Idea MCP

IntelliJ IDEA MCP Skill

Path Rules (Most Common Error Source)

Getting this wrong is the #1 cause of "file not found" errors.

Gotchas and Tips

Two Search API Families

IDEA MCP has two sets of search tools that return different formats. Pick the right one:

• search_in_files_by_text / search_in_files_by_regex — Returns matched lines with ||highlight|| markers. Good for quick "where is this string used" lookups. Supports fileMask filter.
• search_text / search_regex / search_file / search_symbol — Returns structured results with exact coordinates (line, column, byte offsets). Supports paths glob filters and ! excludes. Use this when you need precise locations for further operations.
  • search_symbol is especially powerful — semantic symbol lookup (classes, methods, fields) returning full code snippets.

execute_terminal_command Does Not Use Shell by Default

Without executeInShell: true, shell features like $() expansion, pipes, and wildcards won't work. For most shell commands, prefer the Bash tool directly.

rename_refactoring Takes Symbol Name, Not Position

Parameters are symbolName (the exact identifier string) and newName, not file path + line/column. This is different from LSP-based rename.

build_project for Single-File Compilation

build_project with filesToRebuild parameter compiles specific files much faster than running mvn compile. Useful for quick verification after edits.

get_file_problems vs LSP Diagnostics

For multi-module Maven projects, get_file_problems is significantly more accurate than LSP lsp_diagnostics. Prefer it for Java error checking.

High-Risk Operations

• rename_refactoring & replace_text_in_file — Modify code globally, verify with get_file_problems after use
• reformat_file — Modifies formatting without confirmation

Troubleshooting