IntelliJ IDEA Latest Releases and Updates

E-SPIN dedicated this post specially for IntelliJ IDEA latest releases and updates as a mean to continuously inform our customers or any user with the latest release of the products we carry. Similarly, JetBrains is aware of the importance of these updates in order to provide their users with the best performing tool or platform. The details of this IntelliJ IDEA latest releases and updates are presented in the manner where the latest release is shown at the top of the post and then followed with the previous releases. Feel free to visit this post for the updates and please do not hesitate to contact E-SPIN regarding product and related matter (if any).

IntelliJ IDEA 2022.2 release (2022-July-26 )

The IntelliJ IDEA 2022.2 release is more stable and sleeker as it involves various quality improvements to the remote development functionality.

1. Key Updates

The switch from JBR 11 to JBR 17
This release is accompanied with JetBrains Runtime 17 (JBR 17), resulting in improved IDE performance, enhanced better security and better rendering performance on macOS.

Spring 6 and Spring Boot 3 Support features 
The intelliJ IDEA ultimate for version 2022.2 fully supports Spring 6 and Spring Boot 3 features which include new @AutoConfiguration classes and @ConfigurationProperties classes with the new constructor-binding syntax without explicit @ConstructorBinding

The version 2022.2 of IntelliJ IDEA introduces

• run new Run Current File functionality. With this feature, you can easily run and debug single files without the need for a dedicated run configuration.
• keyboard shortcut that allows you to change font size everywhere in the editor.
•  merge projects windows actions to let you organize your working space.
• ability  to configure how the inspection appear editor without changing the severity level. Changing the inspection highlighting style can be done using the new Highlighting in editor drop-down menu.
• cloning repository progress bar that is easier to use as it now appears on the IDE’s welcome screen.
• Add New Description field for mnemonic bookmarks has been updated with a Description field, making you able to quickly add an optional description to your bookmark.

3. Improved security

This new release will assist you in importing trusted SSL certificates from system trust stores. With this feature you can experience automatic utilisation of the custom certificates specific to your enterprise environment.

4. Editor

This release enables you to disable automatic block comment closure when pressing Enter. You can also allows quicker access to Code Completion Settings right from the kebab (three vertical dots) menu button in the code completion popup. Additionally, tables of contents in Markdown files according to the document headers is now easier.

5. Language support improvement

Java
This release include range of modifications to Java inspections as well as introduces new one to let you detect potential bugs and simplify code.

Kotlin
For this release, in order to gain a more precise condition evaluation, JetBrains has integrated the Kotlin debugger with the Data Flow Analysis functionality.

Also, this version of intelliJ IDEA supports the features in the latest version of Kotlin- Kotlin 1.0.7.

Scala 
For Scala, IntelliJ IDEA 2022.2 include better Scala 3 support, new Scala inspections, two new actions (ut arguments on separate lines and Put arguments on one line), tuned Compiler-based highlighting,  and  safe Delete action has been made available for type parameter.

Groovy
With this release, you can now perform syntax highlighting, code completion, and inspections for Groovy-Integrated Queries (GINQ). 

6. Frameworks and technologies

• This version of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate offers URL completion, Search Everywhere functionality, and Find Usages hints for Spring Cloud Gateway URLs, improved support for JAX-RS endpoints, WebSocket connections, ability to send GraphQL queries over HTTP and WebSocket protocols out of the box as well as references and supports folding for message attributes in Bean Validation annotations in Java and Kotlin.
• This version of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate also useful in debugging GraalVM native image binaries.
• Additionally, the improved navigation between Protobuf and Java sources allows you to seamlessly navigate to code generated from .proto files and back.
• Improvement are also made on Code insight for Spring Shell and UI/UX improvements to the HTTP client.
• This version provides support for every features in Jakarta Persistence 3.1.

7. Profiler

This version display Kotlin inline functions together with others in the Flame Graph, the Call Tree, and the Method List, making you able to view your CPU time thus optimise it if required.

8. Docker 

IntelliJ IDEA ultimate upgrades includes

• introduction of image completion for the Testcontainers API
• the new Copy Docker Image action that helps you easily copy image from one Docker daemon to another.
• ability to automatically connects to Docker after you restart the IDE.
• integrates with Colima and Rancher.

9. Kubernetes

The Kubernetes plugin for IntelliJ IDEA 2022.2 offers integration with the Telepresence tool.

10. QA tools

• The latest Selenium Page Object wizard introduces an optional URL field.
• The new Page Object Editor features an updated web page structure UI.
• Caret can now automatically moves to the end of the added code block when you add new page elements to your code.
• You can now have the ability to create a new page object directly from the context menu that appears with the unresolved code warning.

