Top IntelliJ IDEA Plugins for 2026 You Probably Haven’t Tried

IntelliJ IDEA provides a solid out‑of‑the‑box IDE covering roughly 80% of typical development requirements, yet its extensive plugin marketplace enables developers to customize the environment for higher efficiency, similar to tailoring a Vim configuration.

AceJump

AceJump offers fast in‑code navigation by scanning visible code and assigning single‑key labels (a‑z) to characters or words; pressing the label instantly jumps to the target, replacing the inefficient Ctrl+G workflow.

Default hotkey: Ctrl+G activates the jump.

Custom tag ranges can be bound via Settings > Keymap .

Trade‑off: Efficiency can double after mastering the tool, but beginners need 1‑2 days to adapt; resource usage is negligible.

Catppuccin Theme

Catppuccin is a pastel theme suite based on four palettes (Latte, Frappé/Macchiato, Mocha) designed for long coding sessions with reduced blue‑light fatigue. It was one of JetBrains' officially recommended community themes in 2025.

Install via Marketplace, then select the desired variant under Settings > Appearance & Behavior > Appearance .

Trade‑off: Improves visual comfort and focus without performance impact, but requires manual synchronization with the OS theme.

CodeGlance Pro

CodeGlance Pro adds a mini‑map on the right side of the editor, allowing quick code‑block location similar to VS Code’s Outline view.

Enable in Settings > Tools > CodeGlance and adjust opacity and zoom.

Hotkey Alt+G jumps to the cursor position.

Trade‑off: Very helpful for large files, marginally useful for small projects; moderate resource consumption, enable only when needed.

Edit‑Tabs‑Location

This plugin streamlines tab management with four shortcut commands:

Ctrl+1 : Switch to top‑display mode (single‑row tabs).

Ctrl+2 : Switch to left‑side vertical mode, saving horizontal space.

Ctrl+3 : Sort tabs alphabetically by file name or type.

Ctrl+4 : Close non‑project tabs, keeping the workspace clean.

All shortcuts can be customized in Settings > Keymap .

Trade‑off: Significantly improves multi‑tab workflow, is free and open‑source, and adds virtually no performance overhead.

GenerateAllSetter

GenerateAllSetter quickly creates setter methods for all fields of a POJO or DTO, reducing boilerplate code. It supports custom prefixes such as set.

Right‑click a class → Generate > All Setters .

Custom prefix can be specified in the dialog.

Trade‑off: Saves time for simple classes, though adoption has declined with AI‑based tools; still useful for straightforward POJOs.

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant offering real‑time code completion, chat assistance, and intelligent code generation, with strong context awareness for Java/Spring stacks.

Free tier provides limited completions; paid tiers (Pro, Pro+, Business, Enterprise) unlock unlimited completions, advanced models, and higher request quotas.

Trade‑off: Boosts productivity markedly, but the free tier’s quota is limited and privacy‑sensitive users should consider data transmission implications.

Inspection Lens

Inspection Lens displays inline error details directly in the editor, eliminating the need to hover with the mouse.

Adjust display level via Settings > Editor > Inspections .

Custom icons and colors are supported.

Trade‑off: Improves debugging efficiency with negligible resource cost.

MyBatis Log Free

Designed for MyBatis/MyBatis‑Plus users, this plugin prints SQL statements with colored output in the console.

Ensure the logging implementation is not org.apache.ibatis.logging.nologging.NoLoggingImpl, otherwise no output appears.

Supports parameter binding and execution‑time statistics.

Trade‑off: Excellent for debugging database queries, but should be limited to ORM projects to avoid noisy global logs.

Power Mode II

Power Mode II adds flashy particle‑explosion animations to coding actions, making the experience more fun.

Configure particle type and intensity under Settings > Tools > Power Mode II .

Low‑intensity mode is recommended to avoid distraction.

Trade‑off: Increases memory usage and can affect performance on high‑end machines; suitable for creative coding sessions, not daily work.

IdeaVim

IdeaVim brings Vim emulation to IntelliJ, offering Normal/Insert/Visual modes and custom key mappings.

Example mappings: nmap ge (GotoNextError) and vmap em (ExtractMethod).

Related plugins such as IdeaVim‑EasyMotion, IdeaVim‑Quickscope, IdeaVimExtension, and Which‑Key extend functionality with enhanced jumps, highlights, extra commands, and key‑binding hints.

Custom mappings are stored in ~/.ideavimrc.

Trade‑off: Once mastered, it dramatically speeds up editing, but the learning curve is steep.

Rainbow Brackets

Rainbow Brackets visually distinguishes nested bracket levels with different colors, preventing code‑structure confusion.

Enabled by default; color schemes can be customized.

Trade‑off: Beginner‑friendly, lightweight, and considered a core visual aid.

In conclusion, installing a core set of plugins—starting with AceJump, GitHub Copilot, and Rainbow Brackets—and then expanding based on personal workflow needs can substantially improve development efficiency. Regularly update plugins and monitor IDE performance; community feedback is encouraged for additional recommendations.