Top 10 IntelliJ IDEA Plugins to Boost Your Development Productivity

Preface

IntelliJ IDEA is a widely used development tool praised for its power and user‑friendliness; the author explored its plugins and selected ten particularly useful ones for everyday development.

1. FindBugs

While IDEA already offers strong code inspection, FindBugs provides deeper analysis of exceptions and potential bugs.

Usage: Right‑click a project, package, or file to open the FindBugs interface.

2. Translation

This plugin lets you translate selected words directly in the editor, saving the hassle of opening a browser.

Usage: Select a word, right‑click, and choose the translation option.

3. Grep Console

Grep Console enhances console output by allowing you to quickly locate specific log types and apply custom colors.

Usage: Open Settings → Other Settings → Grep Console to configure.

4. GsonFormat

When dealing with JSON responses, GsonFormat converts JSON strings into Java objects automatically.

5. Free MyBatis Plugin

Formerly named free-idea-mybatis, this plugin enables rapid navigation between MyBatis XML files and their corresponding mapper interfaces, and can generate mapper XML files.

After installation, arrows appear beside XML and mapper files for quick jumps.

6. CodeGlance

CodeGlance shows a miniature overview of the current file, allowing you to jump to any code region without scrolling.

Simply install and restart IDEA to see the preview pane.

7. Maven Helper

Maven Helper visualizes dependency trees and resolves conflicts without needing to run command‑line tools.

mvn dependency:tree

After installing, open pom.xml and click the Dependency Analyzer option to view the tree.

8. Background Image Plus+

This plugin lets you set a custom background image for the IDE, making the workspace more pleasant.

Use View → Set Background Image to choose an image.

9. MyBatis Log Plugin

The plugin displays the exact SQL statements executed by MyBatis, including parameters, directly in the console.

Select the SQL output, right‑click, and choose “Restore sql from selection”.

10. RestfulToolkit

RestfulToolkit adds a set of RESTful service development tools to IDEA, simplifying API testing and debugging.

After installation, a “RestServices” sidebar appears on the right.

Conclusion

The author will continue to update the list with new plugins and invites readers to share their own favorites in the comments.