How to immediately see compile errors in project tree of IntelliJ Idea?

I'm wondering if it is possible to configure IntelliJ Idea to immediately show compile errors on the class files in the project tree. Currently I need to manually trigger the recompilation to see error marks on my classes if the class cannot be compiled.


As of IntelliJ 12 there's an option to automatically build your project upon source changes. In "Settings" --> Build, Execution, Deployment --> "Compiler" check the checkbox "Build project automatically". This will immediately show any compile errors in the project tree.


I did some further searches in the web about this feature. At the end it seems that exactly this feature is not available. There are some discussions about this topic where also some (in my point of view) workarounds are mentioned. The most helpful discussion I found here.


You can access all the compile problems like so:

  • open the "Project" explorer (usually docked on the left)
  • click the "Project" dropdown in the upper left corner
  • select "Problems" under "Scopes"

You'll see a tree of files and problems. Also, on the bottom toolbar, you should see a tab called "Problems" which lists everything as well. It's not as easy to use as the Eclipse "Problems" view, but it's close.

I'm on version 12.1.4, not sure what version this feature first came in, though.