Why Lombok Plugin Fails in IntelliJ IDEA 2020.x and How to Fix It

1. Introduction

Recent versions of IntelliJ IDEA cannot use the Lombok plugin, causing many users to revert to the older 2020.1 version.

2. Reason for Lombok Failure

The Lombok author was told it was JetBrains' fault. JetBrains engineer Peter Gromov initially blamed the Lombok plugin code, stating that some cached members were unavailable but not properly invalidated.

The issue lies in certain classes of the Lombok plugin having unusable members that remain cached even after detection of the cache failure.

The author argued that the problem is due to IDEA's plugin platform handling, not Lombok itself.

After a back‑and‑forth, IntelliJ IDEA acknowledged the issue as its own.

3. Issue Fixed

IDEA 2020.2.1 officially releases the fix, but the plugin marketplace has not yet updated, so installation via the store is not possible.

You can download the Lombok plugin directly from the plugin marketplace page: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/download?rel=true&updateId=87712

4. Additional Information

The prolonged Lombok issue has significantly impacted users, preventing many from upgrading IDEA. JetBrains now recognizes Lombok's influence and is preparing official support, with plans to incorporate Lombok more closely.