AI Tools for Kotlin Development: 2024 Overview

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Artificial Intelligence on Guard of Kotlin Code: Choosing the Best Tools

Kotlin confidently occupies a niche as one of the most modern and convenient languages for JVM development, Android, and backend. However, even the most experienced programmer spends time on routine tasks: writing boilerplate code, finding bugs, or refactoring. In 2024, tools based on artificial intelligence come to the rescue, which not just complement the IDE but become full-fledged assistants. Let's figure out which AI solutions every Kotlin developer should try.

1. JetBrains AI Assistant — A Native Tool for IntelliJ IDEA

The Kotlin developers at JetBrains could not leave their audience without AI. The built-in AI Assistant is available in IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio (via a plugin). It understands the project context better than other solutions.

Code Generation: Creating functions, classes, tests, and even entire modules based on a text description in natural language.
Refactoring: Offers improvements for existing code considering Kotlin idioms (for example, replacing Java-style with coroutines or extension functions).
Code Explanation: Useful when working with legacy or third-party libraries.
Chat: You can ask a question about a framework (Ktor, Koin, Exposed) and get an answer with examples.

Downside: A subscription is required (the plugin is not included in the free Community Edition version).

2. GitHub Copilot — The Universal Soldier

The most popular AI assistant from GitHub and OpenAI. It works great with Kotlin, especially if the code is written in Android Studio or IntelliJ with the plugin installed.

Autocomplete: Predicts entire blocks of code, including complex constructs like sealed classes or flow builders.
Chat: Allows you to write prompts like "write a JSON parser using kotlinx.serialization" and get ready-made code.
Tests: Generates unit tests for JUnit 5 or Kotest automatically.

Tip: Copilot works best if you already have an open codebase — it learns from your style.

3. Tabnine — Privacy and Customization

Tabnine is an excellent choice for those working with sensitive data (fintech, government sector). It offers local models that do not send code to external servers.

Local AI: Complete code privacy.
Kotlin Support: Understands coroutines, DSL builders (e.g., Anko or Compose) well.
Customization: You can train the model on your repository for more accurate suggestions.

Downside: The free version is limited in functionality, and powerful hardware is needed for local models.