IntelliJ IDEA power moves

TL;DR: Learn navigation, refactoring, inspections, and live templates. Make the IDE do the repetitive work so you can focus on design.

Navigation

• Search everywhere: Shift+Shift
• Go to action: Ctrl+Shift+A or Cmd+Shift+A
• Recent files: Ctrl+E or Cmd+E

Refactoring that matters

• Rename: Shift+F6
• Extract method: Ctrl+Alt+M or Cmd+Alt+M
• Inline: Ctrl+Alt+N or Cmd+Alt+N

Inspections and quick fixes

Use Alt+Enter to apply suggestions. Configure severity to highlight what matters to your project.

Live templates

Create small templates for logging, guards, and test scaffolds. Use variables for cursor placement.

Practice routine

• Record a 5-minute session and note where the mouse was used. Replace those actions with shortcuts.
• Add one new refactor shortcut per week.

FAQ

How do I migrate keymaps
Export and import settings from the File menu to keep keymaps and templates consistent.

What are good starter templates
Test method boilerplate, logger line, null check snippets, and a try and catch block with rethrow.

Cast this in your project

• IntelliJ Desk Mat - Windows and Linux to keep shortcuts at hand.
• IntelliJ Desk Mat - MacOS for the mac-first setup.

Image credit: Photo by Lukas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-black-watch-holding-macbook-pro-574080/