What are the AMA Dev Tools?
Not long ago, we announced the introduction of a brand new set of IDE plugins to support our customers with their application modernization journeys. The Application Modernization Accelerator Developer Tools (AMA Dev Tools for short) help developers easily and quickly modernize their enterprise Java applications to use a modern Java runtime, the latest enterprise Java APIs, and current Java SE versions. These IDE plugins and extension accompany our Application Modernization Accelerator (AMA), helping to reduce friction for developers modernizing Java applications by removing the need to context switch and providing useful insights and automations directly within their working environment (their IDE of choice).
AMA Dev Tools are available as a component with IBM Enterprise Application Runtimes (EAR) and with IBM Modernized Runtime Extension for Java (MoRE), and as enabling software with IBM Enterprise Application Service for Java (EASeJ).
AMA Dev Tools 1.0 now available in IntelliJ IDEA
Excitingly, as well as being available in Visual Studio Code and Eclipse IDE, AMA Dev Tools 1.0 is now also available in IntelliJ IDEA! This means that developers using IntelliJ IDEA as their IDE of choice can now make use of all the features introduced in this first major release of our new AMA Dev Tools, which includes being able to:
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Analyze your legacy enterprise Java application and explore your application modernization plan without context switching!
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Effortlessly get insights on what is required for your application modernization, including the estimated effort, cost and complexity, and recommended solutions through the AMA migration plan – all accessible within your IDE, including:
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Java runtime modernization (e.g. WebSphere Application Server traditional to Liberty)
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Java version upgrade (e.g. Java 8 to Java 17, 21, etc)
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Effortlessly apply recommendations and automations, all in your IDE!
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Recommended, automated recipes and rules, based on your personalized migration plan, can be applied effortlessly within your IDE to quickly implement any code and configuration changes necessary for modernization.
What’s new in AMA Dev Tools 1.1?
In addition to AMA Dev Tools 1.0 being released on IntelliJ IDEA, we have also released a new version of the AMA Dev Tools (1.1) on Eclipse IDE and Visual Studio Code. In this latest release, two new exciting features have been introduced:
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Migrate JAX-RPC services to JAX-WS services with assistance
For legacy enterprise Java applications that use JAX-RPC technologies, the JAX-RPC to JAX-WS source migration helper available in the 1.1 release of AMA Dev Tools will assist developers to migrate their JAX-RPC services to JAX-WS services in a guided manner with automation to accelerate and simplify the efforts required to modenrize legacy JAX-RPC application code.
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Support for non-Maven applications
Besides Apache Maven, AMA Dev Tools now supports applications that are built using alternative build tools with limitations.
What does this mean for your team?
It means you can save time and engineering effort when migrating! Organizations who have used AMA and AMA Dev Tools together have saved up to 200 hours (70%) of engineering effort, freeing up development teams and enabling much faster application modernization.
These tools can be easily downloaded via the IDE marketplaces enabling developers to get up and running with them almost immediately! Why not try them out for yourself?
Eclipse IDE: https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/ibm%C2%AE-application-modernization-accelerator-developer-tools
Visual Studio Code: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=IBM.ama-dev-tools
IntelliJ IDEA: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/28653-ibm-application-modernization-accelerator-developer-tools
Find out more:
To learn more about these new features and see a live demo, be sure to check out our CAB session scheduled for December 4th 2025:
www.ibm.biz/AMADT1-1_CAB_4Dec
Additional Resources: