CircleCI's integration with IDEs using the list_followed_projects tool and the MCP server allows developers to manage and interact with their CircleCI projects directly within their development environment, enhancing efficiency by eliminating the need to switch between browser tabs or re-authenticate across tools. By leveraging an AI assistant, developers can list their followed CircleCI projects, select a project to work on, and perform various tasks such as retrieving build failures or checking the status of the latest pipeline run, all while maintaining project context without needing to manually input project details. This streamlined workflow requires the setup of a CircleCI account, an IDE supporting the MCP protocol, and authorization through a personal API token, enabling seamless access to CircleCI data and tools for a more focused and productive development experience.