# Groovy Interactive Console

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/2026.3/llms.txt).

> **TL;DR**
> Required plugin: Groovy (bundled)

You can open an interactive Groovy console in any project, including a Java one, and use the console as a temporary file to write and evaluate your code.

If dependencies in your project contain a Groovy library, then the specified Groovy library is used to launch the Groovy console. If the dependencies do not contain a Groovy library, then the bundled Groovy library will be used.

> **Note:**
> The Groovy console becomes available if there is a Groovy library dependency in your project. So, ensure that your existing project has one or create a [new Groovy project](getting-started-with-groovy.html#create_groovy_project).

Procedure:

1. In the main menu, go to `Tools | Groovy Console`.

2. If you have more than one module in your project, click the project's name on the console toolbar and select a module from the list to change a classpath for the console.

![Groovy_Module_Console.png](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/Groovy_Module_Console.png)

The Groovy console starts in a separate tab in the editor.

![groovy_editor_console.png](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/groovy_editor_console.png)

Procedure: Perform different actions inside the Groovy console

* You can enter code, the coding assistance is available as you type, or paste code from a different file. Press `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (Windows), `⌃ ⇧ R` (macOS), `⌃ ⇧ F10` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌃ ⇧ R` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (XWin), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (KDE), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (Sublime Text), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+F5` (Visual Studio), `⌃ ⌥ F5` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+Shift+F6` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Shift+F10` (Eclipse), `⌃ ⇧ R` (Eclipse (macOS)) or click ![](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/app.toolwindows.toolWindowRun.svg) to execute code and view the results in the Run tool window.

![Groovy console and Run tool window](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/groovy_console_output.png)

* You can refer to a class from the Groovy console. Type the name of the class you need, select it and press `Ctrl+B` (Windows), `⌘ B` (macOS), `⌘ B` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ B` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+B` (XWin), `Ctrl+B` (GNOME), `Ctrl+B` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+G` (Emacs), `F12` (Sublime Text), `F12` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `F12` (Visual Studio), `F12` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+B` (NetBeans), `F3` (Eclipse), `F3` (Eclipse (macOS)) to jump to its declaration.

![Go to Declaration](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/groovy_console_class_ref.animated.gif)

* If you have an import statement in your code, you can run a partial selection of code omitting the import statement. The Groovy console will include the omitted part during the execution.

![Include omitted part of code](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.3/groovy_console_include_omitted.animated.gif)

## See also

### Concepts

[General](settings-editor-general.html)

### Reference

[Interactive Groovy console](interactive-groovy-console.html)