Create and restore rolling backups of IntelliJ IDEA configuration. Manages timestamped ZIP backups with XML-tracked log for easy restoration by ID.
Create and restore rolling backups of IntelliJ IDEA .idea/ configuration.
/idea sync-modules)/idea changelist)/idea backup - Snapshot current config/idea restore - Show available backups/idea restore 3 - Restore backup #3/idea backupCreate timestamped backup of .idea/ directory:
Create ZIP archive:
idea-backup-{timestamp}.zip.backups/idea/Update backup log:
backup-log.xmlRolling cleanup:
Output:
Created backup #7: idea-backup-2026-01-31-143022.zip
Location: .backups/idea/
/idea restoreList available backups:
Available IDEA Backups:
#1 2026-01-28 09:15:22 Before module reorg
#2 2026-01-29 14:30:45 After scope setup
#3 2026-01-30 11:22:33 Pre-experiment
#4 2026-01-31 14:30:22 Current config
/idea restore [id]Restore specific backup:
.idea/Output:
Restored backup #3 (2026-01-30 11:22:33)
Please restart IDEA to apply changes.
.backups/
└── idea/
├── backup-log.xml
├── idea-backup-2026-01-28-091522.zip
├── idea-backup-2026-01-29-143045.zip
└── idea-backup-2026-01-31-143022.zip
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<backups>
<backup id="1" timestamp="2026-01-28T09:15:22"
file="idea-backup-2026-01-28-091522.zip"
description="Before module reorg" />
<backup id="2" timestamp="2026-01-29T14:30:45"
file="idea-backup-2026-01-29-143045.zip"
description="After scope setup" />
</backups>
idea-backup-*.zip
├── workspace.xml
├── modules.xml
├── misc.xml
├── vcs.xml
├── *.iml
└── ...
Default: Keep last 10 backups
Configurable via .claude/idea-tools.local.md:
---
backup_count: 10
backup_location: .backups/idea
---
Files excluded from backup:
workspace.xml cache sectionsshelf/ (uncommitted changes)usage.statistics.xmltasks.xml (ephemeral)| Issue | Recovery |
|---|---|
| Backup corrupted | Use earlier backup |
| Restore failed | Safety backup exists at .backups/idea/safety-{timestamp}.zip |
| Disk full | Clean old backups: rm .backups/idea/*.zip |
| Permission denied | Check file ownership |