Exploring the .idea Folder in Android

Unraveling the mysterious folder

When is it ever good to ignore something that you don’t know anything about? Perhaps there are specific scenarios where such an action would be acceptable, such as using a car without understanding the engine. Yet, when it comes to aspects of your job which intimately affect your day-to-day operations, a better answer would likely be “never.”

Whenever I used to start a new Android or another IntelliJ-based project, the first thing I would often do was throw the entire .idea folder into my .gitignore file, and then proceed to set up my IDE and project to my specifications. I never gave another thought to what I was ignoring, because I had no idea what was inside that folder.

Little did I know what time I could have saved and what quality I could have brought to my project had I understood that folder a little better and could share it with my teammates. I’ve learned quite a bit about this mysterious folder from my research and real-world, collaborative experiences. By the end of this article, you’ll understand what parts of it you can share, and what you should keep to yourself.

Folder Anatomy

It is a bit difficult to pin down the exact structure of an .idea folder, since that is often a dumping ground for your IDE…