# Flexible Delphi - Delphi and Free Pascal in JetBrains

Flexible Delphi brings Delphi and Free Pascal to JetBrains IDEs: a native Object Pascal parser, a form designer that keeps binary DFMs binary, and debugging.


Okay, so this one is a bit of a nostalgia trip.
Many of us learned to program with Delphi. Its form designer made it so easy: build a window, double-click a button, write the code behind it. And a lot of Delphi and Free Pascal code still runs today - in companies, in schools, and in old projects on our own disks. It deserves a good editor.
The problem is working with it outside the Delphi IDE: binary forms, ANSI source files, conditional compilation, Free Pascal dialects… So: Flexible Delphi.
After Flexible COBOL last week, that’s two classic languages in a row. What can I say, they deserve love too :)
What’s in it:
A native Object Pascal parser for Delphi, Free Pascal (Delphi and ObjFPC modes), Turbo Pascal and ISO Pascal. No language server. A form designer. A Design tab, F12 to flip between form and code, a palette of 80 VCL and LCL components on 7 pages, and an Object Inspector with Properties and Events. Double-click an event and you land in its handler. Yes, just like you remember. Binary DFMs stay binary. Binary DFM files open and save back as binary. If you want text, one step converts them. Text DFM, LFM and FMX work too. Conditional compilation ({$IFDEF}, {$IF}) is evaluated with your project’s defines, and inactive code is greyed out. ANSI Windows-1252 source files are detected. Delphi-style navigation: Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down between declaration and implementation, Ctrl+Shift+C for class completion. Docs and templates: hover docs from /// XMLDoc, bundled docs for 320 RTL and VCL symbols, and 28 code templates you’ll recognize (tryf, forin, prop). Language injection: the built-in assembler in asm blocks, and SQL, RegExp, JSON, HTML or XML inside strings. Compile, run and debug: SDKs for Free Pascal, Lazarus and Delphi, project import from .dproj, .lpi, .dof and .cfg, and a GDB debugger for Free Pascal and Lazarus builds. Inspections for things like an unset Result, a missing inherited, empty except blocks, or Delphi-only syntax in a Free Pascal file. An embedded MCP server, so your AI agent can read the code structure and forms, and compile, run and debug. The binary DFM part is the one I’d point at. Old projects often keep their forms in the binary format, and Flexible Delphi reads and writes it as is. Your old project stays the way it is, unless you decide otherwise.
The limits: debugging covers Free Pascal and Lazarus builds. And it’s unofficial - not affiliated with Embarcadero, Free Pascal, Lazarus or JetBrains.
30-day free trial, then a paid license. Free for students, teachers and open source.
Get it here: Flexible Delphi on the JetBrains Marketplace
Cheers, Paul