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JetBrains Releases CLion 2026.3, Which It Says Adds Agent-Assisted Debugging for Hard Faults
JetBrains has released CLion 2026.3, which it says adds agent-assisted debugging for ARM Cortex-M hard faults. The update also adds JetBrains Air, agent-assisted CMake configuration and support for CUDA Tile C++ and ISPC.
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
JetBrains has released CLion 2026.3, which it says adds agent-assisted debugging for hard faults alongside a new agent workspace and updates for C++ developers. JetBrains says the debugging workflow targets ARM Cortex-M chips and uses the IDE’s MCP tooling and a bundled AI skill. The release also adds support for NVIDIA CUDA Tile C++ and ISPC.
Agents can inspect ARM Cortex-M hard faults, JetBrains says
A hard fault on an ARM Cortex-M chip signals that something went wrong, but rarely explains why. According to JetBrains, in CLion’s new workflow the agent inspects fault registers, memory and disassembly to trace the problem to its source, using the same debugger tools the developer would.
The workflow supports Lauterbach TRACE32, SEGGER J-Link, ST-LINK and other debug probes, as well as any agent connected to the IDE’s MCP server. In the previous release, JetBrains introduced MCP tooling for tasks such as starting and stopping debug sessions and setting breakpoints; the new version adds RTOS tasks, queues and timers for agents to inspect during a debug session.
JetBrains Air brings agent workflows into the IDE
JetBrains describes Air as a new layer for agentic development in JetBrains IDEs. It lets users run, track and verify multi-agent workflows in the IDE, where, JetBrains says, code intelligence guides agents away from common pitfalls and review tools let users inspect changes before they land in a codebase. Users can anchor notes to specific lines in a diff or comment from the editor.
Air works with Claude Agent, Codex, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Junie, OpenCode and other ACP-compatible agents. It automatically detects agents already installed on a machine, and users can add others from the agent registry. JetBrains says provider subscriptions, API keys and custom base URLs work with no JetBrains AI subscription required; Air also includes free AI with Junie Lite, for which a JetBrains Account is needed.
When a CMake project fails to load, CLion now shows a notification with a “Configure with [agent]” button; selecting an installed terminal agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Junie opens the IDE terminal with a ready-made prompt. The agent interacts with CLion’s MCP server to diagnose the problem, update CMake profiles and toolchains, and reload the project.
JSON profiles add control over debugger setup
CLion now stores debug profiles in JSON, for example shared profiles in .idea/debug-profiles.json. Developers can edit a profile in the editor with JSON schema validation and code completion, and CLion reloads the file automatically when a developer or agent modifies it. The release also adds a dedicated TRACE32 profile, with launch and attach parameters prefilled with TRACE32 values.
The TRACE32 profile supports launching a debug session from the IDE or attaching to an active session via the t32debugadapter that ships with TRACE32. For DAP debug profiles, users can now configure Working directory and Environment variables fields. CLion also supports TRACE32 memory access qualifiers in the Memory View tab and provides syntax highlighting for PRACTICE scripts.
CUDA Tile C++ and ISPC join the language tools
CLion now supports CUDA Tile C++ syntax in projects targeting C++20 and CUDA Toolkit 13.3 or later. It highlights tile-specific code issues as users type, such as unsupported control flow or a non-positive irange step. Other CUDA improvements include checks for calls between execution spaces and inspections for invalid uses of memory-space specifiers including __device__, __constant__ and __shared__.
CLion now supports ISPC syntax, including uniform, varying and foreach, with code completion, navigation and on-the-fly error highlighting. For CMake projects that enable the ISPC language, CLion detects the ISPC compiler and reads its include paths and macros. A new Class Layout tool window displays the offset and size of every field and bit-field, base class subobjects, virtual table pointers and the padding between them.
Worktrees carry local project settings
CLion can now automatically replicate local project configuration, including run configurations and other settings stored in .idea, into new Git worktrees. Developers can specify local and ignored files in .worktreeinclude for the IDE to transfer, and configure a custom script to run when a worktree is created. The release also adds support for multi-root projects, more reliable worktree creation in repositories with submodules, and improved support for WSL and container-based projects.
CLion 2026.3 is available as a download, through the Toolbox App, as a snap package for Ubuntu, or as a patch update from version 2026.2. The IDE is free for non-commercial or educational projects, and a free 30-day trial is available.