Skill: IDEA Maintenance Cycle

Automated maintenance workflow that orchestrates idea-tools skills.

When to Use

Regular IDEA project maintenance
After multiple structural changes
Before/after major development phases
Weekly/monthly maintenance routine

When NOT to Use

For single operations (use idea-tools skills directly)
For new project setup (use /idea onboard)
For quick sync only (use /idea sync-modules)

Workflow Steps

1. Pre-Flight Check

[ ] Verify .idea directory exists
[ ] Check for uncommitted IDEA config changes
[ ] Validate current module structure

2. Safety Backup

Invoke idea-tools:config-backup:

/idea backup

Creates timestamped backup before any modifications.

3. Module Synchronization

Invoke idea-tools:module-sync:

/idea sync-modules

Discover Git submodules
Scan PARA folders
Update modules.xml
Create/update .iml files

4. Scope Generation

Create/update file scopes:

Individual PARA category scopes
Composite scopes (Active Work, Knowledge Base)
Configuration scopes (Claude Config, Obsidian Config)

5. Verification

[ ] Modules load without errors
[ ] Scopes are accessible
[ ] VCS mappings correct
[ ] No orphaned .iml files

6. Status Report

Generate maintenance report:

IDEA Maintenance Report - 2026-01-31

Backup: idea_config_2026-01-31-xyz.zip
Modules: 12 synced (3 new, 0 removed)
Scopes: 15 updated
VCS Mappings: 8 configured

Status: SUCCESS

Command Reference

`/idea maintenance`

Full maintenance cycle with all steps.

Options:

--dry-run - Preview changes without applying
--skip-backup - Skip safety backup (not recommended)
--verbose - Detailed output

Example:

/idea maintenance --verbose

Orchestrated Skills

This skill orchestrates:

Skill	Purpose
`idea-tools:config-backup`	Safety backup creation
`idea-tools:module-sync`	Module synchronization

Error Handling

Error	Recovery
Backup failed	Check disk space, permissions
Sync failed	Restore from backup: `/idea restore`
Scope error	Manual scope recreation in IDEA
Verification failed	Review report, fix issues manually

Best Practices

Run weekly - Keep IDEA config in sync with project changes
Before major changes - Always backup first
Review reports - Check for unexpected changes
Keep backups - Don't delete old backups prematurely

Security & Permissions

Required tools: Read, Write, Bash
Files modified: .idea/*, .backups/idea/*
Confirmations: None (backup protects against issues)

Metadata

author: Christian Kusmanow / Claude
version: 1.0.0
last_updated: 2026-01-31
depends_on:
  - idea-tools:config-backup
  - idea-tools:module-sync

maintenance-cycle