A cross-platform IDE for C and C++
Designed for smooth workflows and productive development.
Why CLion
Ready to use out of the box
CLion offers a complete coding experience that lets you develop in C and C++ quickly and safely without juggling external tools. It supports major toolchains, popular build systems, unit testing frameworks, and advanced debugging, as well as embedded and remote development.
C
C++
Rust
CMake
Makefiles
Bazel
Meson
Zephyr West
Qt
Vcpkg
GCC
Clang
MSVC
Docker
WSL
Google Test
Git
Parasoft
Intelligent coding assistance
CLion’s powerful language engine deeply understands modern C and C++, from templates and constexpr code to the features from the latest standards. It delivers context‑aware code completion, on‑the‑fly analysis, and fast, accurate navigation. With reliable automated refactorings, you can confidently evolve your codebase while keeping it clean, consistent, and maintainable.
Covers all your C and C++ needs
Whether you're just getting started, developing professionally, or simply love working in C and C++, CLion will support you every step of the way.
Companies worldwide trust CLion
Advanced C and C++ editor
Thanks to a deep understanding of your code, CLion’s editor provides real-time code analysis, showing inferred types, function signatures, and quick documentation. With on-the-fly code completion, automated refactorings, and context-aware navigation, it helps you write and maintain high-quality code.
Efficient search and navigation
No matter the size of your codebase, CLion makes it easy to navigate. Jump to definitions, declarations, or usages, browse code hierarchies, or search for files and IDE actions using the powerful Search Everywhere feature.
Code analysis for safe code
CLion analyzes your code as you type, flagging issues before you even compile. With data flow analysis (DFA), Clangd-based checks, and Clang-Tidy, it detects unused or unreachable code, dangling pointers, null pointer dereferencing, and other issues. Quick-fixes and reliable refactorings help you write safer, better code, while the integrated Google Sanitizers and Valgrind make catching runtime errors easy.
Integrated debugger
CLion supports GDB (GNU Debugger) and LLDB out of the box. Reveal what’s happening under the hood of your code with the memory and disassembly views, variable inspection, and core dump debugging. You can even attach to processes or debug core dumps and CMake scripts.
Remote development
Whether you use a thin IDE client, full remote mode with automatic source code synchronization, local Docker containers, a WSL toolchain, or remote debugging – CLion’s got you covered.
Embedded development
CLion makes embedded development seamless with support for GCC ARM, IAR, and custom toolchains. It deeply integrates GDB servers for on-chip debugging and offers features like the memory, disassembly, and peripheral views. Built-in support for PlatformIO, STM32CubeMX, Zephyr, FreeRTOS streamlines setup and RTOS development.
What developers say
90%
of managers are satisfied or very satisfied with CLion*
88%
of managers believe that CLion increases teams’ productivity*
74%
claim it took less than two weeks to adopt CLion*
78%
of developers say their productivity has increased with CLion*
* Based on the in-IDE survey conducted in Q2 2025
Ole Bøe
Senior Software Engineer at reMarkable
I prefer CLion because it’s simple, and everything works smoothly. It has the best Git client I’ve ever used, with excellent merge and change comparison functionality. Running tests from CLion is easy. I’m also happy with the ClangFormat integration.
Matt Godbolt
Compiler Explorer
CLion takes a lot of the toil out of C++, allowing me to concentrate on the interesting part: problem solving.
Jason Turner
C++ Weekly, CppCast,
Trainer, Consultant
CLion has been indispensable for me when refactoring large codebases. The refactoring tools and the real-time feedback in the IDE about which lines still need to be updated are excellent time savers. Each release gets better and more responsive than the last!
Prof. Dr. Rodriguez-Losada
Conan, JFrog
CLion is fantastic, finally the C++ high quality cross-platform IDE with CMake as first class build system we were waiting for.
Erkki Salonen
Software Developer
CLion’s powerful refactoring and code model that understands dependencies between items have already changed my software design process. One can dig out quite a bunch of bugs even before running the application.
Matthew Davey
dotBunny
Both of these tools (CLion and Rider) help our team on a daily basis, allowing developers to perform their tasks quickly and efficiently, all the while seamlessly integrating with numerous parts of our pipeline.
CLion FAQ
CLion has different subscription options for organization and individual users. Also, if you’re a student or a teacher, there are free licenses for you. Find the full list of free offers here.
CLion’s Quick start guide will tell you how to create and run your first project and teach you about the product’s core capabilities. For those who are new to CLion, there is a set of interactive courses that will help you get to grips with the essential functionalities quickly. Check out how to start with the CLion Features Trainer available right inside the IDE.
If you have decided to migrate to CLion, there are several useful features to help make your transition a smooth one. Select one of the default editor themes or customize them with colors and fonts according to your personal preferences. Use any keyboard scheme from the keymap list (for example, if you previously used IntelliJ IDEA or Visual Studio, you can use the keyboard schemes from these products). Alternatively, you can just as easily create your own keymap from scratch. Take advantage of our competitive discount! If you have a paid license for a product that competes with CLion, we will give you a 25% discount on a standard commercial or personal subscription.
JetBrains AI provides AI-powered features for C and C++ development. It can explain code, answer questions about code fragments, provide code suggestions, generate documentation and commit messages, and much more. Find answers, develop accurate solutions, and ask for help within the project context – all without leaving the IDE. All of this and more is possible with JetBrains AI in CLion.
If you have any ideas on how to improve CLion, or if you’d like to request a specific feature, feel free to share it in our issue tracker. You can also follow us on our community forum to receive support and assistance, share your feedback, and stay in touch with the CLion community.