Hi all,
Following up on the discussion around Emmanuel's PR #9712: the Java tools I mentioned there are now available as a NetBeans plugin, and I'd be glad if some of you tried them. I’m looking forward to integrate them with Emmanuel’s work once that is ready, but even without that you can use them already. The plugin starts an MCP server inside the running IDE. A coding agent in a terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot CLI, ...) connects to it and uses NetBeans' Java infrastructure instead of grep and text edits. It sees the same index and the projects you have open, and refactorings appear in the editor right away. The tools: - find_usages (optionally grouped by calling method), find_implementations with the override chain, outline (library types included), diagnostics - Refactorings: rename, move, change_signature, safe_delete, inline. After each one the compile check reports any new errors. - apply_rule: Jackpot rules written by the agent, or ready-made packs for JUnit 4→5, javax→jakarta and Java modernization - debug: one call that runs a test, stops at a breakpoint or exception and returns the stack with locals Addressing Michael's point about harness permissions: Writes stay inside the agent's working folder. To try it (NetBeans 31 or newer): 1. Download dukehoff-mcp-netbeans-0.9.1.nbm from https://github.com/dukehoff-gmbh/dukehoff-mcp/releases and install it via Tools > Plugins > Downloaded > Add Plugins..., then restart if asked. 2. From the same release, download dukehoff-mcp-launcher-<version>.jar and print the client configuration with java -jar dukehoff-mcp-launcher-<version>.jar --config claude --ide. 3. Open your project in NetBeans and start the agent in its folder. There is also a standalone headless runtime for agents without an IDE, and a VS Code extension built on the Apache NetBeans Java extension. The code is Apache 2.0. Most of it was written with an AI assistant (Claude) under my direction and review, and the commits disclose that. A question on distribution: today users install the NBM by hand from GitHub. I'd like to offer an update center, so they can add it once and get updates. Where would you recommend hosting it? - The Plugin Portal (plugins.netbeans.apache.org): is it still the recommended route for third-party plugins? What does verification per NetBeans release involve today, and are there signing requirements? - A self-hosted catalog (updates.xml next to the GitHub releases, added under Tools > Plugins > Settings): fine for now, or are there pitfalls (signing, trust dialogs)? - An official plugin repository for faster-moving features like AI integration, as Neil suggested on the PR thread: is anything like that planned? Jaroslav, I think you had something in mind as well. Feedback of any kind is welcome: on the list, as GitHub issues, or directly to me. Thanks, Toni
