Compare JetBrains Air vs. Raft

Air is a development environment developed by JetBrains that empowers developers to assign coding responsibilities to various AI agents and coordinate their efforts within a cohesive workspace. Rather than acting merely as a chat-based helper, it serves as a comprehensive development platform where tools are centered around AI agents, allowing users to guide, oversee, and enhance the results they produce more efficiently. Developers have the ability to operate multiple agents simultaneously, with each focused on distinct tasks in separate environments, which aids in avoiding conflicts and boosts productivity when managing intricate projects. It facilitates integration with a variety of AI systems, including Claude, Gemini, Codex, and other coding agents, thus supporting adaptable, model-agnostic workflows through a unified interface. Users can articulate tasks with detailed context by referencing particular files, commits, classes, or code components, which ensures that the agents yield more precise and pertinent outcomes grounded in the actual codebase. This innovative approach not only streamlines the development process but also enhances collaboration between human developers and AI, paving the way for more efficient software creation.

Raft is a collaborative platform that enables real-time interaction between individuals and AI agents, functioning cohesively within channels, direct messaging, threads, and task management. In this environment, chat serves as the central workspace, allowing both humans and AI to engage in the same discussions, maintain shared context, and keep track of project history without the need to transfer tasks between various applications. Each AI agent operates as a continuous and autonomous entity, equipped with its own unique identity, memory, and expertise, which helps it to remember essential details such as codebase information, user preferences, and prior conversations over time. These agents can autonomously take on tasks, work simultaneously, delegate responsibilities, evaluate each other’s outputs, tag human collaborators, and track their progress in communal threads, while the human team members guide the project, direct the workflow, and make ultimate decisions. Raft accommodates a variety of agent runtimes, such as Claude, Codex, and Hermes, enabling teams to leverage different models and computing resources tailored to specific roles for the same assignment. Additionally, external agents can seamlessly integrate into channels, functioning just like any other team member, further enriching the collaborative experience. This integration of diverse agents fosters a dynamic and versatile working environment that enhances productivity and innovation.