**IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template** is a repository that provides a pure template to make it easier to create a new plugin project (check the [Creating a repository from a template][gh:template] article).
The main goal of this template is to speed up the setup phase of plugin development for both new and experienced developers by preconfiguring the project scaffold and CI, linking to the proper documentation pages, and keeping everything organized.
After using the template to create your blank project, the [Template Cleanup][file:template_cleanup.yml] workflow will be triggered to override or remove any template-specific configurations, such as the plugin name, current changelog, etc.
Once this is complete, open the newly created project's _Settings | Actions | General_ page and enable option _Allow GitHub Actions to create and approve pull requests_.
Now the project is ready to be cloned to your local environment and opened with [IntelliJ IDEA][jb:download-ij].
The most convenient way for getting your new project from GitHub is the <kbd>Get from VCS</kbd> action available on the Welcome Screen, where you can filter your GitHub repository by its name.
The next step, after opening your project in IntelliJ IDEA, is to set the proper <kbd>SDK</kbd> to Java in version `17` within the [Project Structure settings][docs:project-structure-settings].
For the last step, you have to manually review the configuration variables described in the [`gradle.properties`][file:gradle.properties] file and *optionally* move sources from the *com.github.username.repository* package to the one that works best for you.
The recommended method for plugin development involves using the [Gradle][gradle] setup with the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin] installed.
- Integration with the [gradle-changelog-plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin], which automatically patches the change notes based on the `CHANGELOG.md` file.
For more details regarding Kotlin integration, please see [Kotlin for Plugin Developers][docs:kotlin] in the IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK documentation.
The properties listed define the plugin itself or configure the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin] – check its documentation for more details.
Some values used for the Gradle configuration shouldn't be stored in files to avoid publishing them to the Version Control System.
To avoid that, environment variables are introduced, which can be provided within the *Run/Debug Configuration* within the IDE, or on the CI – like for GitHub: `⚙️ Settings > Secrets`.
Environment variables used by the current project are related to the [plugin signing](#plugin-signing) and [publishing](#publishing-the-plugin).
In addition to the configuration files, the most crucial part is the `src` directory, which contains our implementation and the manifest for our plugin – [plugin.xml][file:plugin.xml].
The prepared template provides as little code as possible because it is impossible for a general scaffold to fulfill all the specific requirements for all types of plugins (language support, build tools, VCS related tools).
Therefore, the template contains only the following files:
To start with the actual implementation, you may check our [IntelliJ Platform SDK DevGuide][docs], which contains an introduction to the essential areas of the plugin development together with dedicated tutorials.
For those who value example codes the most, there are also available [IntelliJ SDK Code Samples][gh:code-samples] and [IntelliJ Platform Explorer][jb:ipe] – a search tool for browsing Extension Points inside existing implementations of open-source IntelliJ Platform plugins.
[Testing plugins][docs:testing-plugins] is an essential part of the plugin development to make sure that everything works as expected between IDE releases and plugin refactorings.
In `src/test/kotlin`, you'll find a basic `MyPluginTest` test that utilizes `BasePlatformTestCase` and runs a few checks against the XML files to indicate an example operation of creating files on the fly or reading them from `src/test/testData/rename` test resources.
> Run your tests using predefined *Run Tests* configuration or by invoking the `./gradlew check` Gradle task.
### Code coverage
The [Kover][gh:kover] – a Gradle plugin for Kotlin code coverage agents: IntelliJ and JaCoCo – is integrated into the project to provide the code coverage feature.
If your plugin provides complex user interfaces, you should consider covering them with tests and the functionality they utilize.
[IntelliJ UI Test Robot][gh:intellij-ui-test-robot] allows you to write and execute UI tests within the IntelliJ IDE running instance.
You can use the [XPath query language][xpath] to find components in the currently available IDE view.
Once IDE with `robot-server` has started, you can open the `http://localhost:8082` page that presents the currently available IDEA UI components hierarchy in HTML format and use a simple `XPath` generator, which can help test your plugin's interface.
> Run IDE for UI tests using predefined *Run IDE for UI Tests* and then *Run Tests* configurations or by invoking the `./gradlew runIdeForUiTests` and `./gradlew check` Gradle tasks.
Check the UI Test Example project you can use as a reference for setting up UI testing in your plugin: [intellij-ui-test-robot/ui-test-example][gh:ui-test-example].
A dedicated [Run UI Tests](.github/workflows/run-ui-tests.yml) workflow is available for manual triggering to run UI tests against three different operating systems: macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Due to its optional nature, this workflow isn't set as an automatic one, but this can be easily achieved by changing the `on` trigger event, like in the [Build](.github/workflows/build.yml) workflow file.
To increase the project value, the IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template got integrated with [Qodana][jb:qodana], a code quality monitoring platform that allows you to check the condition of your implementation and find any possible problems that may require enhancing.
Qodana brings into your CI/CD pipelines all the smart features you love in the JetBrains IDEs and generates an HTML report with the actual inspection status.
