Artificial Intelligence for Kotlin Developers: An Overview of Key Tools
The Kotlin ecosystem is evolving rapidly, and with it grows the arsenal of AI-based tools designed to speed up code writing, reduce errors, and automate routine tasks. In this article, we will look at the most notable AI solutions that are already helping Kotlin developers (from Android enthusiasts to backend engineers) work more efficiently.
1. GitHub Copilot — Universal AI Assistant
GitHub Copilot, powered by the OpenAI Codex model, has long gone beyond simple autocompletion. For Kotlin, it offers:
- Contextual suggestions for entire functions and classes;
- Test generation (JUnit, Kotest) based on existing code;
- Automatic creation of boilerplate code for data classes, sealed classes, and coroutines;
- Integration with IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio via an official plugin.
Copilot is especially strong in tasks where you need to quickly write template code or figure out an unfamiliar API. However, it is worth remembering licensing issues and checking the generated code for security.
2. Tabnine — Privacy and Customization
Tabnine (formerly Codota) focuses on privacy and the ability to train on your team's own code. For Kotlin developers, it offers:
- Local models that work without sending code to the cloud;
- Deep understanding of coroutines, Flow, and other asynchronous constructs;
- Adaptation to your coding style and architectural patterns (MVP, MVVM, MVI);
- Support for multi-platform projects (KMM/KMP).
Tabnine is great for enterprise development where source code security is critical. It can also analyze the context of the entire project, not just the open file.
3. Kodee — Specialized AI for Kotlin
Kodee (from JetBrains) is a relatively new tool, tailored exclusively for the JetBrains ecosystem and the Kotlin language. Its key features include:
- Documentation generation (KDoc) with links to related classes;
- Smart refactoring with optimization suggestions (e.g., replacing loops with collections or using inline functions);
- Detection and fixing of common errors: unused variables, incorrect null handling, memory leaks in coroutines;
- Automatic conversion of Java code to Kotlin considering modern idioms.
Kodee is deeply integrated into IntelliJ IDEA and uses static analysis, making its suggestions more accurate compared to universal solutions.
4. JetBrains AI Assistant — Ecosystem Approach
JetBrains AI Assistant is not just a plugin, but a whole set of AI features built into the IDE. For Kotlin, it offers:
- A chat interface for questions about frameworks (Ktor, Spring Boot, Compose Multiplatform);
- Code generation based on natural language comments;
- Error stack analysis and fix suggestions directly in the console;
- Automatic creation of database migrations (Exposed, Room).