How to reset phpStorm IDE settings - 2023?

phpStorm is my favorite IDE on Mac OSX. I was trying to port color settings from TextMate using the TextMate Bundles importer and in the process totally messed up my code styling. Now I can only change the background color of the code using themes, but the text remains white. All the coders here would unanimously believe that plain white code ain't very pleasing to look at, especially for longer coding sessions.

Anyone knows how to go back to default phpStorm settings?

Answer: Here’s how to reset phpStorm IDE to its default settings.

How to Reset PhpStorm IDE Settings

There are times when you might need to reset PhpStorm to its default settings. This could be because it is not working properly, you have made changes that you don't like and can't undo, or simply because you want to start fresh. Resetting PhpStorm involves uninstalling the software, then deleting specific files from your operating system. In this article, we'll walk you through the steps needed to reset PhpStorm on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Uninstall PhpStorm

The first step in resetting PhpStorm is to uninstall the program. This process varies slightly depending on your operating system.

- On Windows, open the Start Menu, then navigate to "Settings > Apps > Apps & features". Scroll down the list until you find PhpStorm, click on it, then click "Uninstall".

- On macOS, open Finder, navigate to the Applications folder, locate PhpStorm, then drag it to the Trash.

- On Linux, the process will depend on the method you used to install PhpStorm. If you used the snap package, for example, you could use the command sudo snap remove phpstorm.

Please note, uninstalling PhpStorm will not remove your personal settings. To do this, you will need to delete certain files from your operating system, as explained in the next section.

Delete PhpStorm Files

After uninstalling PhpStorm, you will need to delete the PhpStorm configuration, plugins, system files, and logs. The location of these files depends on your operating system.

Windows

Here are the paths to the PhpStorm files on Windows:

- Configuration (`idea.config.path`): %APPDATA%\JetBrains\PhpStorm

- Plugins (`idea.plugins.path`): %APPDATA%\JetBrains\PhpStorm\plugins

- System (`idea.system.path`): %LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\PhpStorm

- Logs (`idea.log.path`): %LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\PhpStorm\log

Replace with your version of PhpStorm, such as 2023.1.

To navigate to these paths, press Win + R to open the Run dialog, paste the path into the dialog, then hit Enter. Once you're in the folder, delete all the files.

macOS

Here are the paths to the PhpStorm files on macOS:

- Configuration (`idea.config.path`): ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/PhpStorm

- Plugins (`idea.plugins.path`): ~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/PhpStorm/plugins

- System (`idea.system.path`): ~/Library/Caches/JetBrains/PhpStorm

- Logs (`idea.log.path`): ~/Library/Logs/JetBrains/PhpStorm

Replace with your version of PhpStorm, such as 2023.1.

To navigate to these paths, open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G to open the Go to the folder dialog, paste the path into the dialog, then hit Enter. Once you're in the folder, delete all the files.

Linux

Here are the paths to the PhpStorm files on Linux:

- Configuration (`idea.config.path`): ~/.config/JetBrains/PhpStorm

- Plugins (`idea.plugins.path`): ~/.local/share/JetBrains/PhpStorm

- System (`idea.system.path`): ~/.cache/JetBrains/PhpStorm

- Logs (`idea.log.path`): ~/.cache/JetBrains/PhpStorm/log

Replace with your version of PhpStorm, such as 2023.1.

To navigate to these paths, open a Terminal window, then use the cd command followed by the path. Once you're in the directory, use the rm command to delete the files.

Reinstall PhpStorm

After you have uninstalled PhpStorm and deleted the files, you can reinstall PhpStorm by downloading the latest version from the official JetBrains website. This will give you a fresh installation of PhpStorm with the default settings.

Remember to back up your settings before doing this process if you think you may need to revert back to them. The process is irreversible, and all your personal configurations, settings, installed plugins, and local history will be lost.

Let me know if you run into errors or issues. Happy PHPing!