Markdown preview broken after 2026.1.1 update; ide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled=false prevents startup
Answered
Hello,
After updating IntelliJ IDEA, the Markdown preview stopped working. While investigating, I added a JVM flag that made the IDE fail to start. I have since removed that line from my custom idea.vmoptions and the IDE launches again, but the Markdown preview issue remains.
Environment
- IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1.1 Ultimate
- Build:
IU-261.23567.138 - Runtime: JetBrains Runtime
25.0.2 - OS: macOS
26.3.1 - Metal rendering: ON
Problem
- Markdown preview no longer displays (worked before the update).
- The Markdown plugin is enabled,
.mdfile association looks correct, and using the preview toggle does not help.
What I tried
-
Basics: Markdown plugin enabled, file type association for
.md, preview show/hide — no change. - Invalidate caches (File → Invalidate Caches → restart) — no improvement.
-
Registry: I cannot find
ide.browser.jcef.enabledwhen searching the Registry; the search results I get seem unrelated (e.g. Docker-related entries). I may be missing the correct key name for 2026.1 / JBR 25. - Help → About: I do not see JCEF mentioned there (not sure if that is expected in this version).
-
Custom VM options: I added:
-Dide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled=false
Result: IntelliJ would not start until I removed this line from my custom VM options file.
Current status
- IDE starts again after removing the JVM flag above.
- Markdown preview is still broken.
Question / request
- Is
-Dide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled=falsestill supported on IDEA 2026.1.1 with JBR 25? If not, is there an official replacement or a supported way to debug JCEF / in-process browser issues? - What is the recommended way to troubleshoot Markdown preview (JCEF / embedded browser) on 2026.1 and macOS — e.g. Metal on/off, logs to collect, or known issues with this build?
I can attach logs or a screen recording if you tell me which bundle is most useful (e.g. Help → Collect Logs and Diagnostic Data).
Thank you.
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Markdown visualization is broken for me as well across all projects.
Error from log:
2026-04-25 10:57:08,648 [55887502] INFO - #org.intellij.plugins.markdown.ui.preview.MarkdownPreviewFileEditor$Companion - MarkdownPreviewFileEditor: updateHtml
2026-04-25 10:57:08,648 [55887502] WARN - #org.intellij.plugins.markdown.ui.preview.MarkdownPreviewFileEditor$Companion - MarkdownPreviewFileEditor: panel is null, cannot update preview
-------------------------------------
IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1.1
Build #IU-261.23567.138, built on April 23, 2026
Source revision: a789291cd24df
Runtime version: 25.0.2+10-b329.117 aarch64137.0.17-261-b81
VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM by JetBrains s.r.o.
Toolkit: sun.lwawt.macosx.LWCToolkit
macOS 26.4.1
GC: G1 Young Generation, G1 Concurrent GC, G1 Old Generation
Memory: 4096M
Cores: 10
Metal Rendering is ON
Registry:
ide.experimental.ui=true
llm.chat.agent.codex.install.codex.version=0.122.0
llm.chat.agent.codex.install.acp.server.version=0.0.38
trace.state.event.service.url=https://api.jetbrains.cloud/trace-status
Non-Bundled Plugins:
name.kropp.intellij.makefile (261.22158.185)
org.jetbrains.bazel (2026.1.1.2)
com.intellij.ml.llm (261.23567.138)
Subversion (261.23567.149)
org.intellij.plugins.hcl (261.23567.28)
com.intellij.wiremock (261.1.0)
com.github.xepozz.gitattributes (2026.1.0)
com.anthropic.code.plugin (0.1.14-beta)
PerforceDirectPlugin (261.23567.28)
com.intellij.spring.debugger (261.23567.28)
PythonCore (261.23567.138)
com.intellij.nativeDebug (261.23567.80)
org.jetbrains.plugins.node-remote-interpreter (261.23567.143)
MavenRunHelper (5.0.0-IJ2025.1)
Pythonid (261.23567.138)
com.github.copilot (1.8.0-243)
Kotlin: 261.23567.138-IJ
Hello Kokorononakaniitumo and Arne
Thanks for reporting this. I created a YouTrack issue for your case so you can follow updates there directly, IJPL-243620. I also linked it internally to the ongoing investigation on our side. If possible, please add logs from Help | Collect Logs and Diagnostic Data to the public issue, as that may help the team narrow it down faster.
Also, please upvote so we can see the real number of affected users.
Same for me
Hi Alexis
Please subscribe to IJPL-243620 for further updates and upvote so we can see the number of affected users. Also, if possible, upload the logs there for the team to investigate further.