Boost Your IntelliJ IDEA Efficiency with Hidden Keyboard Shortcuts

Forward / Backward Navigation

IntelliJ IDEA lets you navigate code history just like a web browser. After jumping to a class or method, use the backward shortcut to return to the previous editing location, and the forward shortcut to go forward again.

Windows: Ctrl + Alt + Left/Right (arrow keys)

Mac: ⌘ + ⌥ + ←/→ (arrow keys)

View History

When you need to locate a previously visited file without stepping back through many edits, use the history view to quickly find recent files.

Windows: Ctrl + E

Mac: ⌘ + E

You can also jump to the most recently edited locations with:

Windows: Ctrl + Shift + E

Mac: ⌘ + ⇧ + E

Tip

Set a limit on open edit tabs (Edit Tabs) to avoid hidden tabs cluttering the UI. The default Tab Limit is 10; exceeding this hides older tabs, making them hard to locate.

Auto‑Complete Code

This shortcut automatically adds missing semicolons, parentheses, and formats the code.

Windows: Ctrl + Shift + Enter

Mac: ⌘ + ⇧ + ⏎

Examples:

Auto‑complete semicolon

Auto‑complete parentheses

Quick Extract Variable

If you create an object without assigning it to a variable, use the refactoring feature “Introduce Variable”.

Windows: Ctrl + Alt + V

Mac: ⌥ + ⌘ + V

Another handy method is Postfix Completion, which lets you generate code snippets by typing a suffix.

Rename Refactoring

When a variable, method, or class name is misspelled, the Rename refactoring updates all references automatically.

Windows: Shift + F6

Mac: ⇧ + F6

GenerateSerialVersionUID Plugin

The “GenerateSerialVersionUID” plugin adds a Generate action that creates a random serialVersionUID for classes, which is especially useful when working with Dubbo.

Conclusion

These hidden IntelliJ IDEA tricks can dramatically speed up coding. Do you know any other useful shortcuts? Share them in the comments.