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IntelliJ IDEA

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JetBrains/intellij-community

IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition & IntelliJ Platform

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Created:September 30, 2011
Language:Java
License:Apache License 2.0

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Data as of: 7/17/2025, 02:30 AM

Development Tool

IntelliJ IDEA

Overview

IntelliJ IDEA is a powerful integrated development environment (IDE) developed by JetBrains. Primarily focused on Java and Kotlin development, it provides professional developers with rich features and advanced code analysis and assistance capabilities.

Details

IntelliJ IDEA was released by JetBrains in 2001 and has become the industry-leading integrated development environment. "IDEA" stands for "Intelligent Development Environment Assistant," reflecting its signature intelligent development assistance features. It offers two editions: Community Edition (free) and Ultimate Edition (paid), with the Community Edition providing a comprehensive Java and Kotlin development environment.

The greatest strength of IntelliJ IDEA lies in its advanced code analysis and intelligent code completion capabilities. It significantly improves development efficiency through context-aware accurate completion suggestions, real-time error detection, and comprehensive refactoring features. It covers all aspects of modern development including integration with various frameworks (Spring, Hibernate, Struts), build tools (Maven, Gradle, SBT), powerful debugging features, Git integration, and database connectivity.

Major updates in 2024 include Java 24 support, introduction of Kotlin notebooks, performance improvements with K2 mode (beta), full-line code completion features, and the new UI becoming the default. Its rich plugin ecosystem enables support for various programming languages and technology stacks.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

  • Advanced Code Completion: Highly accurate code completion and generation with contextual understanding
  • Comprehensive Refactoring: Safe and powerful refactoring capabilities
  • Framework Integration: Deep integration with major frameworks like Spring and Hibernate
  • Powerful Debugging: Advanced debugger and profiler features
  • VCS Integration: Excellent integration with version control systems like Git and SVN
  • Database Support: Integrated database tools and SQL completion
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem: Highly extensible plugin system

Disadvantages

  • High Memory Consumption: Requires significant RAM and runs slowly on low-spec environments
  • High Learning Curve: Complex feature set makes it difficult for beginners to master
  • Long Startup Time: Takes time to start up with large projects
  • Expensive Ultimate Edition: Annual subscription for Ultimate Edition is costly
  • Complex UI: Numerous menus and settings can be confusing
  • Performance Issues with Large Projects: Can become unstable with extremely large codebases

Key Links

Code Examples

Project Configuration

<!-- pom.xml - Maven Project Configuration -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 
         http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>sample-project</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>
    
    <properties>
        <maven.compiler.source>17</maven.compiler.source>
        <maven.compiler.target>17</maven.compiler.target>
        <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
    </properties>
    
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
            <version>3.2.0</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit-jupiter</artifactId>
            <version>5.10.0</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
</project>

IDE Configuration Files

<!-- .idea/modules.xml - Project Module Configuration -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project version="4">
  <component name="ProjectModuleManager">
    <modules>
      <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/sample-project.iml" 
              filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/sample-project.iml" />
    </modules>
  </component>
</project>

Run Configuration

<!-- .idea/runConfigurations/Application.xml -->
<component name="ProjectRunConfigurationManager">
  <configuration default="false" name="Application" type="Application" 
                 factoryName="Application">
    <option name="MAIN_CLASS_NAME" value="com.example.Application" />
    <module name="sample-project" />
    <option name="VM_PARAMETERS" 
            value="-Xms512m -Xmx1024m -Dspring.profiles.active=dev" />
    <option name="PROGRAM_PARAMETERS" value="--debug" />
    <option name="WORKING_DIRECTORY" value="$PROJECT_DIR$" />
    <envs>
      <env name="ENVIRONMENT" value="development" />
    </envs>
    <method v="2">
      <option name="Make" enabled="true" />
    </method>
  </configuration>
</component>

Code Style Settings

<!-- .idea/codeStyles/Project.xml -->
<component name="ProjectCodeStyleConfiguration">
  <code_scheme name="Project" version="173">
    <JavaCodeStyleSettings>
      <option name="ANNOTATION_PARAMETER_WRAP" value="1" />
      <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_ANNOTATION_PARAMETERS" value="true" />
      <option name="INSERT_INNER_CLASS_IMPORTS" value="true" />
      <option name="CLASS_COUNT_TO_USE_IMPORT_ON_DEMAND" value="999" />
      <option name="NAMES_COUNT_TO_USE_IMPORT_ON_DEMAND" value="999" />
    </JavaCodeStyleSettings>
    <codeStyleSettings language="JAVA">
      <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="120" />
      <option name="WRAP_ON_TYPING" value="1" />
      <option name="KEEP_LINE_BREAKS" value="false" />
      <option name="KEEP_FIRST_COLUMN_COMMENT" value="false" />
      <option name="KEEP_CONTROL_STATEMENT_IN_ONE_LINE" value="false" />
      <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_DECLARATIONS" value="1" />
      <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
      <option name="BLANK_LINES_BEFORE_PACKAGE" value="0" />
      <option name="BLANK_LINES_AFTER_PACKAGE" value="1" />
      <option name="BLANK_LINES_BEFORE_IMPORTS" value="1" />
      <option name="BLANK_LINES_AFTER_IMPORTS" value="1" />
      <indentOptions>
        <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
        <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="4" />
        <option name="USE_TAB_CHARACTER" value="false" />
        <option name="SMART_TABS" value="false" />
      </indentOptions>
    </codeStyleSettings>
  </code_scheme>
</component>

Debug Configuration

<!-- .idea/runConfigurations/Debug_Application.xml -->
<component name="ProjectRunConfigurationManager">
  <configuration default="false" name="Debug Application" type="Application" 
                 factoryName="Application">
    <option name="MAIN_CLASS_NAME" value="com.example.Application" />
    <module name="sample-project" />
    <option name="VM_PARAMETERS" 
            value="-Xms512m -Xmx1024m -Dspring.profiles.active=debug -Ddebug=true" />
    <option name="PROGRAM_PARAMETERS" value="--debug --trace" />
    <option name="WORKING_DIRECTORY" value="$PROJECT_DIR$" />
    <envs>
      <env name="ENVIRONMENT" value="debug" />
      <env name="LOG_LEVEL" value="DEBUG" />
    </envs>
    <method v="2">
      <option name="Make" enabled="true" />
    </method>
  </configuration>
</component>

Live Templates

<!-- .idea/templates/Java.xml - Code Templates -->
<templateSet group="Java">
  <template name="main" value="public static void main(String[] args) {&#10;    $END$&#10;}" 
            description="main method" toReformat="true" toShortenFQNames="true">
    <context>
      <option name="JAVA_CODE" value="true" />
    </context>
  </template>
  
  <template name="sout" value="System.out.println($EXPR$);" 
            description="Prints a string to System.out" toReformat="true" toShortenFQNames="true">
    <variable name="EXPR" expression="" defaultValue="&quot;&quot;" alwaysStopAt="true" />
    <context>
      <option name="JAVA_CODE" value="true" />
    </context>
  </template>
  
  <template name="psvm" value="public static void main(String[] args) {&#10;    $END$&#10;}" 
            description="public static void main" toReformat="true" toShortenFQNames="true">
    <context>
      <option name="JAVA_CODE" value="true" />
    </context>
  </template>
</templateSet>