11. Other improvements

Now, database tool allows you to choose multiple CSV files and import them at once, the Web development is added with support for Angular standalone components as well as better support for Vue 3. Moreover, the new Android plugin bundled with IntelliJ IDEA offers all the features of Android Studio Chipmunk which include support for the Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 7.2.x.

IntelliJ IDEA 2022.1 release (2022-Apr-12)

The IntelliJ IDEA 2022.1 release offers various improvements and new features that can enhance user experience with IDE. Among the significant improvements are the introduction to Dependency Analyzer, updated new Project wizard, upgraded Code Vision inlay hints with Code Author hints, added support for the new features in Java 18 and also improved IDE’s performance with Kotlin.

1. Key Updates

Dependency Analyzer
The new introduced Dependency Analyzer helps ensure optimum dependency management, instant conflict resolution, and easy build configurations correction using the information of every Maven and Gradle dependencies used in their project.

Improved new project wizard
New Project wizard interface helps both new users and experience users to streamline creating new projects.

New notifications tool window
Users can clearly underline crucial and useful notification as through the new notifications tool window which replaces the Event Log instance.

2. User experience

• The Maven Archetype project generator in the New Project wizard has been updated and offers users with search-as-you-type functionality when browsing archetypes. This feature allows users to manage an archetype catalog during module creation, as well as input required properties by archetype.
• The improved Code Vision inlay hints give users instant insights about their code right in the editor where the list of displayed metrics include inheritors, usages, code authors, and related problems. Additionally the metrics can be enabled by default and can be changed Inlay Hints settings.
• This new release allows user to evenly distribute the working space among editor tabs to be in the same width.
• Users can now export UML diagrams to other formats such as yEd .graphml, Graphviz .dot, Graphviz .dot with positions, Mermaid .md, Plantuml, and IntelliJ IDEA .uml files.
• The structural Search and Replace dialog is now easier to navigate between as features a list of all the templates.

3. Improved security

This new version can detect vulnerabilities in Maven and Gradle dependencies used in users projects as it involves checking across the Checkmarx SCA Database and the National Vulnerability Database. This is make possible using the Package Сhecker plugin bundled with IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.

4. Editor

This feature allows users to:

• run commands from markdown files, copy contents to the clipboard through a single click using the new copy code snippet in Markdown blocks
• select their header styles through the update markdown editor floating toolbar.
• perform code reformatting in projectless mode using the improved LightEdit mode.
• receive notification on format of file that does not follow the code style setting from the incorrect formatting inspection feature.
• ensure formatting consistency in the code by enforcing the reformat checkbox.

5. Language support improvement

Java
This release include Java 18 support, Java decompiler upgraded compatibility with Java 17, Better JUnit 5 support and Updated Surround with try/catch template.

Kotlin
The updates include Kotlin 1.6.20 support, Improved IDE Performance for Kotlin, Debugger improvements, Kover plugin integration.

Groovy

Groovy is added with most of the Java-like postfix templates in this release

6. Frameworks & Technologies

• IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate is now updated with supports for Go microservice and has better supports for gRPC reflection.
• IntelliJ IDEA highlights JSON queries, completes operators and document fields while working with Spring MongoDB.
• This release also has updated support for .proto files
• For Thymeleaf support, the improvements include fewer false-positive inspections, enhanced IDE performance when editing Thymeleaf templates.

7. Build tool 

• Updated progress bar – Let you view what exactly is happening with the files and assist you in estimating the time take for the process to complete.
• Improved Experimental functionality in the Maven compiler plugin – Let you set specific language levels  for production and test sources separately.

8. Version control

• Code Vision hints about code authorship based on the VCS history.
• Improved Annotate with Git Blame functionality.
• Commit Details tool window with information about GPG signatures and build status.
• New UI for the Git File History tool window no longer depends on indexing process (usable even Log index is off).
• Users can specify different external diff and merge tools according to the file type.
• Apply or commit changes locally in the IDE in this version enables you to manage suggested changes in GitHub Pull Requests comments easily.

9. Profiler

• This version of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate offers the IntelliJ Profiler.

10. Debugger

The Drop Frame action from the toolbar in the Frames view of the Debugger tool window is removed in this version.

11. QA Tools

• The Selenium UI Testing plugin include improvement in its Page Object Editor.
• This version enables you to choose language when creating new page through the new Open Object Wizard.

11. Plugins

JetBrains had unbundled plugins from the IDE such as Spring Batch, Spring Web Services, Grails, JAX-WS, JSF, Java EE: Batch, WebLogic, WebSphere, and Jetty. You only need to  installed them from JetBrains Marketplace.

12. Other improvements

Updated Kubernetes, Docker UI in the services tool window, remote development featuring new widget, database tool, Scala 3 support improvement and Space integration.