Skill: IDEA Config Backup

Create and restore rolling backups of IntelliJ IDEA .idea/ configuration.

When to Use

Before major structural changes
Before module reorganization
When experimenting with settings
After making working configuration

When NOT to Use

For VCS operations (use git)
For module management (use /idea sync-modules)
For changelist work (use /idea changelist)

Quick Start

Create backup: /idea backup - Snapshot current config
List backups: /idea restore - Show available backups
Restore: /idea restore 3 - Restore backup #3

Commands

`/idea backup`

Create timestamped backup of .idea/ directory:

Create ZIP archive:
- Filename: idea-backup-{timestamp}.zip
- Location: .backups/idea/
Update backup log:
- Add entry to backup-log.xml
- Include timestamp, ID, description
Rolling cleanup:
- Keep last N backups (default: 10)
- Delete older archives

Output:

Created backup #7: idea-backup-2026-01-31-143022.zip
Location: .backups/idea/

`/idea restore`

List 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:

Verify backup exists
Confirm with user (destructive operation)
Create safety backup of current state
Extract ZIP to .idea/
Notify reload required

Output:

Restored backup #3 (2026-01-30 11:22:33)
Please restart IDEA to apply changes.

Backup Structure

Directory Layout

.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

backup-log.xml Format

<?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>

ZIP Contents

idea-backup-*.zip
├── workspace.xml
├── modules.xml
├── misc.xml
├── vcs.xml
├── *.iml
└── ...

Configuration

Rolling Backup Count

Default: Keep last 10 backups

Configurable via .claude/idea-tools.local.md:

---
backup_count: 10
backup_location: .backups/idea
---

Exclusions

Files excluded from backup:

workspace.xml cache sections
shelf/ (uncommitted changes)
usage.statistics.xml
tasks.xml (ephemeral)

Failure Modes & Recovery

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

Security & Permissions

Required tools: Read, Write, Bash (zip/unzip)
Confirmations: Before restore (destructive)
Safety: Auto-creates safety backup before restore

References

Backup Format - XML and ZIP specification

Metadata

author: Christian Kusmanow / Claude
version: 1.0.0
last_updated: 2026-01-31
migrated_from: idea-automation v1.1.0

config-backup