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IntelliJ IDEA

Productivity tips for IntelliJ. The shipped settings (codestyles, keymaps, color schemes) live in conf/intellij/ and are linked into IntelliJ's config dir by init/50_macos_intellij.sh.

Shortcuts below are from the default IntelliJ macOS keymap; Linux/WSL equivalents are shown in parentheses where they differ. The mapping isn't always Cmd → Ctrl (e.g. Type Hierarchy uses Ctrl + H on both, Go to Class is Cmd + O on macOS but Ctrl + N on Linux). If a binding doesn't fire, look it up with Cmd + Shift + A → Find Action.

Visuals & readability​

Use colour to surface the things that matter — variables, brackets, errors, comments.

Tip 50.1: Enable Semantic Highlighting​

Different colours per local variable / parameter — makes data flow visible at a glance.

Settings → Editor → Color Scheme → Language Defaults → check Semantic highlighting.

Particularly useful in long methods or unfamiliar code.

Tip 50.2: Rainbow Brackets Plugin​

Colour-codes matched brackets/parens so nested structures are instantly readable. Big win in Kotlin/Java with deeply nested lambdas.

Settings → Plugins → search "Rainbow Brackets" → install → restart.

Plugin: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/10080-rainbow-brackets

Tip 50.3: Make Errors Stand Out​

Tiny red squiggles are easy to miss in dense code. Give errors a background colour so they jump out.

Settings → Editor → Color Scheme → General → Errors and Warnings → Error → set Background (e.g. #630202).

Same trick works for Warnings, deprecation, and unused-symbol if you want to dial up their visibility.

Tip 50.4: Make Comments Visible​

Defaults render comments in low-contrast italic grey — they fade into the background. Comments are written for humans; bump the contrast.

Settings → Editor → Color Scheme → Language Defaults → Comments → Line / Block / Doc comment → raise Foreground contrast (or check Bold).

Search & navigation​

Move around code without the mouse.

Tip 50.5: Search Everywhere & Find Action​

Double Shift             Search Everywhere — files, classes, symbols, settings, recent
Cmd + Shift + A          Find Action — invoke any IDE command by name

Find Action is the universal escape hatch — when you don't know the shortcut, ask for the action.

Tip 50.6: Recent Files & Recent Locations​

Cmd + E                  Recent Files
Cmd + Shift + E          Recent Locations (recently visited code positions, with a preview)

Recent Locations is underrated — much better than Cmd+E when you remember "I saw this code somewhere five minutes ago" but not the file name.

Tip 50.7: Direct-Path Navigation​

Cmd + Shift + A / Double Shift are universal but slower. These jump directly:

Cmd + O                  Go to class                   (Linux/WSL: Ctrl + N)
Cmd + Shift + O          Go to file                    (Linux/WSL: Ctrl + Shift + N)
Cmd + F12                File structure popup (methods/fields in current file)
Alt + F1                 Reveal current file/symbol in Project view (or any other tool window)
Cmd + [ / Cmd + ]        Navigate back / forward       (Linux/WSL: Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right)
Cmd + Shift + T          Jump to (or create) the test class for the current class

Tip 50.8: Hierarchy & Inline Docs​

Ctrl + H                 Type hierarchy (parents/subclasses of the current type)
Ctrl + Alt + H           Call hierarchy (callers of the current method)
Alt + Space              Quick definition popup        (Linux/WSL: Ctrl + Shift + I)
F1                       Quick documentation (Javadoc) (Linux/WSL: Ctrl + Q)

Quick Definition is the one — peek at a function's body without losing your place. Note: Ctrl (not Cmd) on macOS for the hierarchy actions; Cmd+H would hide the IDE.

Editing & refactoring​

Change code with the keyboard, not the mouse.

Tip 50.9: Refactor: Extract Anything​

Cmd + Alt + M            Extract method
Cmd + Alt + V            Extract variable
Cmd + Alt + F            Extract field
Cmd + Alt + C            Extract constant
Cmd + Alt + P            Extract parameter

Select an expression first, then hit the extract you want — IntelliJ infers the type and offers naming.

Tip 50.10: Paste from History​

Cmd + Shift + V          Paste from clipboard history (last ~5 entries)

Saves you when you copied something else over the thing you actually needed.

Build & debugging​

Tools for the workflow around your code, not in it.

Tip 50.11: Analyze Stack Trace​

Paste a stack trace from anywhere (k8s logs, Jenkins, terminal) and IntelliJ formats it with clickable file/line links.

Analyze → Analyze Stack Trace → paste → OK.

To make it automatic on copy, tick Automatically detect and analyze thread dumps copied to the clipboard outside the IDE in the same dialog. After that, copying a stack trace anywhere and switching to IntelliJ pops up the formatted view.

Tip 50.12: Add Dependencies from Build Files​

Skip the search-on-Maven-Central detour — IntelliJ pulls coordinates from the local index.

Cmd + N (Alt + Insert on Linux/WSL)    Cursor inside <dependencies> in pom.xml, or
                                       inside dependencies { } in build.gradle / build.gradle.kts

Type a name → fuzzy-search Maven Central → pick a version. For Gradle, IntelliJ inserts the right implementation "group:artifact:version" line; for Maven, the full <dependency> block.

If your cursor isn't inside dependencies { } (or the popup doesn't show "Add Maven artifact dependency"), use File → Project Structure → Modules → Dependencies → + → Library → From Maven — works for either build system.

Same Cmd + N / Alt + Insert shortcut also generates getters/setters/constructors/toString inside Java classes.

Setup & customisation​

One-time tweaks: behaviour settings and plugins worth installing.

Tip 50.13: Auto-Import on the Fly​

Stop importing manually. IntelliJ adds unique imports as you type and removes unused ones on save.

Settings → Editor → General → Auto Import →

  • check Add unambiguous imports on the fly
  • check Optimize imports on the fly

Tip 50.14: Tame the Intention Bulb​

The lightbulb hint pop-up gets noisy. Disable individual intentions or the bulb itself.

Settings → Editor → Intentions → uncheck specific intentions, or turn off "Show intention bulb" entirely.

Tip 50.15: Key Promoter X Plugin​

Pop-up nag whenever you click a menu item that has a keyboard shortcut. Best way to actually learn IntelliJ's shortcuts.

Settings → Plugins → search "Key Promoter X" → install → restart.

Plugin: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9792-key-promoter-x

Tip 50.16: .ignore Plugin​

Adds syntax highlighting, templates, and a generator for .gitignore, .dockerignore, .eslintignore, and a dozen others.

Settings → Plugins → search ".ignore" → install → restart.

Plugin: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7495--ignore