IntelliJ IDEA 2021.1 Help

Run anything

IntelliJ IDEA provides a single entry point for running applications, scripts, commands, tasks, and so on — Run anything.

The Run Anything popup

Run Anything is a quick way to launch run/debug configurations, open recent projects, and run commands. It also helps you use proper command syntax by generating suggestions as you type. When you call a command, Run Anything delegates the further work to the appropriate tools.

Open the Run Anything popup

Press Ctrl twice.

Start a run/debug configuration

  1. Start typing the run/debug configuration name and select it from the suggestions list:

    Start run/debug configurations from the Run Anything popup
  2. To debug a run configuration, hold Shift when launching it.

Run commands

  • Start typing the command name and navigate the suggestions list using the arrow keys. When you press Space, you accept the current suggestion and get further suggestions specific to this command.

    Run a Command in the Run Anything dialog
  • To get the list of available commands, type ?. The list of commands depends on the installed/enabled plugins. If a command is not on the suggestion list, it will be executed in the terminal.

By default, the working directory depends on the project or module you are currently in. To use the location of the current file as the working directory, hold Alt when running a command.

You can also use an arbitrary location as the working directory. It is configured in the top-right corner of the dialog:

Configure Context in the Run Anything dialog

Open a recent project

You can also quickly reopen a recent project from the Run Anything popup. Search for the project by the name or type open to shorten the list of suggestions, then select the required project from the list, and press Enter:

Opening a recent project from the Run Anything popup
Last modified: 22 June 2021