Qt Creator 20 Beta released with improved AI support, Zen Mode, and more

Qt Group has released Qt Creator 20 Beta, bringing several changes, including a new Agent Client Protocol extension, a distraction-free Zen Mode, and initial support for GN projects.

Starting with the new extension, the IDE now includes an ACP Client. This allows you to chat with AI agents that can "understand your codebase and perform actions on your behalf", like editing files or running builds. ACP is basically an open-source standardization protocol that defines how Code Editors/IDEs (the "client") and AI Coding Agents (the "agent"), talk to each other.

Just like Language Server Protocol (LSP) standardized how editors handle things like code completion and syntax highlighting for different languages, ACP does the same for AI. With ACP, the agent (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, or whatever) handles the "thinking" while the IDE provides the agent with context (your open files, the codebase), displays proposed code diffs visually to the user, renders markdown, and prompts you for permission before the agent executes a terminal command.

The Qt team also added a preferences page for managing [Model Context Protocol (MCP) ](Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and expanded MCP support for Tasks and new commands. There's now a new Zen Mode extension that adds an option to toggle a distraction-free mode. It hides the surrounding user interface elements so you can focus on coding without distraction. Both the ACP and Zen Mode extensions need to be enabled manually.

For C++ developers, the Clangd-based code model has been updated to LLVM 22.1.2, and you can now fold preprocessor branches and C-style comment blocks. This release also adds an extension for working with GN (Generate Ninja) projects. On the mobile front, Android developers get new UI editors for managing icons, splash screens, and permissions. Limited support for accessing the file system of iOS devices has been added as well.

Qt Creator is a popular, cross-platform Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for C++, JavaScript, Python, and QML. You can use it to build desktop apps, mobile applications, and software for embedded systems like automotive infotainment dashboards and medical devices. Qt Creator 20 Beta is available to download now through the Qt Online Installer by selecting the "Preview" channel.