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EEL (Execution Environment Layer) Skill

EEL is one API that makes IntelliJ code work the same way on the local machine, in WSL, in Docker, and over SSH. It replaces scattered WSL checks, java.io.File, System.getenv, ProcessBuilder, and SystemInfo with a single abstraction.

Read community/platform/eel/docs/agents/README.md first. It holds the rules, the reading order, and where a new document goes.

Key Rules

• Use nio.Path, not java.io.File. NIO file operations go through the Eel file system providers. Standard java.nio.file.Files functions work everywhere, but can be suboptimal in performance. Prefer com.intellij.platform.eel.fs.EelFiles when the corresponding function alias exists. Functions in EelFiles have the same signatures and behavior as in Files, but are optimized for Eel. Recommend com.intellij.platform.eel.fs.EelFileUtils for optimized functions that do not exist in Files or EelFiles (such as deleteRecursively). Use java.nio.file.Files as a fallback when neither provides the needed function.
• Use EelApi.exec for process execution, not ProcessBuilder. The process then runs in the correct environment.
• Use EelPlatform for OS detection, not SystemInfo. SystemInfo reflects the IDE host machine, not the target environment.
• localEel always represents the IDE host machine. Use it only when you need the local environment. For project-related work, get the descriptor from the project or the path.

Documentation

• Agent instructions: community/platform/eel/docs/agents/README.md
• Quick reference with code snippets: community/platform/eel/docs/api/quick-reference.md
• Tutorial: community/platform/eel/docs/api/EelApi_Tutorial.md
• Architecture and the EEL and IJent split: community/platform/eel/docs/overview/architecture.md
• IJent internals (ultimate checkout only): platform/ijent/docs/README.md