Boost Your Productivity: 12 Must‑Have IntelliJ Plugins for 2021

IntelliJ IDEA offers a range of official and third‑party plugins that can help developers learn its features faster and work more efficiently.

1. IDE Features Trainer

This official IntelliJ plugin provides interactive tutorials to quickly learn the IDE’s features and use them more effectively.

2. Codota

Codota is an intelligent code‑completion plugin that scans millions of GitHub repositories, learns from the source code, and offers high‑quality code suggestions.

3. Comments Highlighter

This plugin adds color to comments, making important notes stand out and improving readability.

4. Return Highlighter

The plugin highlights return statements, which is especially useful when reading external source code.

5. Key Promoter X

Whenever you click an IntelliJ button, this plugin pops up a shortcut hint, helping you master keyboard shortcuts faster.

6. Atom Material Icons

While it doesn’t add new functionality, this plugin enriches IntelliJ’s UI with a set of material design icons.

7. Code With Me

An official IntelliJ plugin that enables others to join your project session for real‑time collaborative coding.

8. Yet Another Emoji Support

This plugin lets you insert emoji directly in the editor, handy for README files, commit messages, or comments.

Reference: The Top 12 IntelliJ Plugins for 2021