IntelliJ IDEA Plugin

Table of contents

  1. IntelliJ IDEA Plugin
    1. Language server features
    2. Intent Navigator
    3. Actions
    4. Settings
    5. Plugin signing (for maintainers)
      1. Generate the key pair
      2. Set GitHub repository secrets

The plugin auto-activates in any project containing docs/arrows/index.yaml. It works in all JetBrains IDEs: IntelliJ IDEA, GoLand, PyCharm, RustRover, WebStorm, and more.

Install from the JetBrains Marketplace — see Installation for all methods.

Language server features

Feature Trigger
Hover Point at @spec ID — shows spec text and status
Go to Definition F12 on @spec ID — jumps to the spec line in the spec file
Find References Alt+F7 on a spec definition — lists every source citation
Rename Shift+F6 on a spec ID — renames across the spec file and all @spec citations
Completion Type @spec — autocompletes from all known spec IDs
Diagnostics Squiggles on unknown @spec references; coverage warnings on spec lines
Syntax highlighting @spec keyword and spec IDs highlighted in all supported languages; status markers highlighted in *-specs.md files

Supported languages: Java, Kotlin, Groovy, Markdown, YAML, Rust, Python, Go, TypeScript, JavaScript, Scala, C#, Ruby, C++, C, and Shell Script.

Intent Navigator

The LID Navigator panel appears automatically on the right side of the IDE for any LID project.

  • Single-click a segment node → detail panel (status badge, spec progress bar, dependency chips, next/drift prose)
  • Double-click a segment node → edit mode: change status, cycle spec completion (○ → ✓ → ⊘), edit next/drift notes
  • Right-click a segment node → context menu: Open Arrow Doc / Open Spec File / Open LLD / Copy ID
  • + Segment button → add a new segment via overlay form; scaffolds index.yaml entry, arrow doc stub, and intent files (*-specs.md with prefix: frontmatter, *-design.md); the Spec Prefix field is pre-filled by majority-namespace inference and updates live as you type the segment ID
  • + Add spec in the panel → append a spec line directly to the spec file
  • Toolbar: filter by status, filter by cluster, fuzzy search, fit graph, focus neighbourhood
  • Auto-refreshes within 400 ms of any save to index.yaml or docs/intent/ markdown files

Actions

Action Location
Initialize LID Project Tools → Initialize LID Project — scaffolds docs/arrows/index.yaml, a first arrow doc stub, and docs/intent/ files for the first segment

Settings

Setting Default Description
lid.serverPath (bundled) Override path to the lid-lsp binary

Plugin signing (for maintainers)

Releasing to the JetBrains Marketplace requires a signed plugin. Generate the key pair once and store the output as GitHub repository secrets.

Generate the key pair 

# 1. Generate an RSA private key (encrypted)
openssl genpkey -aes-256-cbc -algorithm RSA \
  -out private_encrypted.pem -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:4096

# 2. Strip the passphrase (or keep it and set PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD)
openssl rsa -in private_encrypted.pem -out private.pem

# 3. Generate a self-signed certificate (10-year validity)
openssl req -key private.pem -new -x509 -days 3650 -out chain.crt

Set GitHub repository secrets

Go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions and add:

Secret Value
JETBRAINS_MARKETPLACE_TOKEN Token from plugins.jetbrains.com → your account → Tokens
CERTIFICATE_CHAIN Contents of chain.crt
PRIVATE_KEY Contents of private.pem
PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD Passphrase (empty string if stripped in step 2)

Pushing a v* tag triggers the release pipeline, which builds a fat-bundle plugin (all four platform lid-lsp binaries in one zip), signs it, and publishes it to the Marketplace automatically.