diff --git a/apps/server/src/open.test.ts b/apps/server/src/open.test.ts
index 59b0239c96..d978cf89f0 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/open.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/open.test.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,12 @@ import { FileSystem, Path, Effect } from "effect";
 
 import {
   isCommandAvailable,
+  isAppInstalled,
   launchDetached,
   resolveAvailableEditors,
   resolveEditorLaunch,
 } from "./open";
+import {EDITORS} from "@t3tools/contracts";
 
 it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveEditorLaunch", (it) => {
   it.effect("returns commands for command-based editors", () =>
@@ -82,7 +84,8 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveEditorLaunch", (it) => {
 
       const ideaLaunch = yield* resolveEditorLaunch(
         { cwd: "/tmp/workspace", editor: "idea" },
-        "darwin",
+        "linux",
+        { PATH: "" },
       );
       assert.deepEqual(ideaLaunch, {
         command: "idea",
@@ -172,7 +175,8 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveEditorLaunch", (it) => {
 
       const ideaLineOnly = yield* resolveEditorLaunch(
         { cwd: "/tmp/workspace/AGENTS.md:48", editor: "idea" },
-        "darwin",
+        "linux",
+        { PATH: "" },
       );
       assert.deepEqual(ideaLineOnly, {
         command: "idea",
@@ -181,7 +185,8 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveEditorLaunch", (it) => {
 
       const ideaLineAndColumn = yield* resolveEditorLaunch(
         { cwd: "/tmp/workspace/src/open.ts:71:5", editor: "idea" },
-        "darwin",
+        "linux",
+        { PATH: "" },
       );
       assert.deepEqual(ideaLineAndColumn, {
         command: "idea",
@@ -221,6 +226,25 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveEditorLaunch", (it) => {
     }),
   );
 
+  it.effect("falls back to open -a on macOS when CLI is missing but .app is installed", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const idea = EDITORS.find((e) => e.id === "idea");
+      assert.isDefined(idea);
+
+      if (!isAppInstalled(idea, "darwin")) return;
+
+      const launch = yield* resolveEditorLaunch(
+        { cwd: "/tmp/workspace", editor: "idea" },
+        "darwin",
+        { PATH: "" },
+      );
+      assert.deepEqual(launch, {
+        command: "open",
+        args: ["-a", "IntelliJ IDEA", "--args", "/tmp/workspace"],
+      });
+    }),
+  );
+
   it.effect("maps file-manager editor to OS open commands", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
       const launch1 = yield* resolveEditorLaunch(
@@ -383,6 +407,16 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveAvailableEditors", (it) => {
     }),
   );
 
+  it("includes editors detected via macOS .app bundle", () => {
+    const idea = EDITORS.find((e) => e.id === "idea");
+    assert.isDefined(idea);
+
+    if (!isAppInstalled(idea, "darwin")) return;
+
+    const editors = resolveAvailableEditors("darwin", { PATH: "" });
+    assert.isTrue(editors.includes("idea"));
+  });
+
   it("omits file-manager when the platform opener is unavailable", () => {
     const editors = resolveAvailableEditors("linux", {
       PATH: "",
diff --git a/apps/server/src/open.ts b/apps/server/src/open.ts
index ef50d3a5b8..eacc276ee3 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/open.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/open.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { accessSync, constants, statSync } from "node:fs";
 import { extname, join } from "node:path";
 
-import { EDITORS, OpenError, type EditorId } from "@t3tools/contracts";
+import { EDITORS, OpenError, type EditorId, EditorDefinition } from "@t3tools/contracts";
 import { ServiceMap, Effect, Layer } from "effect";
 
 // ==============================
@@ -53,10 +53,7 @@ function parseTargetPathAndPosition(target: string): {
   };
 }
 
