IntelliJ IDEA Slow or Freezing

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Check background tasks

   Copy steps
   1. Look at the status bar and the progress popup
   2. Let indexing or sync finish before judging performance
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Raise heap

   1. Open Help | Change Memory Settings and Save and Restart
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Find a bad plugin

   Copy steps
   1. Open Settings | Plugins and disable recently installed or updated plugins
   2. Restart and test again
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Invalidate caches

   1. Open File | Invalidate Caches and choose Invalidate and Restart
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Update the IDE

   1. Use Help | Check for Updates, since many freezes are fixed in minor releases
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Typing lags, completion takes seconds, the UI hangs for a moment or completely.

Why it happens

• Background indexing or Gradle/Maven sync running
• Heap exhausted
• Third-party plugin blocking the UI thread
• Corrupt caches
• Antivirus or low disk speed

This guide also covers

• why is intellij so slow
• intellij freezing
• intellij lag typing
• intellij ui freeze

Other JetBrains IntelliJ errors

• IntelliJ IDEA Indexing Takes Forever
• IntelliJ IDEA High Memory Usage
• IntelliJ IDEA Cannot Resolve Symbol
• IntelliJ IDEA Maven Import Failed
• IntelliJ IDEA Gradle Sync Failed
• IntelliJ IDEA JDK Not Found or Invalid
• IntelliJ IDEA License or Activation Error
• JetBrains AI Quota Exceeded in IntelliJ IDEA