Where Does IntelliJ IDEA Store Settings and Caches?
IntelliJ IDEA splits config, plugins, system caches and logs across versioned folders. Exact paths on Windows, macOS and Linux.
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Every major IntelliJ IDEA release gets its own versioned folders, like IntelliJIdea2026.2. Keymaps, color schemes and VM options live in the config folder. Plugins sit inside it. The bulky indexes and caches live in a separate system folder, with logs beside them.
That split is what makes cleanup safe. Delete the system folder to fix a broken index; your settings survive. Each new major version starts fresh and prunes caches of releases untouched for 180 days. Point Help > Edit Custom Properties at idea.properties to relocate any of the four roots.
Where IntelliJ IDEA stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\JetBrains\IntelliJIdea2026.2
Config and plugins here. System caches and logs live under %LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\IntelliJIdea2026.2. Match the version number to your installed release.
~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/IntelliJIdea2026.2
Config and plugins. Caches sit in ~/Library/Caches/JetBrains and logs in ~/Library/Logs/JetBrains under the same versioned name.
~/.config/JetBrains/IntelliJIdea2026.2
Config here, plugins under ~/.local/share/JetBrains and caches under ~/.cache/JetBrains. The same layout covers every JetBrains IDE with its own folder name.
Frequently asked questions
How do I wipe IntelliJ caches without losing settings?
Close the IDE and delete only the system folder (%LOCALAPPDATA% on Windows, ~/Library/Caches on Mac, ~/.cache on Linux). Leave the config folder alone. Reopening rebuilds indexes from scratch, which takes a while on large projects.
Where did my settings go after upgrading IntelliJ?
New major versions create new folders and import settings from the previous one on first launch. If the import prompt was skipped, check for a *-backup folder next to the versioned directories and use File > Manage IDE Settings > Import Settings.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.