Slow Startup of IDE

Hello RedWisard 

Reviewing the logs, I found a Severe issue related to Kubernetes just after the IDE after initialization:

java.lang.IllegalStateException: No remote API found for com.intellij.kubernetes.editor.floatingToolbar.KubernetesFloatingToolbarRemoteApiRemoteApiDescriptorImpl@728324ca
	at com.intellij.platform.rpc.backend.impl.RemoteApiRegistry.resolve(RemoteApiRegistry.kt:67)

And also notice you have the Docker plugin disabled in your settings:

Disabled plugins: Docker (253.29346.240)

The error indicates that the IDE is trying to access a remote API service for the Kubernetes plugin, but the service is not registered or available in the current environment. This often happens when the Kubernetes plugin (or its backend part) is missing, disabled, or not properly loaded, while some frontend or dependent code still tries to use it.

So please try enabling the plugin and let me know if that helps.

Hi Monica, 

I updated the software as soon as the new release (2025.3.2) came out and reset all the plugins. I have already checked and all the plugin you mentioned were enabled but the startup was still slow. Just in case something changed I made another upload with today's logs, here is the ID: 2026_01_27_exBMF34Pvkn2NMq9EWmc8B.

Thank you for your time.

Hi RedWisard 

Thanks for the attachment. I'm reviewing the files. Analysing the files, the root cause appears to be a scanning issue with a large number of files.

So if the project contains (or references) a large directory tree with lots of non-source files (outputs, caches, dependency folders, etc.), the IDE startup spends time walking the filesystem. Even if the IDE later indexes only a few files for code insight, it still has to enumerate a lot of files to decide what’s relevant/excluded/changed.

To fix this issue, you can try the next:

1. Exclude the big folders from the project content roots
   • Mark directories like build outputs/dependencies as Excluded.
   • Ensure the project is opened at the correct root (not a parent directory that includes lots of unrelated stuff).
2. Stop generated/output directories from being treated as content
   • If the project setup (module roots) includes too broad a path, narrow it so that only source roots are included.
3. Reduce the “file count explosion”
   • If there’s a node_modules/ or similar huge folder inside the project, exclude it (or move it outside / use package manager settings).
4. Check IDE heap size
   • The diagnostics show maxMemory = 2 GB for the IDE runtime.
   • 2 GB can be tight for IntelliJ Ultimate + big projects; low heap can amplify scanning/indexing overhead via GC and cache misses. So try setting it to 4 GB.

If this doesn't help, please let me know if, when starting up, the status bar spends most of its time on “Scanning files” (or “Updating indexes”) or “Loading project” (or build tool import) right after the window appears?

Hi Monica, 

I have the folder that contains all my projects stored in the root of the system (like C:Projects/Project_1 etc.), but they are not so large projects as I am trying to learn some Java code. To avoid scanning all the file system, I can try to move them inside a deeper folder, and see if it works. Maybe set to 4GB the heap could help too. 

I will try as soon as I can and let you know. Ty for your patience. 

 Startup delays can be really frustrating  hopefully the logs help the team pinpoint the cause. In the meantime, clearing caches or disabling unused plugins sometimes helps. Also, when taking screenshots or sharing visuals in threads like this, tools such as an online hairstyle changer for female are often used just for fun edits before posting

Hi RedWisard,
 
Excuse me for the delayed reply; I was correlating the logs and dumps.
It looks like the next warning points to the root cause of the slowness at startup:

2026-01-27 15:25:52,847 [1014358]   WARN - #c.i.o.a.i.ActionUpdater - 150244 ms to call on BGT CreateFromTemplateGroup#children@MainMenu (com.intellij.ide.fileTemplates.actions.CreateFromTemplateGroup) "NewFromTemplate"
2026-01-27 15:25:52,847 [1014358]   WARN - #c.i.o.a.i.ActionUpdater - 150246 ms to call on BGT FileTemplateSeparator#children@MainMenu (com.intellij.ide.fileTemplates.actions.FileTemplateSeparator) "FileTemplateSeparatorGroup"
2026-01-27 15:25:52,848 [1014359]   WARN - #c.i.o.a.i.Utils - 150249 ms to fillMenu@MainMenu

 
This warning means that the 150s stall is specifically inside the “New / New From Template” menu population, i.e., while IntelliJ is enumerating File Templates / creating the “New” submenu, which is a reading action.
 
So, across the attached files, there is a recurring pattern of Windows-level file I/O stalls:

• There are multiple “freeze” dumps whose folder names explicitly include 
  WindowsNativeDispatcher.CreateFile0-150sec / ...-160sec
• In the thread dump (from the latest log set), there are stacks blocked in native Windows file open calls, e.g.java.base/sun.nio.fs.WindowsNativeDispatcher.CreateFile0(Native Method), while reading JAR/ZIP content (e.g., loading icons from plugin jars).

 This combination strongly indicates that IntelliJ is blocked on the OS while opening/reading files, not “doing heavy computation”. When that happens during CreateFromTemplateGroup#children, IntelliJ is likely trying to read template definitions from:

• the IDE installation/plugins (templates contributed by plugins), and/or
• your user config/templates directory

And Windows is taking an extremely long time to complete file open/read operations.
 
In practice, the most common causes for CreateFile0 stalls on Windows are:

1. Antivirus / Endpoint protection scanning (Windows Defender or corporate AV) is slowing down reads of many small files and JARs.
2. Roaming profile / OneDrive / redirected folders / network-backed paths for IDE config/system/plugins, causing blocking I/O.
3. Disk/filesystem problems (failing drive, very slow HDD, filter drivers).
4. Less often: some 3rd-party filesystem filter driver (DLP, backup, encryption, “sync”, etc.) causing this kind of delays.

 To verify this problem, please test by temporarily disabling real-time protection. Just as a diagnostic step (not permanent): disable AV real-time scanning briefly and restart the IDE.

• If the 150s “fillMenu” disappears (startup behaves faster) → you’ve confirmed the root cause.

 If this is the problem, please, exclude IntelliJ + JetBrains folders from antivirus/endpoint scanning, adding exclusions (at least) for:

• IDE installation folder (e.g. C:\Users\...\AppData\Local\Programs\IntelliJ IDEA ...\)
• IDE system directory: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\JetBrains\IntelliJIdea2025.3\
• IDE config directory: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\IntelliJIdea2025.3\
• Project folder(s) if they are large or in slower locations

If this is a corporate machine with security tooling, this single change often turns “minutes” into “seconds”.
 
If the previous is not the root cause, follow the next steps:

1. Ensure the config/system is on a fast local disk (not OneDrive / network redirection). Even though your paths look local, they can still be redirected by enterprise policies or sync tools. Check whether:

   • is redirected/roaming AppData\Roaming
   • OneDrive is syncing Desktop/Documents, and your projects live there
   • any “Controlled folder access” / DLP product is involved

   If you suspect redirection, move the IntelliJ system/config paths to a local, non-synced directory (JetBrains supports changing these via the properties/vmoptions file) or disable redirection for those folders.

2. Check disk health/storage performance, because you have repeated 150–160s stalls at the OS file open layer, also verify:
   • drive health (SMART)
   • Windows Event Viewer → Disk / NTFS warnings
   • available free disk space
   • whether the project is on an HDD or an external drive

Please let me know if this helps.

Hi Monica, 

Sorry for the late response. I tryed to exclude the folders from the antivirus scan and now it opens fast! I had already excluded one folder but not the others, so now it starts smoothly, thank you for your help and patience!