Getting Started with Google’s Antigravity IDE

If you have been following the developer space recently, you have probably heard the whispers and the loud shouting about Google's new Antigravity IDE. Released in late 2025, it promised to shift us from the era of "AI Copilots" (where the AI suggests code) to the era of "AI Agents" (where the AI actually does the work).

I finally decided to take the plunge and move my workflow over to Antigravity for a weekend project. Is it just a rebranded VS Code, or is it actually the future of coding? Here is my experience getting started and what you need to know before you install it.

What Makes Antigravity Different?

Before we get into the "how-to," we need to talk about the "what." Most AI tools we use today are autocomplete engines. You type a function name, and they guess the rest. Antigravity is different because it is Agent-First.

It features a "Mission Control" center where you don't just ask for code; you assign tasks. You can tell it, "Build a React dashboard that tracks crypto prices," and it doesn't just dump code in the chat. It creates a plan, creates the files, writes the code, and here is the kicker it opens a built-in browser to test its own work.

Step 1: The Setup (Easier Than Expected)

Getting started was surprisingly smooth. You download the installer from the official Google site (it supports Windows, Mac, and Linux). Once you launch it, the interface feels very familiar.

• The Look: It is based on Visual Studio Code. If you use VS Code, all your muscle memory still works.
• The Model: It comes powered by Gemini 3 out of the box. You can also connect other models like Claude or GPT-OSS if you prefer, which is a nice touch for flexibility.
• Permissions: This is the important part. During setup, it asks for permission to run terminal commands. You can set this to "Ask me every time" or "Auto." I recommend "Auto" for safe commands if you want the real agentic experience, but keep it restricted for things like file deletion.

Step 2: My First "Mission"

I wanted to test the claim that it could handle a full workflow. So, I opened the Agent Manager (the sidebar on the right) and gave it a prompt:

The Planning Mode

This is where Antigravity shines. Instead of rushing to write code, it entered Planning Mode. It generated a "Task Artifact" basically a checklist of what it was going to do:

1. Set up the Flask environment.
2. Create the HTML templates.
3. Write the database logic.
4. Implement the chart using Chart.js.

I was able to review this plan and click "Approve." It felt like doing a code review for a junior developer rather than writing code myself.

Step 3: The Magic Moment (Artifacts)

As the agent worked, it didn't just show me text logs. It generated Artifacts.

At one point, the agent realized the chart wasn't rendering. I watched in the split-screen browser as the agent opened the page, saw the error, debugged the JavaScript, and refreshed the page. It recorded a short video of this test which I could watch later. Seeing the AI click buttons and scroll through the page it just built was honestly a bit surreal.

The Pros and Cons

After using it for a few days, here is my honest take.

The Good

• It keeps you in the flow: You don't have to tab out to Google or ChatGPT. The context is all there.
• Verifiable work: The artifacts (screenshots and logs) give you trust that the code actually works.
• Gemini 3 is fast: The latency is much lower than I expected for such complex reasoning tasks.

The Bad

• It can get confused: On complex logic, the agent sometimes got stuck in a loop, trying to fix a bug and breaking something else. You still need to be the "Senior Engineer" and stop it when it spirals.
• Resource Heavy: Running the IDE, the agents, and the local server did heat up my laptop significantly.

Final Thoughts

Getting started with Antigravity IDE requires a mindset shift. You are doing less typing and more managing. It is not perfect yet, it effectively behaves like a very fast, very eager intern who sometimes makes silly mistakes.

However, once you get used to the Manager View and trusting the Planning Mode, it is hard to go back to a standard editor. If you haven't tried it yet, download it, give it a simple project, and watch the magic happen.