What is intellij-platform-plugin-template?

jetbrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-03

★ 3,733KotlinAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((IJ Plugin Template))
    What it does
      Starter plugin project
      Pre-configured build
      Sample plugin code
    Tech
      Kotlin
      Gradle
      GitHub Actions
    Included samples
      Startup activity
      Project service
      Tool window
    CI pipeline
      Automated tests
      Changelog management
      Marketplace publish

mindmap root((IJ Plugin Template)) What it does Starter plugin project Pre-configured build Sample plugin code Tech Kotlin Gradle GitHub Actions Included samples Startup activity Project service Tool window CI pipeline Automated tests Changelog management Marketplace publish

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Create a new IntelliJ IDEA plugin without manual setup by clicking Use this template on GitHub to get a working Gradle project with CI and sample code instantly.

USE CASE 2

Add a custom tool window panel to any JetBrains IDE by modifying the included sample tool window code.

USE CASE 3

Publish a plugin to the JetBrains Marketplace using the pre-configured GitHub Actions workflow that handles code signing and release automatically.

USE CASE 4

Write functional and UI tests for an IntelliJ plugin using the pre-configured test infrastructure included in the template.

What is it built with?

KotlinGradleJavaGitHub ActionsIntelliJ Platform Gradle Plugin

How does it compare?

	jetbrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template	videolan/vlc-android	hdshare/wauxiliary_public
Stars	3,733	3,726	3,752
Language	Kotlin	Kotlin	Kotlin
Setup difficulty	moderate	hard	hard
Complexity	3/5	4/5	4/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires IntelliJ IDEA and a Java 21 SDK to open and run the project.

No license information is provided in the explanation.

So what is it?

IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template is an official JetBrains starter repository for building plugins for IntelliJ IDEA and other JetBrains IDEs. Instead of setting up a plugin project from scratch, you click the Use this template button on GitHub to create a new repository based on this one, and you get a fully configured project immediately, including the build system, sample source code, and a complete continuous integration pipeline. The project is built with Gradle using Kotlin. It includes the IntelliJ Platform Gradle Plugin, which handles running the IDE with your plugin during development and publishing it to the JetBrains Marketplace when you are ready to release. Configuration is split across a few files: gradle.properties for version numbers and group identifiers, build.gradle.kts for dependencies and the target IDE version, and plugin.xml for the plugin name, ID, vendor, description, and the extensions it registers. Sample code is included for three common plugin patterns: a startup activity that runs when a project opens, a project-level service, and a tool window that adds a panel to the IDE. These give you working examples to modify rather than starting from a blank file. The CI setup uses GitHub Actions and covers dependency updates via Dependabot, automated changelog management tied to a CHANGELOG.md file, a release workflow using GitHub Releases, code signing before publishing, and automatic publication to the JetBrains Marketplace. Functional tests and UI tests are also pre-configured. When you first use the template, a cleanup workflow runs automatically to replace template-specific values like the plugin name with placeholders appropriate for your new project. From there you clone the repository, open it in IntelliJ IDEA with a Java 21 SDK, and start writing your plugin logic. The full README is longer than what was shown.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I used jetbrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template to create my plugin repo. How do I update plugin.xml with my plugin name and vendor, and run the plugin inside IntelliJ IDEA for testing?

Prompt 2

How do I modify the sample tool window in intellij-platform-plugin-template to display a custom panel with a list of items from the current project?

Prompt 3

How do I configure the GitHub Actions release workflow in intellij-platform-plugin-template to sign and publish my plugin to the JetBrains Marketplace when I create a new GitHub Release?

Prompt 4

How do I add a new menu action to an IntelliJ plugin built from intellij-platform-plugin-template and register it in plugin.xml so it appears under the Tools menu?

Frequently asked questions