Gemini CLI v0.35.2: Plan Mode Is Now the Default
Gemini CLI has shipped v0.35.2 (March 26, 2026) as its latest stable release, following a significant behavior change introduced in v0.34.0 on March 17: Plan Mode is now enabled by default for all sessions.
In Plan Mode, the Gemini CLI agent begins any task with a read-only analysis phase. The agent navigates the codebase, reads documentation, searches for patterns, and constructs a structured plan — without making any file modifications or executing any code. Only when the plan is approved does the agent proceed to the execution phase. This design separates the thinking step from the doing step, addressing one of the most common complaints about agentic tools: inadvertent changes caused by an agent that immediately starts modifying files before fully understanding the task.
A key implementation detail is that Plan Mode automatically routes to Gemini 3.1 Pro for the planning analysis. Gemini 3.1 Pro, released in preview in March 2026, is Google's most capable reasoning model, scoring significantly higher on complex problem-solving benchmarks than its predecessors. Using the stronger model for planning and a lighter model for execution is a cost-effective pattern that several CLI tools are adopting. Developers can override this routing or disable Plan Mode entirely via flags if they prefer the previous behavior.
Gemini CLI v0.34.0 also shipped Gemini 3.1 Pro and Gemini 3.0 Flash as selectable models in Code Assist within VS Code and IntelliJ. These models are in preview and are available for agent mode, chat, and code generation tasks. Gemini 3.1 Pro replaces Gemini 2.5 Pro as the top-of-the-line option for complex architectural queries, while Gemini 3.0 Flash offers faster turnaround for routine completions.
Read more about Plan Mode — Google Developers Blog
Read more about Gemini 3.1 Pro — Google Blog
Cursor 2.6: JetBrains ACP Integration, 30+ Marketplace Plugins, and Automations
Cursor has expanded beyond its VS Code roots with two major March 2026 developments: native availability inside JetBrains IDEs via the Agent Client Protocol, and a 2.6 release that ships automations and a marketplace plugin expansion.
Cursor is now available in IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs as of March 4, 2026. The integration works through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) Registry, which JetBrains introduced in IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1 as a standard way to browse and launch external AI agents from within the IDE. Installation requires JetBrains IDE version 2025.3.2 or later and the AI Assistant plugin. Once installed, Cursor agents can access any frontier model from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google from within IntelliJ-family IDEs, removing the VS Code lock-in that previously limited adoption among Java and JVM developers.
The Cursor 2.6 release expands the marketplace with 30+ new plugins from partners including Atlassian, Datadog, GitLab, Glean, Hugging Face, monday.com, and PlanetScale. These plugins extend the agent's reach beyond local files into the tools teams already use — for example, the Atlassian integration allows the agent to read Jira ticket context while working on code, and the Datadog plugin enables querying metrics and traces without leaving the editor.
Cursor 2.6 also ships Automations, a feature for building always-on agents triggered by external events. Automations can respond to triggers from Slack, Linear, GitHub, PagerDuty, and webhooks, enabling workflows like automatic code review when a PR is opened or a debugging session when a PagerDuty alert fires. This positions Cursor not just as an IDE assistant but as an event-driven development automation platform.
Read more about Cursor JetBrains ACP — Cursor Blog
Read more about Cursor March 2026 Updates — The Agency Journal
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