indеvIDE: The Ultimate Lightweight IDE for Indie Developers

Getting Started with indevIDE — A Beginner’s Guide—

Welcome to indevIDE — a lightweight, fast, and focused integrated development environment built with indie developers in mind. This guide will walk you through everything a beginner needs to get started: installation, interface tour, essential features, configuring projects, using plugins, common workflows, and tips for staying productive as you grow.

What is indevIDE?

indevIDE is a minimalist IDE designed to keep distractions low and productivity high. It balances the essentials — an editor, a debugger, a terminal, and project management — with a plugin system that lets you add features only when you need them. It’s ideal for solo developers, small teams, and anyone who prefers a clean, customizable workspace.

Why choose indevIDE?

Lightweight and fast: starts quickly and runs smoothly on modest hardware.
Focused feature set: includes the tools most developers use daily without bloating the interface.
Extensible: plugin architecture allows you to add language support, linters, and more.
Cross-platform: available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Beginner-friendly defaults with advanced options for power users.

System requirements

Basic requirements (may vary by OS and installed plugins):

OS: Windows 10+, macOS 10.14+, Linux (kernel 4.15+)
RAM: 4 GB (8 GB recommended)
Disk: 200 MB for base install; additional space for projects and plugins
CPU: Any modern dual-core processor or better

Installing indevIDE

Download the installer from the official website (choose the correct build for your OS).
Run the installer and follow the prompts (macOS: drag to Applications; Linux: use the package manager or AppImage).
Launch indevIDE. On first run you’ll see a setup wizard to choose a theme, font size, and default project folder.

First-time setup

Choose a color theme: Light, Dark, or Solarized.
Select a default shell for the integrated terminal (bash, zsh, PowerShell, etc.).
Configure automatic updates (on/off).
Optionally sign in to sync settings (local-only sync or cloud-backed if you enable it).

Interface overview

indevIDE uses a simple layout:

Left: Project explorer — files and folders.
Center: Editor tabs — open files.
Right: Optional panels — Outline, Git, Extensions.
Bottom: Integrated terminal and debug console.
Top: Toolbar and command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) for quick actions.

Quick tips:

Use Ctrl/Cmd+B to toggle the sidebar.
Press Ctrl/Cmd+P to open the command palette for any action.
Double-click files in the explorer to open in a new tab; single-click preview opens in a temporary tab.

Creating your first project

File → New Project.
Choose a template (Empty, Node.js, Python, Static Site, etc.).
Name your project and pick a folder.
indevIDE will scaffold basic files (README, .gitignore, main script).
Open the integrated terminal and run the starter command (for Node.js: npm install; for Python: create venv).

Example: Create a simple Node.js app

mkdir my-first-app cd my-first-app npm init -y npm install express

Create index.js:

const express = require('express') const app = express() app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello from indevIDE!')) app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on http://localhost:3000'))

Run it in the terminal:

node index.js

Editor essentials

Syntax highlighting: built-in for common languages; plugins add more.
Autocomplete & Intellisense: provides suggestions, function signatures, and documentation popups.
Multi-cursor and column selection: Alt+Click for extra cursors; Shift+Alt+Arrow for column selection.
Code formatting: Format on save can be enabled; built-in formatter or plugin-based (Prettier, Black).
Snippets: create and save code templates for repetitive blocks.

Debugging

indevIDE offers a simple but powerful debugger:

Set breakpoints by clicking the gutter.
Start a debug session (Run → Start Debugging).
Inspect variables, step over/into functions, and watch expressions.
Configure launch.json for custom debug configurations (Node, Python, Chrome).

Basic launch.json example for Node:

{   "version": "0.2.0",   "configurations": [     {       "type": "node",       "request": "launch",       "name": "Launch Program",       "program": "${workspaceFolder}/index.js"     }   ] }

Version control (Git)

Built-in Git panel: stage, commit, push, pull, and create branches.
Diff viewer: shows changes side-by-side.
Merge conflict helper: highlights conflicts and provides actions to accept/reject changes.
Integrate with GitHub/GitLab via OAuth for PRs and issue linking.

Quick Git workflow:

Initialize repository: Git → Initialize Repository.
Stage & commit: use the source control panel or terminal (git add ., git commit -m “Initial commit”).
Connect remote: git remote add origin && git push -u origin main.

Extensions and plugins

indevIDE’s extension marketplace includes:

Language packs (Go, Rust, TypeScript, etc.).
Linters and formatters (ESLint, Flake8, Prettier).
Debug adapters, Docker integration, and deployment tools.
Themes and icon sets.

Install extensions via the Extensions panel or Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X).

Common workflows

Web development: scaffold with template → install deps → run dev server → use live reload.
Python scripting: create venv → install requirements → use linting and test runner.
Small team: enable settings sync → use shared workspace settings → manage PRs from IDE.

Performance tips

Disable or remove unused extensions.
Exclude large folders (node_modules, build) from indexing.
Increase editor cache if you work with very large repos.

Troubleshooting

Editor slow: disable extensions and restart.
Terminal missing PATH: launch IDE from terminal or configure shell path in settings.
Debugger not attaching: verify runtime path and check firewall/permissions.

Helpful keyboard shortcuts (defaults)

Command Palette: Ctrl/Cmd+P
Toggle sidebar: Ctrl/Cmd+B
Open terminal: Ctrl/Cmd+`
Format document: Shift+Alt+F
Find in files: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F

Next steps & learning resources

Explore the extension marketplace for your language.
Try building a small project end-to-end (API, tests, deploy).
Read indevIDE’s official docs and community guides for advanced tips.

indevIDE is built to be simple to start and powerful to grow with. Start small, customize as you need, and you’ll quickly have a workflow that fits your projects and style.