WebStorm 2021.2 Help

Run anything

Run Anything is a quick way to launch run/debug configurations, applications, npm or yarn scripts, commands, tasks, and open recent projects. 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.

Running an application: use Run Anything

Open the Run Anything popup

Press Ctrl twice.

Alternatively, click the Run Anything icon on the toolbar.

The icon is not shown by default. To add it, open the Settings/Preferences dialog Ctrl+Alt+S, go to Appearance and Behavior | Menus and Toolbars, expand the Main Toolbar node, and add the Run Anything action, for example, below Search Everywhere. See Menus and toolbars for details.

Adding the Run Anything action to the main toolbar

Launch 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.

    Start run/debug configuration from the Run Anything popup in debug mode

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 Anything: npm script
  • 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.

    List of the available commands in Run Anything

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: 17 December 2021