The market for “AI Coding” has splintered. It is no longer just “VS Code vs. IntelliJ.” We now have distinct categories of tools, each solving a different part of the development lifecycle. This post breaks down the tools I’ve lived with: The Agentic IDEs, The Classic Hosts, and The Generators.
1. The Agentic IDEs (The New Wave)
These editors don’t just complete your code; they manage the entire lifecycle of a feature.
Antigravity IDE
The bleeding edge of Google DeepMind’s “Agentic” research.
- Best For: Complex, autonomous task execution. Unlike standard IDEs that wait for you to type, Antigravity acts as a pair programmer that can run tools, execute terminal commands, and reason about system architecture.
- Killer Feature: True agency. It doesn’t just suggest code; it performs tasks (like “Refactor this module and update all tests”).
AWS Kiro
AWS’s new challenger (launched mid-2025). It’s a cloud-agnostic, spec-driven IDE based on VS Code.
- Best For: Developers who value planning before coding. Kiro introduces “Spec Coding,” where it turns your prompt into a
requirements.mdanddesign.mdbefore writing a single line of code. - Killer Feature: It runs on your local machine but feels like a cloud-native agent. It has “hooks” that automatically run tests and security scans on save.
2. The Classic Host (The Daily Driver)
VS Code (with Copilot)
The industry standard.
- Best For: Stability and ecosystem. It’s the editor we all know, augmented by GitHub Copilot.
- Killer Feature: The Extension Marketplace. If a tool exists (Docker, Kubernetes, MongoDB), VS Code has the best integration for it. With Copilot, it remains the safe, reliable choice for 99% of developers.
3. The App Generators (Prompt-to-App)
These tools act as “starters.” You prompt them, and they spit out a full, running web application. They are amazing for prototyping but often hit a ceiling for complex logic.
Bolt.new
Run by StackBlitz. It spins up a full dev environment in the browser.
- The Magic: You describe an app, and 30 seconds later, you have a running React/Node application. You can edit the code directly in the browser.
- Use Case: Quick prototypes, internal tools, and testing ideas instantly.
Lovable.dev
Focused on beautiful, production-ready UI.
- The Magic: Often touted as having better design sensibilities than Bolt. It generates clean, component-based code (often using Shadcn/Tailwind) that looks “shippable” by default.
- Use Case: Front-end heavy apps where design matters more than complex backend logic.
Summary: Which one do I use?
- For Agentic Power: Antigravity or AWS Kiro.
- For Daily Work: VS Code + Copilot.
- For Quick Prototypes: Bolt or Lovable.
Other Tools in the Landscape
Since I haven’t personally used these heavily yet, I’m listing them here as contenders to explore later:
- Cursor
- Windsurf (by Codeium)
- Zed (AI-integrated Rust editor)
- Cline (autonomous coding agent extension)
- PearAI (Open Source fork)
- Replit Agent
- GitHub Copilot Workspace
- Augment Code
- Supermaven
Azhar
Published on January 15, 2026