How to optimize IntelliJ IDEA for my specific project?

Question

IntelliJ is a massive software development platform. Out of the box, it's prepared to mow through Java, Ruby on Rails, C#, FTP my files to remote servers, and the list goes on. Considering the third-party plugin ecosystem, the options are even more extensive.

What I seek is optimization for the specific project(s) I am working on today, including:

• Minimum amount of time spent indexing
• Minimum amount of tool panels laying around that I am not going to use. Unless we are filming on the set of a terrible TV show, the win is actually closing tickets and leaving in time to catch the sunset.

Answer 1

Disable all of the plugins not used for this project

Spend some time in the Settings > Plugins menu, carefully disabling absolutely every plugin that I'm not actually using for this project.

I'm not suggesting some hack like enabling 'Power Save' mode or changing highlighting levels or disabling plugins that provide usefulness. I've just noticed that at any given time, I need only a specialized combination of the thousand+ available plugins in the IntelliJ IDEA ecosystem. And the fact is, 100% of the plugins are imperfect; some even have bugs!

It turns out, if I want IntelliJ IDEA to run fast, I have to sacrifice the excitement of my toolbars bearing all these extra fancy icons I don't need for this project.

Mark temporary folders as "excluded"

It's in the Project Structure > Modules interface, or by menu-clicking on the folders in the Project explorer, and choosing Mark As > Excluded.

This can in many cases massively reduce the number of files that IntelliJ IDEA tries to index.

It turns out, this also drastically speeds up searches.