Configure IDE settings

In CLion, you can configure the settings on two levels: the project level and globally.

Global settings apply to all projects of a specific installation, or version, of CLion. Such settings include IDE appearance (themes, color schemes, menus and toolbars), notification settings, the set of the installed and enabled plugins, debugger settings, code completion, and so on.

To configure your IDE, select CLion | Preferences for macOS or File | Settings for Windows and Linux. Alternatively, press Ctrl+Alt+S or click on the toolbar.

Settings that are NOT marked with the icon in the Settings/Preferences dialog are global and apply to all existing projects of the current CLion version.

Global settings marked in the Settings/Preferences dialog

Restore IDE settings

When you restore the default IDE settings, CLion backs up your configuration to a directory. You can always restore your settings from this backup.

Back up your settings and restore the defaults

From the main menu, select File | Manage IDE Settings | Restore Default Settings.
Alternatively, press Shift twice and type Restore default settings.
CLion shows a confirmation popup:
Click Restore and Restart. The IDE will be restarted with the default configuration.

When CLion restores the default IDE settings, it creates a backup directory with your configuration in:

Syntax: %APPDATA%\JetBrains\<product><version>-backup
Example: C:\Users\JohnS\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\CLion2021.2-backup

Syntax: ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/<product><version>-backup
Example: ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/CLion2021.2-backup

Syntax: ~/.config/JetBrains/<product><version>-backup
Example: ~/.config/JetBrains/CLion2021.2-backup

Apply the IDE settings from a backup

From the main menu, select File | Manage IDE Settings | Import Settings.
In the dialog that opens, specify the path to the backup directory and click Open.
CLion shows a confirmation popup. Note, that after you apply the settings from the backup, these settings will be overwritten with your current IDE configuration.
Apart from the backup configuration directory, you can select the configuration directory from another CLion version or a .zip file with the previously exported settings.
Click Restart to apply the settings from the backup and restart the IDE.

Last modified: 08 November 2021