Why IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1 EAP 3 Finally Moves Deleted Files to the Recycle Bin

JetBrains released IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1 EAP 3, and the most notable change is that deleting a file now moves it to the system recycle bin rather than permanently removing it.

In the IDE, the previous deletion behavior was:

Delete file in Project view

Permanent deletion

File does not go to the system recycle bin

Recovery only possible via Local History or Git

This behavior differed from VS Code, Visual Studio, Finder/Explorer and other mainstream tools.

The issue was first reported six years ago in JetBrains' issue tracker and is now marked as:

State: Fixed

Available in: 2026.1 EAP 3

Consequently, deleting a file now moves it to the recycle bin instead of permanent deletion.

Why Git alone is not enough

Many developers assume Git can recover any lost file, but in reality many files are not tracked:

New uncommitted files

Local scripts

SQL files

Scratch files

Temporary code

Configuration files

When these files are accidentally deleted, Git cannot help.

Limitations of JetBrains' Local History

Can be cleared automatically

May be lost after IDE upgrades

High search cost

New users often do not know where to find it

Advantages of using the system recycle bin

Consistent user habit

Visual confirmation of deleted items

Works across applications

Does not depend on the IDE

100 % intuitive

These reasons explain why almost all editors adopt this approach.

Other notable improvements in 2026.1 EAP 3

1. Spring‑related

Display injected Bean inlay

Debugger runtime Bean hints

API versioning configuration improvements

Automatic SQL dialect detection

2. Java

More javac parameter completions

Pattern‑matching diagnostic fixes

Import performance optimizations

3. Kotlin

K1 API deprecation

New destructuring syntax navigation support

Compiler‑generated declaration inlay hints

4. Editor experience

Smooth cursor animation

Rounded cursor

Terminal experience fixes

Plugin management improvements

5. AI and command completion

Fix empty‑text replacement in replace_text_in_file Update AI command completion icons

Rename JavaMemberNameCompletionContributor to ModCommand completion

Fix command generation failure in new‑line + tab scenarios

Skip meaningless command completions

MCP Server fixes related to LLM workflows

6. Platform architecture

Remove ProjectExtension Frontend‑ify AI assistant plugin

LSP null‑safety fixes

Support background write actions

Clean up

CachedValuesManager

7. Performance and stability

Gradle sync file leak fixes

VFS recursive loading issue

Debugger CPU conflict resolution

Branch switching hangs

Git failures

Plugin compatibility false‑positives

70+ additional known issue fixes

All these changes prepare the IDE for a future of remote, AI‑assisted, and distributed development environments.