In August 2023, a small group of Google development and UX leads discussed the challenges of setting up a development environment for multiplatform and full-stack apps. They introduced an experimental prototype called Project IDX to address these issues, aiming to simplify the process of building, managing, and deploying such applications.
Project IDX is a browser-based development environment that leverages Code OSS and Gemini, an AI model that assists in generating, explaining, translating code, and writing unit tests. It is designed to support popular frameworks and languages for full-stack web and multiplatform application development.
Code OSS is the open-source version of Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, with minor proprietary additions in the latter.
Initially available through a waitlist sign-up, Project IDX recently launched a beta preview. While still in the early stages and not recommended for production use, Google continues to enhance the platform with new features.
Competing products include AWS Cloud9, Gitpod, Online IDE, Replit, StackBlitz, Eclipse Che, Codeanywhere, and GitHub Codespaces.
Familiar Environment
Project IDX offers a familiar interface for users of Visual Studio Code, as it is based on Code OSS. The platform incorporates IDX AI powered by Gemini, providing code suggestions, an AI-powered code chat for assistance, code generation, translation, code explanation, and unit test writing.
Project IDX operates in a Google Cloud VM known as a Cloud Workstation, which is currently free for users. It supports JavaScript, TypeScript, and Dart languages, as well as Angular, React, NextJS, Vue, Svelte, and Flutter frameworks.
Integration and Collaboration
GitHub imports in Project IDX support web, Flutter, and other JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks. Users can run npm install in the IDX terminal for projects with JavaScript dependencies and easily sync projects with GitHub repositories.
The platform allows previews in web browsers, Android emulators, and iOS simulators, with deployment options to Firebase hosting. IDX comes with pre-installed extensions for supported languages and frameworks, with the ability to add more from OpenVSX.
Conclusion
Project IDX offers a promising solution for multiplatform and full-stack app development, resembling Visual Studio Code and integrating well with Git and GitHub. While it operates in a Google Cloud environment, potential users should consider Google’s track record of discontinuing projects. Despite this, Project IDX is worth exploring, especially by maintaining projects on GitHub for data security.
Cost: Free beta preview
Platform: Browser-based, hosted on Google Cloud
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