Backend Development 8 min read

Boost Java Development Efficiency with 10 Must‑Have IntelliJ IDEA Plugins

This article introduces ten practical IntelliJ IDEA plugins—including POJO‑to‑JSON, Cool Request, CamelCase, any‑rule, Grep Console, GenerateO2O, Smart Input, Squaretest, TONGYI Lingma, and Auto‑Filling Java Call Arguments—that streamline Java backend development, improve code quality, and accelerate daily coding tasks.

macrozheng
macrozheng
macrozheng
Boost Java Development Efficiency with 10 Must‑Have IntelliJ IDEA Plugins

1. POJO to JSON

When you need to convert existing Java POJOs to JSON, the POJO to JSON plugin lets you right‑click a class and select

MakeJson

to generate JSON data, supporting nested objects and saving time compared to manual testing or using libraries like FastJSON.

2. Cool Request

Cool Request

is an IDEA‑based HTTP debugging tool similar to a lightweight Postman. It scans all

Controller

classes and methods annotated with

@RequestMapping

or other mapping annotations, grouping APIs by project. Clicking the generated icon opens a side panel where you can test endpoints, import/export CURL commands, manage environments, and export API definitions to Apifox.

3. CamelCase

The

CamelCase

plugin converts naming styles, allowing quick transformation between kebab‑case, SNAKE_CASE, PascalCase, camelCase, snake_case, and spaced formats. Example conversion of a static variable

public static final String aaaBaa = "aaaBaa";

to uppercase with underscores is handled automatically.

<code>public static final String aaaBaa = "aaaBaa";</code>

4. any‑rule

any‑rule

provides a comprehensive regular‑expression dictionary. You can invoke

AnyRule

via right‑click to search, validate, and view examples for a wide range of regex patterns, making it a handy utility for developers.

5. Grep Console

Grep Console

customizes console output colors based on log levels, making logs easier to read. Example test method demonstrates colored output for INFO, ERROR, WARN, DEBUG, and TRACE logs.

<code>@Test
public void logTest() {
    log.info("公众号:程序员小富");
    log.error("公众号:程序员小富");
    log.warn("公众号:程序员小富");
    log.debug("公众号:程序员小富");
    log.trace("公众号:程序员小富");
}</code>

6. GenerateO2O

The

GenerateO2O

plugin automatically generates conversion code between PO objects and DTOs, eliminating the need to write repetitive

Converter

methods manually.

7. Smart Input

Smart Input

switches the input method automatically: it activates Chinese input when you write comments and switches back to English for code, removing the hassle of manual toggling.

8. Squaretest

Squaretest

creates mock unit tests automatically, producing high‑quality test code that can run out‑of‑the‑box. It is especially useful when unit‑test coverage is a KPI.

9. TONGYI Lingma

Alibaba’s AI coding plugin

TONGYI Lingma

generates code from natural‑language descriptions, offers context‑aware completions, and can produce unit tests for frameworks such as JUnit, Mockito, Spring Test, and pytest, similar to Squaretest.

10. Auto Filling Java Call Arguments

This plugin auto‑fills method call arguments when a method has many parameters, saving time by avoiding manual copy‑and‑paste of each argument.

Backend DevelopmentproductivityIntelliJ IDEAdevelopment toolsJava plugins
macrozheng
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macrozheng

Dedicated to Java tech sharing and dissecting top open-source projects. Topics include Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Docker, Kubernetes and more. Author’s GitHub project “mall” has 50K+ stars.

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