Configuring a Plugin for Split Mode

Split Mode configuration in the Gradle build script allows for running development sandbox IDEs in mode emulating the remote development scenario, with both frontend and backend processes running locally. To make a plugin work natively in split mode, see plugin modularization.

Basic Configuration

Enable Split Mode in the intellijPlatform {} extension:

intellijPlatform {
  splitMode = true
  pluginInstallationTarget = SplitModeAware.PluginInstallationTarget.BOTH
}

The two relevant properties are:

splitMode – starts separate frontend and backend processes
pluginInstallationTarget – selects where the plugin is installed

Choosing the Installation Target

Choose pluginInstallationTarget according to the code being exercised:

BACKEND for backend-only functionality
FRONTEND for frontend-only functionality
BOTH for typical modular plugins that contain frontend, backend, and shared modules

For split plugin development, BOTH is the most common choice.

Custom Run and Test Tasks

Custom split-mode tasks can be declared with intellijPlatformTesting:

val runIdeSplitMode by intellijPlatformTesting.runIde.registering {
  splitMode = true
  pluginInstallationTarget = SplitModeAware.PluginInstallationTarget.BOTH
}

val testIdeUiSplitMode by intellijPlatformTesting.testIdeUi.registering {
  splitMode = true
  pluginInstallationTarget = SplitModeAware.PluginInstallationTarget.BOTH
}

These tasks get dedicated sandboxes and can be used like other development or test tasks. See IntelliJ Platform Testing Extension for more details.

Typical Next Step

After the Gradle configuration is in place, the next step is deciding how the plugin code should be distributed between frontend, backend, and shared modules. See Implementing a Feature for Split Mode.

Required Gradle Plugin and Library Versions

The following tables list recommended versions of Gradle plugins and libraries for split mode development, tailored for compatibility with the specified IntelliJ Platform versions.

Gradle Plugins

IntelliJ Platform	`rpc`	`org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.serialization`
2026.1	2.3.20-RC2-0.1	2.3.20
2025.3	2.1.20-0.1	2.1.20

Libraries

IntelliJ Platform	`kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm`	`kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm`
2026.1	1.9.0	1.9.0
2025.3	1.7.3	1.7.3

20 April 2026