How to Install Google Antigravity and Ship Your First App
Google Antigravity is a free AI-first IDE that Google released in 2026. It looks like VS Code because it is a VS Code fork, but the center of gravity is the agent manager, not the editor.
Short answer: download Antigravity for macOS, Windows, or Linux from antigravity.google, sign in with a Google account, and pick Gemini 3 in the model selector. The free tier gives you generous agent limits — no credit card needed.
What is Google Antigravity?
Antigravity is an IDE where AI agents write code in parallel across editor, terminal, and browser surfaces. Instead of you typing and the AI autocompleting, you describe an outcome and watch agents plan, edit files, run commands, and verify the result in a real browser.
It runs on Gemini 3 and also supports Claude and GPT models if you bring your own API key. Because it is a VS Code fork, your existing extensions and keybindings mostly carry over.
How do you install Antigravity?
- Go to antigravity.google and download the installer for your OS.
- Run it. On macOS, drag the app to Applications; on Windows, the installer handles everything.
- Launch and sign in with a Google account to activate the free agent quota.
- Open the model selector and choose Gemini 3 Pro.
- Import your VS Code settings when prompted — keybindings and extensions transfer in one step.
Installation takes under ten minutes. If you have used VS Code, the layout will feel immediately familiar.
How do you build your first app with the agent manager?
Start with the Agent Manager view rather than an empty chat. That is where Antigravity differs from Cursor or Copilot.
- Create an empty folder and open it as a workspace.
- Open the Agent Manager and write a task: “Build a Next.js app that lists GitHub repos for a username, with search.”
- Watch the agent produce an implementation plan. Review it and approve before it edits files.
- Let it run. It will scaffold files, install dependencies, and start a dev server.
- Use the browser surface to click through the result and report bugs back in the same task thread.
The plan-review step matters. Skipping it lets an agent scaffold a dozen files you did not want.
Is Antigravity free?
Yes, at the time of writing. Google offers a free tier for individual developers with rate-limited agent usage, and there is no credit card requirement. The limits reset on a rolling basis.
| Plan | Cost | Agent limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Rate-limited, resets regularly |
| Google AI Pro | ~$20/month | Higher caps |
You can also plug in your own Anthropic or OpenAI key, which routes around Google’s quota entirely — but then you pay those providers directly.
What should you watch out for?
Parallel agents can conflict. If two tasks touch the same file, you get merge noise; keep separate tasks on separate directories. Autonomy also means an agent can install packages or run migrations without asking, so use a git branch and commit before you let it loose.
Antigravity suits developers who want to supervise agents rather than type every line. It is a poor fit if you want a lightweight editor — the agent surfaces add real UI overhead, and a plain VS Code install is leaner for quick scripts.
Quick Summary
- Google Antigravity is a free VS Code-based IDE centered on parallel AI agents.
- Download from antigravity.google; sign in with Google to activate the free tier.
- It runs Gemini 3 natively and supports Claude and GPT via your own API key.
- Use the Agent Manager and always review the plan before it edits files.
- Keep agents on separate directories on a git branch to avoid conflicts.
