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Is there a way in IntelliJ IDEA to delete previously used projects? I am referring to a list on the main page when the application starts. Please look at the image.

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  • 5
    This post is a time capsule to Intellij's UX from 12 years ago ^_^ Commented Oct 2, 2023 at 1:35
  • 2
    We don't have this feature in 2024 #sad_face #thumbs_down Commented Jan 16, 2024 at 9:37

11 Answers 11

Reset to default
73

File -> Open Recent -> Clear List

For versions of 2016+ this is no longer available. Use This solution: File -> Open Recent -> Manage Recent Projects / Startup Dialog, ctrl+a (select multiple with ctrl+click) -> del

For versions of 2023+ the update above won't work (ctrl+a and ctrl+click)

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5 Comments

This option has disappeard in newer versions. Why?
Option not available in 2016.2
I believe @NimChimpsky's answer is the correct one as of 2017.x
ctrl+a doesn't select all projects. Actually it does nothing.
ctrl+a does select all projects if focus is not search field but del button will remove still only 1 project from all selected projects. I wish Webstorm would have better way to manage recent & favorite projects. Some quick way from open project open another project with search option or something...
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File -> Open Recent -> Manage Projects .... CTRL-A then Delete to remove all, or hit the X to remove individual.

IntelliJ IDEA 2016.2.5

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5 Comments

Old procedure was good, this new one is bad. Why did they do this? Note that you can press X to the right as well, to remove it without right-clicking. It is easier when you have many projects.
@JohnyTex - look for Mateusz Szczepaniak's answer. ctrl-a homboi!
Works in 2016.3 as well.
doesn't work on 2022.3.2, selecting all was still deleting one by one.
doesn't work as of 2023.1.4
36

Locate config\options\other.xml file and manually edit the list of recent projects inside the XML under <component name="RecentProjectsManager"> node.

There is no way to remove individual projects from the UI. See Dan's reply otherwise.

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8 Comments

Both ways are working. While Dan's is faster and more suitable at the moment, your suggestion is great when I need to remove just a few recent projects. Thanks.
On Mac OS, the full path of this file is /Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/IntelliJIdea12/options/other.xml
Full path on Mac is a bit different now with version 13 /Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/IdealC13/options/other.xml
In idea 14 there is a separate file for this. find config\options\recentProjects.xml.
This is a pain - please just add a "Clear list" button.
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In MAC, ~/Library/Preferences/IdeaIC14/options/recentProjects.xml is the file to easily edit the list when you do not want to lose everything. (It is for IdeaIC14).

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This worked for me, for ~/.config/JetBrains/IntelliJIdea2023.2/options under Ubuntu.
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In IntelliJ15, you can remove them from welcome screen, works ctrl+a and then remove all of them.

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In Idea 2019 it is located in Idea Colder\config\options\recentProjects.xml

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In idea 2022 for MAC it is located under ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/IntelliJIdea2022.3/options

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For IDEA 2022 on Windows 10, the recent projects file is on the path:

C:\Users\*\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\IntelliJIdea2022.3\options\recentProjects.xml

I deleted all the <entry><\entry> labels.

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2 Comments

No luck in 2024.3.1. The file was present and included the old projects as described, but deleting them didn't shorten the Recent Projects list.
@isherwood My current version is 2025.1.1.1, and this method still works.
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Close all projects till you reach the welcome screen. Right click on the project and choose Remove Selected from Welcome Screen. Or click on the cross arrow on the upper right corner of the selected project.

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Cumbersome, but effective in 2024.3.1.
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Just figured, I am using Idea Community edition 13.1.1 and the cleanest and easiest way is to go to File > Reopen project > Clear List. I just stumbled upon this menu today. I always thought that is just to clear the latest projects from the view inside the IDE and just realized it is clearing the projects from the main Dialog too.

-VRS

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On Linux (Ubuntu) the list is cached in here

~/.config/JetBrains/WebStorm2023.3/options/recentProjects.xml
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