Kotlin Blog • Feb 1, 2026

Java to Kotlin Conversion Comes to Visual Studio Code

Article Summary

Alina Dolgikh from JetBrains just made Kotlin migration way easier for VS Code users. No more manual file-by-file rewrites.

JetBrains released a new VS Code extension that automatically converts Java files to Kotlin using LLM-powered suggestions. This marks a significant step in making Kotlin accessible beyond IntelliJ IDEA, targeting the large VS Code developer community.

Key Takeaways

Right-click any Java file to convert it to idiomatic Kotlin code
LLM-powered converter handles legacy codebase migrations automatically
Extension joins Kotlin LSP in expanding IDE-independent language support
Simple three-step setup from Visual Studio Marketplace

Critical Insight

VS Code developers can now convert Java to Kotlin with a single context menu action, eliminating manual migration effort.

The demo video shows exactly how the converter handles real code transformations in under two minutes.

About This Article

Problem

Many developers use Visual Studio Code instead of IntelliJ IDEA, which meant Kotlin support was limited outside JetBrains' main IDE.

Solution

JetBrains built a VS Code extension that converts Java to Kotlin by sending code to an LLM for suggestions. You can find it on the Visual Studio Marketplace.

Impact

The extension works alongside other tools like Kotlin LSP to bring language support to different IDEs. This cuts down the manual work needed when you're moving old code to Kotlin or switching languages partway through a project.