The Eclipse Foundation has announced two advancements in open source AI development tools and IDEs. Spearheaded by AI-native tool development firm EclipseSource, these latest releases aim to give developers greater control over their AI integration.
The new offerings include:
- Theia AI (public release): An open framework enabling tool builders to seamlessly integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) of their choice into bespoke tools and IDEs. This allows for agentic workflows, context-aware AI suggestions, and intelligent assistance tailored to specific requirements.
- AI-powered Theia IDE (alpha release): An open source development environment built on the Theia AI framework, providing advanced AI capabilities designed to boost developer productivity while maintaining full control.
Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of the Eclipse Foundation, said: “Proprietary AI development platforms are locking developers and tool builders into inflexible, opaque, and single-vendor ecosystems.
“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.”
Eclipse Foundation Theia AI open framework: Integration on your terms
As a component of the Eclipse Theia tool platform, Theia AI is an open source framework that empowers tool builders with complete control over AI integration within their tool products.
Developers can manage every facet of AI capabilities, from selecting the most suitable LLM – whether 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 utilised. This level of customisation ensures full transparency and adaptability, allowing developers to fine-tune AI interactions to align perfectly with their objectives.
Tool developers also have the freedom to design their tool’s AI-driven user experience according to their vision. Whether creating interactive chat interfaces, integrating AI into code editors, or crafting fully customised UI elements, Theia AI offers the flexibility to bring these ideas to life.
By simplifying complex AI integration challenges, Theia AI enables tool builders to develop advanced, tailor-made AI capabilities that surpass current industry standards to meet the unique requirements of their domain.
Following extensive beta testing and adoption in real-world applications, Theia AI is now publicly available, empowering developers and tool builders to create cutting-edge capabilities tailored to their domain-specific needs.
AI-powered Theia IDE: Revolutionising developer workflows
Built on the Theia AI framework, the AI-powered Theia IDE demonstrates the potential of AI-enhanced development workflows, while preserving 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 providing developers with 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 license compliance: The SCANOSS integration analyses AI-generated code for open source licensing compliance, helping developers mitigate legal and operational risks when incorporating AI-generated code.
Providing full control and transparency
Unlike proprietary solutions, the AI-powered Theia IDE provides developers with complete transparency and control over AI interactions. They can easily adjust and adapt AI behaviour, while maintaining full visibility into AI processes and interactions.
With features such as customisable prompts, flexible LLM selection, and transparent data exchange, Theia IDE advances AI-assisted software development by placing developers firmly in control. This level of customisation not only empowers developers to tailor AI to their unique needs but also fosters collaborative innovation.
With the proliferation of proprietary AI solutions, the need for open, adaptable, and transparent AI development tools is more crucial than ever. Theia AI and Theia IDE not only offer powerful AI capabilities but also champion the values of openness, control, and community-driven innovation.
(Photo by Jongsun Lee)
See also: OpenAI launches tools to build AI agents faster
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