Boost Your Java Productivity: 28 Essential IntelliJ IDEA Tips & Tricks

IntelliJ IDEA has become a leading Java development tool thanks to its rich features and usability, and this article compiles a collection of practical tips to dramatically improve daily development efficiency.

View code history

Adjust IDEA virtual memory

Set IDEA to Eclipse keymap

Ignore case in code completion

Disable code inspections

Configure Javadoc templates

Show method separators

Enable multi‑line tabs

Jump to method braces quickly

Auto‑complete code endings

Fuzzy search methods

Preview class code

Find method usages

Customize code templates

Auto‑import and remove unused imports

Use Codota plugin for popular APIs

Quickly view class/field Javadoc

Rainbow brackets for bracket matching

Add multiple microservice projects to one run window

Global IDEA settings for new windows

Navigate between Java mapper and XML files

Set a custom background image

Show Maven dependency tree visually

Switch back to the previously active tab

IDEA's built‑in SSH client

SequenceDiagram plugin for call‑graph visualization

Capture current thread dump

Run the same project on different ports

1. View code history

Right‑click the Java class, choose Local History → Show History to see recent changes and restore a previous version.

2. Adjust IDEA virtual memory

Open Change Memory Settings and select Edit Custom VM Options to increase the IDE's heap size.

3. Set IDEA to Eclipse keymap

Switch the keymap to Eclipse style so you don’t need to remember two sets of shortcuts.

4. Ignore case in code completion

Disable the case‑sensitivity option (or set it to none) so typing string or String yields the same suggestions.

5. Disable code inspections

You can turn off unnecessary inspections to save resources, while keeping essential ones enabled.

6. Configure Javadoc templates

Set up custom Javadoc comment templates for faster documentation.

https://blog.csdn.net/qq_36268103/article/details/108027486

7. Show method separators

Enable visual separators to clearly distinguish methods in dense codebases.

8. Enable multi‑line tabs

Disable the single‑line tab setting to allow multiple tabs to be displayed simultaneously.

8.1 Tab limit auto‑close

Increase the settings → editor → General → Editor tabs → tab limit value to prevent automatic closing.

9. Jump to method braces quickly

Press Ctrl+[ or Ctrl+] to move to the opening or closing brace of the current method.

10. Auto‑complete code endings

Use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to automatically add missing semicolons or braces.

11. Fuzzy search methods

Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N and type a partial name (e.g., Peo.te) to locate a method, or use Ctrl+Shift+R and select Symbols for file‑wide search.

12. Preview class code

Press Ctrl+Shift+A to open the Find Action dialog, then use Ctrl+Alt+B to view a class without opening a new tab, or Ctrl+Shift+I for quick preview.

13. Find method usages

Press Ctrl+Alt+H to see where a method is called, which is more convenient than the default Ctrl+Shift+F search.

14. Customize code templates

Modify the Postfix Completion settings to change shortcuts like sout to syso or define new templates such as fori.

15. Auto‑import and remove unused imports

Use Alt+Enter to import missing classes and Ctrl+Alt+O to optimize imports.

16. Codota plugin

Codota suggests frequently used classes and methods, helping you code faster.

17. Quick view of class/field Javadoc

Press F2 to display the documentation comment of a class or field instantly.

18. Rainbow brackets

The Rainbow Brackets plugin colors matching parentheses for easier navigation.

19. Add multiple microservice projects to one run window

Navigate: View → Tool Windows → Services → Add Services.

20. Global IDEA settings for new windows

Adjust the global settings (e.g., Other Settings in older versions) so new windows inherit the same configuration.

21. Navigate between Java mapper and XML files

The Free MyBatis plugin adds a green arrow for quick navigation between mapper interfaces and their XML files.

22. Set a custom background image

Install the BackgroundImage plugin and choose any picture as the IDE background.

23. Visual Maven dependency tree

Run mvn dependency:tree or click the Show Dependencies button in IDEA to view a graphical tree of JAR relationships.

24. Switch back to the previously active tab

Use Alt+← and Alt+→ to cycle through tabs in the order they were last focused.

25. IDEA's built‑in SSH client

Configure host and credentials, then start an SSH session directly from the IDE.

26. SequenceDiagram plugin for call‑graph visualization

Right‑click a Java file and select Sequence Diagram to generate a visual call graph.

27. Capture current thread dump

During debugging, click the camera icon to obtain a thread dump, which helps identify which thread is executing a particular method.

28. Run the same project on different ports

Add a custom VM option such as -Dserver.port=8993 to launch another instance on a different port.

# 8993 is a different port from the one defined in application.yml
-Dserver.port=8993