# PyCharm Plugin API Breaking Change: DirectoryProjectGenerator No Longer Working in 2025.2

**URL:** <https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626>\
**Category:** IntelliJ Platform\
**Tags:** plugin-development\
**Created:** [August 26, 2025, 5:12am UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626 "2025-08-26T05:12:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![a1132454419](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/a1132454419/32/1830_2.png) [@a1132454419](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/a1132454419)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 5:12am UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626/1 "2025-08-26T05:12:52Z")

</div>

I’m a plugin developer who has been maintaining a PyCharm plugin that adds custom project creation functionality. After upgrading from PyCharm 2024.x to 2025.2, my plugin’s project creation action is no longer visible in the New Project dialog, even though the plugin loads without errors.

## Environment Details

- **PyCharm Version** : 2025.2 (252.x)

- **Previous Working Version** : 2024.x

- **Plugin Type** : Custom project generator

- **Target Platform** : Both PyCharm Community and Professional

## Technical Background

### What Previously Worked

In PyCharm 2024.x, I implemented a custom project generator by:

1. **Implementing DirectoryProjectGenerator interface** :

```auto
class MyCustomProjectGenerator : DirectoryProjectGenerator<MySettings> {
    // Custom project creation logic
    override fun generateProject(project: Project, baseDir: VirtualFile, settings: MySettings, module: Module) {
        // Implementation
    }
}

```

1. **Registering via plugin.xml** :

```auto
<extensions defaultExtensionNs="com.intellij">
    <directoryProjectGenerator implementation="com.example.MyCustomProjectGenerator"/>
</extensions>

```

This approach worked perfectly and the custom project type appeared in PyCharm’s New Project dialog.

### What’s Broken in 2025.2

After analyzing PyCharm 2025.2 source code, I discovered that the project creation mechanism has been refactored. In `PyV3NewProjectStepAction.getActions()`, there’s now a filtering logic:

```auto
// Show non-python actions as a collapsed group
val actions = super.getActions(generators, callback)
val pythonActions = actions.filter {
    it is PyV3ProjectSpecificStep ||
    it is PromoStep && it.generator.isPython
}

```

This filter only allows:

- Actions implementing `PyV3ProjectSpecificStep`

- `PromoStep` actions where `generator.isPython` is true

### Investigation Results

1. **DirectoryProjectGenerator still exists** but seems to be filtered out by the new logic

2. **PyV3ProjectSpecificStep** appears to be the new expected interface, but it’s marked as `internal` and not accessible for plugin development

3. **No migration documentation** found in official PyCharm 2025.2 release notes or plugin development documentation

4. **API changes documentation** doesn’t mention this breaking change

## What I’ve Tried

1. ✅ **Verified plugin loading** : Plugin loads successfully, no errors in IDE logs

2. ✅ **Checked DirectoryProjectGenerator registration** : Still registered correctly

3. ✅ **Reviewed 2025.2 API changes** : No mention of this change in official documentation

4. ❌ **Attempted to implement PyV3ProjectSpecificStep** : Class is marked as `internal` and not accessible

5. ❌ **Tried PromoStep approach** : Unable to find proper documentation or examples

## Questions for JetBrains Team

1. **Is this an intentional breaking change?** Should plugins no longer use DirectoryProjectGenerator?

2. **What’s the official migration path?** How should plugin developers adapt their project generators for 2025.2?

3. **Will PyV3ProjectSpecificStep be made public?** Or is there an alternative public API we should use?

4. **Documentation availability** : When will the official migration guide be available?

5. **Backward compatibility** : Will there be a compatibility layer for existing DirectoryProjectGenerator implementations?

## Impact

This change affects not just my plugin but potentially all PyCharm plugins that provide custom project creation functionality. Many plugin developers might face this same issue when users upgrade to 2025.2.

## Requested Assistance

I would greatly appreciate:

1. **Official guidance** on how to migrate DirectoryProjectGenerator implementations to work with 2025.2

2. **Code examples** or documentation showing the proper way to implement custom project creation in 2025.2

3. **Timeline information** for when official documentation will be available

4. **Temporary workarounds** if available while waiting for official solutions

## Additional Context

This appears to be a significant architectural change in PyCharm’s project creation system, but the lack of migration documentation makes it difficult for plugin developers to adapt. Any guidance from the JetBrains team would be extremely helpful for the plugin development community.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yuriy.artamonov](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/yuriy.artamonov/32/48_2.png) [@yuriy.artamonov](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/yuriy.artamonov)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 7:27am UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626/2 "2025-08-26T07:27:46Z")

</div>

Thank you for the thorough investigation. This is definitely not intended, let us look into that!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![a1132454419](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/a1132454419/32/1830_2.png) [@a1132454419](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/a1132454419)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 7:39am UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626/3 "2025-08-26T07:39:33Z")

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I really appreciate your help on this.  
As this issue is affecting my development progress, it would be great if you could provide an update or timeline when possible.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yuriy.artamonov](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/yuriy.artamonov/32/48_2.png) [@yuriy.artamonov](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/yuriy.artamonov)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-breaking-change-directoryprojectgenerator-no-longer-working-in-2025-2/2626/5 "2025-09-05T15:36:06Z")

</div>

As far as I can see, the update 2025.2.1 should fix the situation

> [@PyCharm Plugin API deprecated without backup support nor migration instructions](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/pycharm-plugin-api-deprecated-without-backup-support-nor-migration-instructions/2671/2):
>
> Hello Hector! Thank you for the detailed description of the issue and the time you’ve invested in refactoring your plugin for the new API. First of all, I sincerely apologize for the difficulties you’ve encountered while migrating to PyCharm 2025.2. I understand how frustrating it can be when following the official documentation doesn’t lead to the expected results. The good news is that we’ve decided to revert such breaking changes. Have you checked that with PyCharm 2025.2.1? I’ve checked t…