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JetBrains plugin fails to load in 2026.2 IDEs with NoClassDefFoundError: com/intellij/ui/jcef/JBCefApp #13185
Description
Before submitting your bug report
- I've tried finding an answer on the Continue docs site
- I'm not able to find an open issue that reports the same bug
- I've seen the troubleshooting guide on the Continue Docs
Relevant environment info
- OS: macOS 15.6 (arm64)
- Continue version: 1.0.67
- IDE version: Rider 2026.2 (build 262.9437.287)
Description
Starting with the 2026.2 platform release, JetBrains ships JCEF (the JetBrains Chromium Embedded Framework, which the Continue tool window renders in) as a separate bundled plugin instead of a part of the core IDE. The new plugin's id is com.intellij.modules.jcef, which up to 2026.1 was a module alias of the core IDE itself. A plugin that uses JCEF classes now has to declare an explicit dependency on it in plugin.xml; without one, the plugin's classloader can no longer resolve them.
The Continue plugin doesn't declare that dependency, so on any 2026.2 IDE it crashes during initialization with java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/intellij/ui/jcef/JBCefApp and the tool window never loads.
Other JCEF-based plugins hit the same wall. The AsciiDoc plugin, for example, fixed it with a single line in plugin.xml (see asciidoctor/asciidoctor-intellij-plugin#2073 and the corresponding PR #2081):
<depends>com.intellij.modules.jcef</depends>I verified that the same line fixes Continue: after patching it into the descriptor of the installed plugin jar, the plugin initializes and the tool window loads normally in Rider 2026.2. Since the id was a core module alias before 2026.2, the added dependency is backwards compatible with the older IDE versions the plugin supports.
I'll open a PR with the fix.
To reproduce
- Install Continue 1.0.67 in any JetBrains 2026.2 IDE (I used Rider 2026.2).
- Open the Continue tool window.
- The panel never loads and the error below appears in the IDE log.
Log output
com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.UnhandledException: com/intellij/ui/jcef/JBCefApp
at com.intellij.openapi.application.impl.ExceptionsKt.processUnhandledException(exceptions.kt:56)
...
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/intellij/ui/jcef/JBCefApp
at com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension.browser.ContinueBrowserService.load(ContinueBrowserService.kt:29)
at com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension.browser.ContinueBrowserService.<init>(ContinueBrowserService.kt:17)
...
at com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension.browser.ContinueBrowserService$Companion.getBrowser(ContinueBrowserService.kt:71)
at com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension.continue.CoreMessenger.handleMessage(CoreMessenger.kt:61)
at com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension.continue.process.ContinueProcessHandler$1.invokeSuspend(ContinueProcessHandler.kt:33)
...
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.intellij.ui.jcef.JBCefApp PluginClassLoader(plugin=PluginMainDescriptor(name=Continue, id=com.github.continuedev.continueintellijextension, version=1.0.67, isBundled=false), packagePrefix=null, state=active, parents=...)
at com.intellij.ide.plugins.cl.PluginClassLoader.loadClass(PluginClassLoader.kt:154)
at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:490)
Activity
class101 commentedon Aug 26, 2026
Unfortunately the CLI project looks like abandonned.
Acquiring things does not grant you to screw up the past work of others.
Shame on you Cursor, I hate you like a passion.
dy7338 commentedon Sep 1, 2026
https://ttttt.link/f/6a991d0d36a53 Feel free to try my file. It already has the fix for the bug that prevented it from running on 2026.2 IDEs.
class101 commentedon Sep 1, 2026
@dy7338
Thank you, is the fix similar to this merge request #13186
Edit : Nevermind, extracting it reveals it has the above fix in plugin.xml, thank you :)
zhang-xiaogou commentedon Sep 3, 2026
file notFound，can you share again？
dy7338 commentedon Sep 3, 2026
@zhang-xiaogou you can try this url .https://ttttt.link/f/6a991d0d36a53
zhang-xiaogou commentedon Sep 3, 2026
Thank you, This link allows for downloads.
zhang-xiaogou commentedon Sep 3, 2026
The error no longer occurs in version 2026.2, but it still cannot be used. Clicking the function buttons has no response. However, thank you all the same
class101 commentedon Sep 3, 2026
Do you have a pic @zhang-xiaogou ? Works fine for me, at least the plugin is much functional than CLI + terminal in IntelliJ
zhang-xiaogou commentedon Sep 3, 2026
Now I have uninstalled it and switched to Devoxx Genie
jasonhemann commentedon Sep 24, 2026
Confirming the same failure on IntelliJ IDEA 2026.3 EAP (build IU-263.5153.40) on macOS with Continue 1.0.67. The Marketplace compatibility endpoint served 1.0.67 for this exact build, but opening Continue fails with the same
NoClassDefFoundError: com/intellij/ui/jcef/JBCefAppatContinueBrowserService.load(ContinueBrowserService.kt:29). This appears to extend the affected range through the 263 platform.Yrij-Zhavoronkov commentedon Oct 10, 2026
It’s not working. Yes, the plugin no longer throws errors-except for a missing session (3f281fa5-2443-411b-981f-e9506c3f40d9), which shouldn't even exist in a clean installation.
No models are displayed or picked up, even with a simple config like this: