The Eclipse Foundation announced two major advancements in
AI-powered open source development platforms and Integrated Development
Environments (IDEs). Contributed by EclipseSource, a leader in AI-native tool development,
these innovations include:
- Theia AI (public release) - an open framework that allows tool builders to
seamlessly integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) of their choice into
custom tools and IDEs, enabling agentic workflows, context-aware AI
suggestions, and intelligent assistance tailored to their unique needs.
- AI-Powered Theia IDE (alpha release) - An open source software development environment
built on the Theia AI framework, delivering advanced AI capabilities
designed to enhance developer productivity with full control.
"Proprietary
AI development platforms are locking developers and tool builders into
inflexible, opaque, and single vendor ecosystems," said Mike Milinkovich,
executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. "With Theia AI, we are putting
control back in the hands of developers, enabling them to integrate AI on their
own terms-fully open, extensible, and adaptable to their needs. Whether
building custom AI-driven tools or leveraging the Theia IDE with built-in AI
support, Theia AI ensures that developers remain in control of their data,
workflows, and strategic direction."
Theia
AI Open Framework: AI Integration on Your Terms
As part of the
Eclipse Theia tool platform, Theia AI is an open source framework that gives
tool builders full control over how AI is integrated into their tool products.
It empowers developers to manage every aspect of AI capabilities, from
selecting the most suitable Large Language Model (LLM)-whether it's
cloud-based, self-hosted, or fully local-to orchestrating the entire prompt
engineering flow, defining agentic behaviours, and determining which data and
knowledge sources are used. This level of customisation ensures full
transparency and adaptability, enabling developers to fine-tune AI interactions
to perfectly align with their strategic needs.
Tool
developers have complete freedom to design their tool's AI-driven user
experience exactly as they envision it. Whether it's through creating
interactive chat interfaces, integrating AI into code editors, or crafting
fully customised UI elements, Theia AI provides the flexibility to bring these
ideas to life. By streamlining complex AI integration challenges, Theia AI
enables tool builders to develop advanced, tailor-made AI capabilities that go
beyond the current state of the art, perfectly aligning with the unique demands
of their domain.
After
extensive beta testing and adoption in real-world applications, Theia AI is now
publicly available, empowering developers and tool builders to create
state-of-the-art capabilities tailored to their domain-specific needs.
AI-Powered
Theia IDE: Revolutionising Developer Workflows with AI
Built on the
Theia AI framework, the AI-powered Theia IDE demonstrates the potential of
AI-enhanced development workflows, while maintaining user control and
transparency. Now available in Alpha, Theia IDE introduces powerful AI-driven
features to:
- Boost Developer Productivity - Intelligent coding agents, AI-powered terminal support,
and context-sensitive assistants streamline coding tasks while giving
developers full control over AI interactions.
- Enable Flexible LLM Selection - Connect to any AI model-cloud-hosted, self-hosted, or
fully local-allowing developers to maintain full control, flexibility, and
adaptability to emerging models without vendor constraints.
- Integrate with External Tools and Contextual Data - Through Model
Contextual Protocol (MCP) integration, developers can
connect AI-driven workflows with external tools, services, and contextual
data, enhancing automation and interoperability within the development
environment.
- Ensure Open Source Licence Compliance - The
SCANOSS integration analyses AI-generated code for open
source licencing compliance, helping developers mitigate legal and
operational risks when incorporating AI-generated code.
Empowering
Developers with Full Control and Transparency
Unlike
proprietary solutions, the AI-powered Theia IDE gives developers full
transparency and control over AI interactions. They can easily tweak and adapt
AI behaviour, while maintaining full visibility into AI processes and
interactions. With powerful features like customisable prompts, flexible LLM
selection, and transparent data exchange, Theia IDE redefines AI-assisted
software development by putting developers firmly in control. This level of
customisation not only empowers developers to tailor AI to their unique needs
but also encourages collaborative innovation. By working in the open,
developers can refine, extend, and actively contribute to the evolution of
AI-driven development environments, ensuring continuous improvement and
adaptability.