IntelliJ IDEA — configuration
How IntelliJ is set up and made readable.
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.
Day-to-day usage tips are in 51. IntelliJ IDEA — usage.
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).
Setup & customisation
One-time tweaks: behaviour settings and plugins worth installing.
Tip 50.5: 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 50.6: 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 50.7: 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 50.8: .ignore Plugin
Adds syntax highlighting, templates, and a generator for .gitignore, .dockerignore, .eslintignore, and a dozen others.
Settings → Plugins → search ".ignore" → install → restart.