-function resolveCommandEditorArgs(
-  editor: (typeof EDITORS)[number],
-  target: string,
-): ReadonlyArray<string> {
+function resolveCommandEditorArgs(editor: EditorDefinition, target: string): ReadonlyArray<string> {
   const parsedTarget = parseTargetPathAndPosition(target);
 
   switch (editor.launchStyle) {
@@ -203,6 +200,31 @@ export function isCommandAvailable(
   return false;
 }
 
+function resolveAppPaths(appName: string, platform: NodeJS.Platform): ReadonlyArray<string> {
+  switch (platform) {
+    case "darwin":
+      return [`/Applications/${appName}.app`];
+    default:
+      return [];
+  }
+}
+
+export function isAppInstalled(
+  editor: EditorDefinition,
+  platform: NodeJS.Platform,
+): editor is EditorDefinition & { appName: string } {
+  if (!("appName" in editor)) return false;
+  for (const appPath of resolveAppPaths(editor.appName, platform)) {
+    try {
+      statSync(appPath);
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      // not found at this path
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 export function resolveAvailableEditors(
   platform: NodeJS.Platform = process.platform,
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
@@ -221,6 +243,8 @@ export function resolveAvailableEditors(
     const command = resolveAvailableCommand(editor.commands, { platform, env });
     if (command !== null) {
       available.push(editor.id);
+    } else if (isAppInstalled(editor, platform)) {
+      available.push(editor.id);
     }
   }
 
@@ -269,12 +293,23 @@ export const resolveEditorLaunch = Effect.fn("resolveEditorLaunch")(function* (
   }
 
   if (editorDef.commands) {
-    const command =
-      resolveAvailableCommand(editorDef.commands, { platform, env }) ?? editorDef.commands[0];
-    return {
-      command,
-      args: resolveCommandEditorArgs(editorDef, input.cwd),
-    };
+    const command = resolveAvailableCommand(editorDef.commands, { platform, env });
+    const args = resolveCommandEditorArgs(editorDef, input.cwd);
+    if (command) {
+      return { command, args };
+    }
+
+    if (isAppInstalled(editorDef, platform)) {
+      switch (platform) {
+        case "darwin":
+          return {
+            command: "open",
+            args: ["-a", editorDef.appName, "--args", ...args],
+          };
+      }
+    }
+
+    return { command: editorDef.commands[0], args };
   }
 
   if (editorDef.id !== "file-manager") {
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/editor.ts b/packages/contracts/src/editor.ts
index 2ffdf4c6db..4ba2cb4bc3 100644
--- a/packages/contracts/src/editor.ts
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/editor.ts
@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@ import { TrimmedNonEmptyString } from "./baseSchemas";
 export const EditorLaunchStyle = Schema.Literals(["direct-path", "goto", "line-column"]);
 export type EditorLaunchStyle = typeof EditorLaunchStyle.Type;
 
-type EditorDefinition = {
+export type EditorDefinition = {
   readonly id: string;
   readonly label: string;
   readonly commands: readonly [string, ...string[]] | null;
   readonly launchStyle: EditorLaunchStyle;
+  readonly appName?: string;
 };
 
 export const EDITORS = [
@@ -24,7 +25,13 @@ export const EDITORS = [
   { id: "vscodium", label: "VSCodium", commands: ["codium"], launchStyle: "goto" },
   { id: "zed", label: "Zed", commands: ["zed", "zeditor"], launchStyle: "direct-path" },
   { id: "antigravity", label: "Antigravity", commands: ["agy"], launchStyle: "goto" },
-  { id: "idea", label: "IntelliJ IDEA", commands: ["idea"], launchStyle: "line-column" },
+  {
+    id: "idea",
+    label: "IntelliJ IDEA",
+    commands: ["idea"],
+    launchStyle: "line-column",
+    appName: "IntelliJ IDEA",
+  },
   { id: "file-manager", label: "File Manager", commands: null, launchStyle: "direct-path" },
 ] as const satisfies ReadonlyArray<EditorDefinition>;