team is dedicated to optimizing Fleet’s memory usage and response times, with ongoing improvements planned.
• Customization Options: Recognizing that many developers have preferences for specific themes and keybindings, JetBrains is committed to adding support for a variety of themes and keyboard layouts, including Vim emulation.