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Scratch files

A scratch file is a throwaway file in any language: a place to try a snippet, keep notes or paste a response, without adding anything to the project.
1

Create one

Choose File › New Scratch File… (or Scratch File at the top of the Project view’s New menu).
2

Pick a language

Type to filter the language list and press ↵ / Enter.
3

Edit

The file opens in a normal editor tab. It is named scratch.<ext>, then scratch_1.<ext>, scratch_2.<ext> and so on. For C, C++, Go, Java, Kotlin and Rust the file starts with an empty main function.
Scratch files are saved in a scratches folder in OpenIDEA’s application data directory, not in the project, so they are shared by all projects and are not seen by Git: They are listed under Scratches in the Project view, where you can open, rename and delete them like other files. Because a scratch file is outside every project, some language servers give it only syntax checks; completion and navigation may be limited. A banner at the top of the editor says so when the server reports it.

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TODO

OpenIDEA collects comments that contain TODO, FIXME, HACK or XXX in the TODO tool window and highlights them in the editor, each pattern in its own colour.

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The TODO tool window

Open it from View › Tool Windows › TODO, or with Show TODO Items in Current File in Find Action. Its tabs are:
  • Project: every TODO item in the project.
  • Current File: the items in the active editor, updated as you type.
  • Scope Based: the items in a scope you choose, including custom scopes (Edit Scopes…).
  • Changes: the items in files with uncommitted changes, optionally for one changelist.
Items are grouped by file. Click one to jump to it. The toolbar has a pattern filter (Filter TODO Items), Match Case and Refresh; the options menu turns on a preview and autoscroll to the source. The list updates when files change on disk and when you save; Refresh TODO Items rescans the project. At most 10 000 matches are shown.

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Patterns

Settings › Editor › TODO controls what counts as a TODO item:
  • Patterns: add, remove, enable or recolour keywords. Restore Defaults brings back TODO, FIXME, HACK and XXX.
  • Case sensitive: on by default, so todo does not match TODO.
  • Only in comments: on by default; a match counts only when it follows a comment marker on its line.

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Before committing

The commit dialog’s Check TODO option warns about TODO and FIXME comments in the lines you added or changed. See Version control.