sidebar-tool-window-setup.md

SpringForge Sidebar Tool Window

Overview

The SpringForge plugin now includes a comprehensive sidebar tool window that provides quick access to all SpringForge features directly from the IntelliJ IDEA sidebar, similar to Maven, Copilot, and other popular extensions.

Features

The sidebar includes 4 main tabs:

1. Code Gen (Code Generation)

• Create New Spring Boot Project
• Analyze Existing Project (Architecture Detection)
• Generate LLM Prompt for Code Generation

2. CI/CD (CI/CD Pipeline Generator)

• Source Selection: Local Project or GitHub Repository
• Generate:
  • Dockerfile
  • GitHub Actions Workflow
  • Docker Compose
  • Kubernetes Manifests
• Real-time progress tracking
• Output console for generation results

3. Quality (Quality Assurance)

• ML-powered architecture violation detection
• Anti-pattern analysis
• Results displayed directly in the panel

4. Runtime (Runtime Debugger)

• Runtime performance monitoring
• Memory leak detection
• Request tracing
• Metrics collection

How to Access

Opening the Tool Window

1. From the sidebar: Look for the "SpringForge" tab on the right side of your IDE
2. From the menu: View → Tool Windows → SpringForge
3. Using keyboard: Press Alt+S (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+S (Mac) - if configured

Using the Tool Window

1. Click on the SpringForge tab in the right sidebar
2. The tool window will open showing all 4 tabs
3. Click on any tab to access its features:
   • Code Gen: Click "Run" buttons to execute code generation tasks
   • CI/CD: Select options and click "Generate CI/CD Files"
   • Quality: Click "Analyze" to run code quality checks
   • Runtime: Click "Start" to launch the runtime debugger

CI/CD Panel Usage

Local Project Analysis

1. Select "Local Project" radio button
2. Choose which files to generate (Dockerfile, GitHub Actions, etc.)
3. Click "Generate CI/CD Files"
4. Monitor progress in the output console
5. Generated files will be saved to your project root

GitHub Repository Analysis

1. Select "GitHub Repository" radio button
2. Enter the repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-petclinic)
3. Enter the branch name (default: main)
4. Choose which files to generate
5. Click "Generate CI/CD Files"
6. Monitor progress in the output console

Requirements for GitHub Analysis:

• Docker Desktop must be installed and running
• GitHub Personal Access Token must be configured in .env file

Benefits of Sidebar Approach

Compared to Menu Actions:

• ✅ Always Accessible: No need to navigate through menus
• ✅ Persistent UI: Keep the panel open while working
• ✅ Real-time Feedback: See progress and results immediately
• ✅ Better Organization: All features grouped in one place
• ✅ Workflow Integration: Works alongside Maven, Gradle, Git tabs

User Experience:

• Similar to GitHub Copilot's sidebar interface
• Familiar tab-based navigation
• Clean, modern UI with IntelliJ native components
• Progress indicators for long-running tasks
• Output console for detailed logs

Architecture

Components

org.springforge.toolwindow/
├── SpringForgeToolWindowFactory.kt    # Main factory that creates the tool window
├── SpringForgeToolWindowService.kt    # Service to manage tool window state
├── SpringForgeToolWindowPanel.kt      # Main panel with tabs
└── panels/
    ├── CICDPanel.kt                   # CI/CD generation panel
    ├── CodeGenerationPanel.kt         # Code generation panel
    ├── QualityAssurancePanel.kt       # Quality analysis panel
    └── RuntimeDebuggerPanel.kt        # Runtime debugger panel

Plugin Configuration

The tool window is registered in plugin.xml:

<toolWindow
    id="SpringForge"
    anchor="right"
    factoryClass="org.springforge.toolwindow.SpringForgeToolWindowFactory"/>

Customization

Changing Position

By default, the tool window appears on the right side (anchor="right"). You can change this in plugin.xml:

• anchor="left" - Left sidebar
• anchor="bottom" - Bottom panel
• anchor="right" - Right sidebar (default)

Adding Custom Tabs

To add a new tab to the tool window:

1. Create a new panel in org.springforge.toolwindow.panels/:

class MyCustomPanel(private val project: Project) : JPanel() {
    init {
        layout = BorderLayout()
        // Add your UI components
    }
}

2. Register it in SpringForgeToolWindowPanel.kt:

private val myCustomPanel = MyCustomPanel(project)

tabbedPane.apply {
    addTab("Code Gen", codeGenPanel)
    addTab("CI/CD", cicdPanel)
    addTab("Quality", qualityPanel)
    addTab("Runtime", runtimePanel)
    addTab("My Custom", myCustomPanel)  // Add your tab
}

Migration from Menu Actions

The sidebar tool window provides the same functionality as the menu actions:

Menu Action	Sidebar Location
Tools → SpringForge → Generate Code → Create New Project	Code Gen Tab → Create New Spring Boot Project
Tools → SpringForge → Generate Code → Existing Project	Code Gen Tab → Analyze Existing Project
Tools → SpringForge → Generate Code → Generate Prompt	Code Gen Tab → Generate LLM Prompt
Tools → SpringForge → Generate CI/CD Pipeline	CI/CD Tab → Generate CI/CD Files
Tools → SpringForge → Analyze Code Quality	Quality Tab → Analyze Code Quality
Tools → SpringForge → Start Runtime Debugger	Runtime Tab → Start Runtime Debugger

Note: Both the sidebar and menu actions remain available. Users can choose their preferred workflow.

Troubleshooting

Tool Window Not Appearing

1. Check that the plugin is properly installed
2. Restart IntelliJ IDEA
3. Go to View → Tool Windows and look for "SpringForge"

Panel Features Not Working

1. Ensure all required dependencies are installed (AWS credentials, Docker, etc.)
2. Check the IntelliJ event log for errors
3. Review the plugin logs in .idea/ directory

GitHub Integration Not Working

1. Verify Docker Desktop is running
2. Check that GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN is set in .env
3. Ensure the repository URL is valid

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements for future versions:

• Drag-and-drop support for files
• Inline editing of generated files
• History of previous generations
• Favorites/bookmarks for frequently used templates
• Settings panel within the tool window
• Keyboard shortcuts for quick actions

Feedback

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for the sidebar tool window, please:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Review existing GitHub issues
3. Open a new issue with detailed reproduction steps

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Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: January 2026