Should you commit the .idea folder?

The short answer is: You should commit parts of the .idea folder, but not all of it.

Why?

Project-level settings (shareable):

1. vcs.xml: Version control settings (which VCS is enabled, etc.). This is very useful to share.
2. modules.xml: Points to the .iml files for your modules. Crucial for multi-module projects.
3. runConfigurations/: Contains shared run/debug configurations. If you have standard ways to start your microservices, committing these makes it easy for everyone.
4. codeStyles/: If you have a shared code style, this folder contains its definition.
5. misc.xml: Contains various project-level settings like project SDK, language level, etc.
6. compiler.xml: Compiler output paths.
7. jarRepositories.xml: Information about configured Maven/Gradle repositories.

User-specific settings (should NOT be committed):

1. workspace.xml: Stores your personal workspace layout, open files, active run configurations, UI state, breakpoints, etc. This will cause constant merge conflicts and is specific to your local setup.
2. tasks.xml: User-specific tasks.
3. usage.statistics.xml: Anonymous usage statistics.
4. shelf/: Stores shelved changes.
5. dataSources/: Contains local data source configurations (often with sensitive credentials if not handled carefully).

sample .gitignore

# IntelliJ IDEA
.idea/workspace.xml
.idea/tasks.xml
.idea/usage.statistics.xml
.idea/dictionaries/
.idea/shelf/
.idea/dataSources/
.idea/dataSources.ids
.idea/dataSources.local.xml
.idea/sqlDataSources.xml
.idea/dynamic.xml
.idea/uiDesigner.xml
.idea/libraries/ # If Gradle/Maven manages dependencies, these are redundant
.idea/aws.xml # If you have AWS Toolkit settings that are user-specific
.idea/gradle.xml # Often generated by auto-import, can be ignored if you trust Gradle to recreate
.idea/external_system_id.xml # Similar to gradle.xml
# .idea/modules.xml # Some people ignore this for Maven/Gradle projects, but for multi-module Gradle,
                  # it's often useful to keep it if you manually manage modules.
                  # If your settings.gradle fully defines modules, IntelliJ can recreate it.
                  # However, it's safer to keep for consistent setup.

# Generally, for Gradle projects, it's often recommended to ignore the .iml files as well,
# as Gradle can regenerate them.
*.iml