What is the .idea folder?

The .idea folder (hidden on OS X) in the solution root contains IntelliJ’s project specific settings files. These include per-project details such as VCS mapping and run and debug configurations, as well as per-user details, such as currently open files, navigation history and currently selected configuration.

Some files should be committed to source control, some should be excluded. Usually, one needs to share the following:

indexLayout.xml - this file is for the information about external folders attached to the solution, which are not the part of a .NET project. Such folders can be added via right-click on a solution -> “Attach Existing Folder...”.

vcs.xml - this file is for VCS-related internal information, as which VCS is enabled, etc.

runConfigurations - this folder is for shared run configurations.

Other files inside of .idea folder can be safely excluded from VCS (ex. modules.xml and riderModule.iml), as Rider can generate them again.

Please refer to this JetBrains.gitignore on GitHub to see what exactly should be ignored.

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10 comments

But that linked .gitignore file doesn't exclude modules.xml or riderModule.iml.

3

Can I set .idea folder to some general location I set somewhere, unrelated to my source/Cmakefiles directories? if so where should I configure its location?

4

I think there should be a link to comprehensive list of files that should be included.

2

Can one mark that folder as "Excluded" from project itself?

2

There is .gitignore file in .Idea folder, should I add it to GIT?

0

Does the "ex." in "Other files inside of .idea folder can be safely excluded from VCS (ex. modules.xml and riderModule.iml), as Rider can generate them again." mean "for example" or "excluding"?

In English convention for "for example" is "e.g.".

1

This is really confusing. I am on my project folder but I see no `.idea` folder. Where is it suppose to be?

0

anyway to hide this in Windows  file explorer and from the Git Bash terminal? thanks!

0

Where is the "solution root"?

0

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