Modules

Last modified: 29 November 2022

In IntelliJ IDEA, a module is an essential part of any project – it's created automatically together with a project. Projects can contain multiple modules – you can add new modules, group them, and unload the modules you don't need at the moment.

Generally, modules consist of one or several content roots and a module file, however, modules can exist without content roots. A content root is a folder where you store your code. Usually, it contains subfolders for source code, unit tests, resource files, and so on. A module file (the .iml file) is used for keeping module configuration.

Modules allow you to combine several technologies and frameworks in one application. In IntelliJ IDEA, you can create several modules for a project and each of them can be responsible for its own framework. For more information, refer to Add frameworks (facets).

Module composition shown on a scheme