Discontinuing Swift Language IDE Support in the Kotlin Multiplatform Plugin

Starting with IntelliJ IDEA 2026.3 and Android Studio Rabbit 2 | 2026.2.2, we’re discontinuing Swift language IDE features in the Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) plugin. This includes editing, syntax highlighting, and navigation within Swift files and between Swift and Kotlin.

Running iOS applications and debugging Kotlin code on iOS will remain fully supported. Kotlin/Native functionality, such as Swift Export and importing Swift packages into Kotlin projects, is not affected.

The existing Swift functionality will remain available in earlier versions of IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio, and the Kotlin Multiplatform plugin, though these older versions will not receive further updates.

Background

We originally developed Swift support for AppCode (our since-discontinued iOS IDE) and for working directly with Xcode projects. This technology was later adapted for Fleet’s polyglot capabilities and, most recently, for working with mixed Kotlin–Swift codebases using the Kotlin Multiplatform plugin.

While analyzing feature adoption, we found that active usage was limited and steadily declining. Our telemetry and user research showed that most iOS developers working on KMP projects prefer using Xcode for Swift development, while teams that primarily work in the Kotlin Multiplatform plugin increasingly use Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform.

Maintaining this Swift tooling, which inherited its core architecture from AppCode, requires substantial ongoing effort to stay compatible with continuous changes in Swift, Xcode, and the IntelliJ Platform. While we previously considered expanding Kotlin–Swift IDE support in the plugin, after weighing the necessary engineering investment against actual usage numbers we decided not to continue.

Looking ahead

We do not currently plan to replace these features. Moving forward, we will continue evaluating workflows and focus on providing excellent Kotlin tooling in IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio and improving the KMP experience for iOS developers.

We would like to thank everyone who used Swift IDE features, especially those who have been with us since the AppCode days, and to all the contributors who put so much dedication into building and refining Swift support over the years.

Yours,

The Kotlin team