System Settings

Last modified: 13 February 2024

File | Settings | Appearance & Behavior | System Settings for Windows and Linux

IntelliJ IDEA | Settings | Appearance & Behavior | System Settings for macOS

the Settings icon

Configure the general behavior of IntelliJ IDEA.

Item

Description

Confirm before exiting the IDE

Show a dialog with a confirmation when you attempt to close IntelliJ IDEA.

When closing a tool window with a running process

Select what to do with the running process:

  • Terminate process: stop the process entirely.

  • Disconnect: leave the process running but disconnect from it.

  • Ask: show a dialog with actions to choose from.

Project

Item

Description

Reopen projects on startup

Open all projects that were open when you closed IntelliJ IDEA last time.

Open project in

Select where you want to open projects:

  • New window: open every projects in a separate window.

  • Current window: close the current projects and open the new one in the same window.

  • Ask: show a dialog with actions to choose from.

Default project directory

Specify the default location for projects. IntelliJ IDEA suggests this directory when you create a new project or want to open an existing project.

Autosave

Item

Description

Save files if the IDE is idle for

Save all modified files at regular time intervals.

Save files when switching to a different application or a built-in terminal

Save all modified files when you switch from IntelliJ IDEA to a different application.

note

You cannot disable autosave completely by disabling these options.

Back up files before saving

Before saving the file, create a backup. If the save operation is successful, IntelliJ IDEA deletes the backup. If not, it restores the contents of the original file from backup. This behavior is known as "safe write", and it prevents losing your file in case of a faulty save operation.

Sync external changes

Select the way in which the IDE will synchronize external changes:

  • When switching to the IDE window or opening an editor tab: reload externally changed files when you switch to IntelliJ IDEA from a different application, or when you switch to the corresponding editor tabs.

  • Periodically when the IDE is inactive (experimental): reload externally changed files when the IDE is inactive for 15 seconds.