Build a Netty‑Powered Real‑Time Chat Plugin for IntelliJ IDEA

XEChat‑Idea

❝ Netty‑based instant chat plugin for IDEA ❞

Project Overview

Main features:

Instant chat

Game battle

Project Structure

├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── xechat-commons // common module
│   ├── pom.xml
│   └── src
├── xechat-plugin // IDEA plugin side
│   ├── build.gradle
│   ├── gradle
│   ├── gradle.properties
│   ├── gradlew
│   ├── gradlew.bat
│   ├── settings.gradle
│   └── src
└── xechat-server // server side
    ├── pom.xml
    └── src

Environment Requirements

Server & Common Module

JDK 8

Maven 3.6.x

IDEA Plugin Side

JDK 11

Gradle 6.x

IntelliJ IDEA 2021.2.x

Build & Run

Build the common module and install it to the local Maven repository:

# Enter the common module directory
cd xechat-commons

# Install to local repository
mvn install

Server

Adjust the log configuration file src/main/resources/logback.xml if needed, then run the main class: XEChatServer.java To deploy the server:

# Enter the server directory
cd xechat-server
# Package the server
mvn package
# Start the server
java -jar target/xechat-server-xxx.jar

IDEA Plugin

Configure IDEA Version

Edit build.gradle to match your local IDEA version:

intellij{
    version '2021.2'
}

Local Run

❝ Tasks > intellij > runIde ❞

Plugin Deployment

❝ Reminder: modify server address ❞

Open cn.xeblog.plugin.client.XEChatClient and change the host and port constants:

private static final String HOST = "localhost"; // server IP
private static final int PORT = 1024; // server port

Package the Plugin

❝ Tasks > build > assemble ❞

The packaged file is located at:

build/distributions/xechat-plugin-xxx.zip

Install the Plugin

❝ IDEA > Preferences > Plugins ❞

Choose the generated zip file to install.

Add Plugin Repository (Optional)

Configure a custom repository:

http://plugins.xttblog.cn

After adding the repository, search for "xechat" in the plugin marketplace to install.

If you have the conditions, you can also deploy the server yourself.