Using Scratch Files and Scratch Buffers in IntelliJ IDEA

When working in IntelliJ IDEA you may encounter situations such as needing to quickly write pseudo‑code, format JSON, record snippets of HTML/CSS/SQL/XML, capture ideas for another project, or log HTTP client calls. Switching to other tools can be cumbersome and may cause performance issues on low‑memory machines.

IntelliJ IDEA provides a built‑in solution called Scratch Files (temporary files) that addresses all these needs. Scratch files are not tied to any project, are stored locally (usually under a directory on the C: drive), and support full language features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and debugging.

There are also Scratch Buffers , which are simple text buffers without advanced language assistance, useful for quick notes or task lists. Up to five buffers (buffer1.txt … buffer5.txt) can be created; creating more will recycle the oldest buffer unless you rename them.

How to create a Scratch File:

Via the menu: File → New → Scratch File

Via shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Insert

When you select code or text and press the shortcut, IDEA attempts to infer the appropriate language; if it cannot, it creates a file with the same extension as the selected content.

How to create a Scratch Buffer: Use the Find Action dialog ( Ctrl+Shift+A ) and type “new scratch buffer”.

Scratch files support most programming languages, offering syntax highlighting, code completion, and the ability to run and debug code directly from the left‑hand icon bar. They also provide local history for rollback, and can be accessed across different projects, renamed, moved, deleted, or copied.

Images in the original article illustrate the creation steps, file list, and feature screenshots; these are retained below.

For reference, the original article URL is shown below:

地址：blog.csdn.net/chenlixiao007/article/details/116431128

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