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GitHub Copilot: Memory Arrives in JetBrains IDEs

GitHub CopilotView original changelog

GitHub Copilot's memory feature — which lets Copilot retain and recall useful context across agent chat sessions — is now rolling out to GitHub Copilot for JetBrains IDEs, bringing IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and the rest of the JetBrains family to parity with other Copilot surfaces. The feature is controlled via a toggle in the Copilot settings portal. The rollout shipped as part of a broader August 2026 JetBrains update that also introduced Ollama as a new BYOK model provider.

Key Takeaways

  • Memory now works in JetBrains IDEs, bringing IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and WebStorm to parity with Copilot's other surfaces.
  • Copilot can carry context between agent chat sessions, cutting down on re-explaining project conventions each time a conversation restarts.
  • The feature is opt-out, not mandatory — a single toggle in the Copilot settings portal turns it on or off.
  • This is a surface expansion, not a new capability — memory itself launched for Pro/Pro+ users by default back in March 2026.
  • The release shipped bundled with Ollama BYOK support in the same JetBrains update, reflecting GitHub's cadence of weekly multi-feature JetBrains drops.
  • Teams with strict conversational-privacy requirements can leave memory disabled on a per-user basis without losing other Copilot functionality.

Memory Reaches JetBrains

GitHub Copilot's memory feature — which lets Copilot retain and recall useful information across agent chat sessions — has begun rolling out to GitHub Copilot for JetBrains IDEs. The capability already shipped earlier in 2026 for other Copilot surfaces, including a default rollout for Pro and Pro+ subscribers and later controls for deleting and scoping stored memories; the JetBrains release brings IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and the rest of the JetBrains family into parity with those surfaces.

What Memory Does

Instead of starting from a blank slate in every conversation, Copilot with memory enabled can carry relevant context — such as a project's conventions, prior decisions, or recurring preferences — from one agent chat session into the next. That reduces how often developers need to re-explain the same background information when picking a conversation back up later in the day or after switching branches.

Turning It On

Memory is controlled from the Copilot settings portal, where JetBrains users can toggle the feature on or off. Because memory persists information between sessions, teams that prefer a clean slate for every conversation can leave it disabled without losing access to any other Copilot capability.

The rollout arrived alongside a broader August 2026 update to GitHub Copilot for JetBrains that also introduced Ollama as a new bring-your-own-key model provider, expanded Codex agent workflows, and a handful of usability fixes to the chat interface.