Aqua 2024.2 Help

Share IDE settings

Aqua lets you share your IDE settings between different installations of Aqua or even between different IntelliJ-based IDE products that you use. This helps you recreate a comfy working environment if you are working from different computers and avoid the annoyance of things looking or behaving differently from what you are used to.

There are several ways to share your IDE settings:

  • Via the Settings Sync plugin: it uses your JetBrains Account, which makes the synced settings available in all IDEs where you log in with that account.

    The settings you can sync include: IDE themes, keymaps, color schemes, system settings, UI settings, menus and toolbar settings, project view settings, editor settings, code completion settings, parameter name hints, live templates, code styles, and the list of enabled and disabled plugins.

  • Via the Settings Repository plugin: it allows you to sync any configurable components (except for the list of enabled and disabled plugins) but requires setting up a Git repository with the settings you want to share.

    This option is useful if you want to enforce the same IDE settings among your team-members or to use your custom settings storage.

  • By exporting the settings you want to share as a ZIP archive and then importing them to a different IDE installation. You can export your code style settings, Git settings, including registered GitHub accounts, the Debugger settings, Registry keys, look and feel, and more.

Share settings via the Settings Sync plugin

The IDE Settings Sync plugin was deprecated in Aqua 2022.3. Instead, a new plugin, Settings Sync, is available and bundled in Aqua 2022.3. The most notable changes include:

  • The new plugin supports synchronization across all JetBrains IDEs.

  • Settings Sync synchronizes the settings of plugins, including those of third-party plugins (plugin developers should enable it if they want the settings of their plugin to be synchronized by Settings Sync).

Install the IDE Settings Sync plugin

This functionality relies on the IDE Settings Sync plugin, which you need to install and enable.

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open settings and then select Plugins.

  2. Open the Marketplace tab, find the IDE Settings Sync plugin, and click Install (restart the IDE if prompted).

Sync settings between IDE instances

  1. On the computer with the IDE instance that contains the settings you want to share, sign in to either of the following:

    • Your IDE: from the main menu choose Help | Register, choose to activate your license with the JetBrains Account and enter your credentials.

    • Toolbox App: click the gear icon toolbox settings in the top right corner of the application, select Settings and click Log in. Note that by signing in to Toolbox App, you automatically sign in to all JetBrains products that you run.

    • If, instead of the JetBrains account, you use an activation code or a license server to activate Aqua, press Ctrl+Alt+S to open settings and select Settings Sync | Log in with JetBrains account to sign in to your JetBrains account.

  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open Settings, go to Settings Sync, and then click Enable Settings Sync.

    Enable settings synchronization

  3. In the Settings Sync dialog that opens, select the setting categories that you want to share.

  4. The following step depends on whether there are synced settings linked to your JetBrains Account.

    Settings Sync dialog

    Click Push Settings to Account to override the settings stored on the JetBrains server with your local settings and use them as the shared ones.

    The Settings Sync window: no synced settings

    Click Enable Sync.

  5. In the other IDE instance, where you want these settings to be applied, open Settings Ctrl+Alt+S, go to Settings Sync, and then click Enable Settings Sync.

  6. In the Settings Sync dialog that opens, select Get Settings from Account.

Your local settings will be automatically synchronized with the settings stored on the JetBrains server each time you modify a setting and each time the JetBrains server receives setting updates from another IDE.

Plugin states are synchronized as follows:

  • If a plugin is installed on both IDEs, Settings Sync synchronizes the plugin state (enabled or disabled) between the two IDEs.

  • If a plugin is installed and enabled on one IDE but is not installed on the other IDE, Settings Sync will install it on the other IDE.

  • If a plugin is installed and disabled on one IDE, and it is not installed on the other IDE, Settings Sync will not install it on the other IDE.

  • If you uninstall a plugin, and it is installed on the other IDE, Settings Sync will disable but not uninstall it on the other IDE.

Enable settings synchronization across different IDE products

By default, your settings are synchronized across instances of the same IDE product only, for example, across your Aqua instances. You can enable synchronization of settings across any IntelliJ-based IDE products where the Settings Sync plugin is enabled and where you log in using the same JetBrains account.

  1. Open the Settings dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S) , go to Settings Sync.

  2. In the Sync settings across list, select All JetBrains IDE products.

    Settings Sync window

Disable settings synchronization

You can either disable settings synchronization for a single IDE or completely remove all settings from the JetBrains cloud server and disable synchronization for all IDEs connected to your JetBrains account.

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Aqua window, click the gear icon the Gear icon and select Settings Sync.

    IDE and Project settings menu

  2. On the Settings Sync page that opens, click Disable Settings Sync.

  3. Confirm disabling settings synchronization. To disable synchronization on all of your IDEs, select Remove data from JB account and disable for all IDEs.

Settings synchronized with Settings Sync

This list describes settings categories that you can enable and disable on the Settings Sync page. The list is not comprehensive, but it gives you an overview of the IDE settings that compose each category.

UI settings

  • Appearance & Behavior | Appearance

  • Appearance & Behavior | Menus and Toolbars

  • Appearance & Behavior | Notifications

  • Appearance & Behavior | Quick Lists

  • Editor | Font

  • Editor | Color Scheme

Code settings

  • Editor | General

  • Editor | Code Editing

  • Editor | Code Style

  • Editor | File Encodings

  • Editor | Live Templates

  • Editor | File Types

  • Editor | Inlay Hints

  • Editor | Emmet

  • Editor | Intentions

Tools

  • Version Control

  • Build, Execution, Deployment | Debugger

  • Tools | Space

  • Tools | Database

  • Tools | CSV Formats

  • Tools | Server Certificates

  • Tools | Shared Indexes

System settings

  • Appearance & Behavior | System Settings

  • Appearance & Behavior | System Settings | Date Formats

  • Registry keys

Export your settings manually

Export settings to a ZIP archive

  1. Select File | Manage IDE Settings | Export Settings from the main menu.

  2. Select the settings you want to export and specify the path to the target archive.

Import settings from a ZIP archive

  1. Select File | Manage IDE Settings | Import Settings from the main menu.

  2. Select the ZIP archive that contains your settings in the dialog that opens.

  3. Select the settings you want to apply in the Select Components to Import dialog that opens and click OK.

Last modified: 11 October 2024
Path variablesAdvanced configuration