Qodana inspections are accessible within the project on two levels:
Qodana inspection is configured with the `qodana { ... }` section in the Gradle build file and [`qodana.yml`][file:qodana.yml] YAML configuration file.
To run inspections, you can use a predefined *Run Qodana* configuration, which will provide a full report on `http://localhost:8080`, or invoke the Gradle task directly with the `./gradlew runInspections` command.
A final report is available in the `./build/reports/inspections/` directory.
Within the default project structure, there is a `.run` directory provided containing predefined *Run/Debug configurations* that expose corresponding Gradle tasks:
| Run Plugin | Runs [`:runIde`][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin-runIde] Gradle IntelliJ Plugin task. Use the *Debug* icon for plugin debugging. |
| Run Verifications | Runs [`:runPluginVerifier`][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin-runPluginVerifier] Gradle IntelliJ Plugin task to check the plugin compatibility against the specified IntelliJ IDEs. |
| Run IDE for UI Tests | Runs [`:runIdeForUiTests`][gh:intellij-ui-test-robot] Gradle IntelliJ Plugin task to allow for running UI tests within the IntelliJ IDE running instance. |
| Run Qodana | Runs [`:runInspections`][gh:gradle-qodana-plugin] Gradle Qodana Plugin task. Starts Qodana inspections in a Docker container and serves generated report on `localhost:8080`. |
Continuous integration depends on [GitHub Actions][gh:actions], a set of workflows that make it possible to automate your testing and release process.
Thanks to such automation, you can delegate the testing and verification phases to the Continuous Integration (CI) and instead focus on development (and writing more tests).
All plugins and dependencies used by Gradle are managed with [Gradle version catalog][gradle:version-catalog], which defines versions and coordinates of your dependencies in the [`gradle/libs.versions.toml`][file:libs.versions.toml] file.
Keeping the project in good shape and having all the dependencies up-to-date requires time and effort, but it is possible to automate that process using [Dependabot][gh:dependabot].
Dependabot is a bot provided by GitHub to check the build configuration files and review any outdated or insecure dependencies of yours – in case if any update is available, it creates a new pull request providing [the proper change][gh:dependabot-pr].
There are many methods for handling the project's changelog.
The one used in the current template project is the [Keep a Changelog][keep-a-changelog] approach.
The [Gradle Changelog Plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin] takes care of propagating information provided within the [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md) to the [Gradle IntelliJ Plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin].
- Initial scaffold created from [IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template](https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template)
```
Now proceed with providing more entries to the `Added` group, or any other one that suits your change the most (see [How do I make a good changelog?][keep-a-changelog-how] for more details).
When releasing a plugin update, you don't have to care about bumping the `[Unreleased]` header to the upcoming version – it will be handled automatically on the Continuous Integration (CI) after you publish your plugin.
GitHub Actions will swap it and provide you an empty section for the next release so that you can proceed with your development:
```
# YourPlugin Changelog
## [Unreleased]
## [0.0.1]
### Added
- An awesome feature
- Initial scaffold created from [IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template](https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-platform-plugin-template)
### Fixed
- One annoying bug
```
To configure how the Changelog plugin behaves, i.e., to create headers with the release date, see [Gradle Changelog Plugin][gh:gradle-changelog-plugin] README file.
The release process depends on the workflows already described above.
When your main branch receives a new pull request or a direct push, the [Build](.github/workflows/build.yml) workflow runs multiple tests on your plugin and prepares a draft release.
When you edit the draft and use the <kbd>Publish release</kbd> button, GitHub will tag your repository with the given version and add a new entry to the Releases tab.
Plugin Signing is a mechanism introduced in the 2021.2 release cycle to increase security in [JetBrains Marketplace](https://plugins.jetbrains.com) and all of our IntelliJ-based IDEs.
The current project provides a predefined plugin signing configuration that lets you sign and publish your plugin from the Continuous Integration (CI) and local environments.
All the configuration related to the signing should be provided using [environment variables](#environment-variables).
To find out how to generate signing certificates, check the [Plugin Signing][docs:plugin-signing] section in the IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK documentation.
> Make sure to follow all guidelines listed in [Publishing a Plugin][docs:publishing] to follow all recommended and required steps.
Releasing a plugin to [JetBrains Marketplace](https://plugins.jetbrains.com) is a straightforward operation that uses the `publishPlugin` Gradle task provided by the [gradle-intellij-plugin][gh:gradle-intellij-plugin-docs].
In addition, the [Release](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow automates this process by running the task when a new release appears in the GitHub Releases section.
> Set a suffix to the plugin version to publish it in the custom repository channel, i.e. `v1.0.0-beta` will push your plugin to the `beta` [release channel][docs:release-channel].
> Before using the automated deployment process, it is necessary to manually create a new plugin in JetBrains Marketplace to specify options like the license, repository URL, etc.
If the message contains one of the following strings: `[skip ci]`, `[ci skip]`, `[no ci]`, `[skip actions]`, or `[actions skip]`– workflows will not be triggered.
