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IntelliJ IDEA guide

Requirements and installation

The current plugin targets IntelliJ IDEA 2026.2.2, build 262.10315.125, with the JCEF plugin enabled. Other IDE products and build branches have not been verified.

The Marketplace listing for Merkzeug (ID 34221) uses the beta channel. Check it for available versions and IDE compatibility.

To install the beta and receive its updates:

Open Settings → Plugins → gear menu → Manage Plugin Repositories….
Add https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugins/beta/34221.
Search for Merkzeug in the Marketplace tab, install the compatible version and restart if requested.
Open a local .md file and select the Merkzeug editor tab.

A beta channel is a separate repository; searching the default Marketplace alone may not show its releases. See JetBrains’ channel documentation.

For a beta ZIP supplied by the maintainer:

Obtain merkzeug-VERSION.zip from the maintainer.
Open Settings → Plugins → gear menu → Install Plugin from Disk….
Select the ZIP and restart IntelliJ if requested.
Open a local .md file and choose the Merkzeug editor tab.

The built-in Markdown editor remains available. Marketplace installations receive updates through IntelliJ’s plugin manager; update a beta ZIP through the same disk-install procedure. To remove Merkzeug, uninstall it in Settings → Plugins and restart when requested. Notes remain ordinary Markdown files.

Editing

Use the shared visual editor, slash menu, formatting tools, frontmatter panel and Mermaid diagrams. The compact toolbar provides paragraph styles, bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, lists, quotes, code blocks, links, images, tables and dividers. Search (⌘F / Ctrl+F), undo and redo remain available through keyboard shortcuts without duplicate toolbar buttons. Changes update IntelliJ's document; IntelliJ owns disk saving, Git integration and undo history. ⌘S / Ctrl+S explicitly saves.

If another editor changes the document, Merkzeug reloads it when there are no local edits. Otherwise a conflict banner lets you reload the other version or deliberately keep your own version.

Images and companion folders

Images inserted through the image picker or pasted into Plan.md are written as separate image files in a sibling folder named Plan.assets/. Markdown uses relative references such as ![Diagram](Plan.assets/image-….png). The same Note.md / Note.assets/ layout is used by the desktop and iOS editions. Include both the note and its companion folder when committing to Git or sharing the note.

Existing shared assets/ links remain supported. Merkzeug does not migrate those images into a companion folder or infer that the shared folder belongs to one note.

IntelliJ gets the pairing rule too

Use IntelliJ Refactor → Rename or Refactor → Move on a Markdown file. If Plan.md has a sibling Plan.assets/ folder, Merkzeug includes that folder in the same refactoring: renaming to Draft.md also renames the folder to Draft.assets/ and updates companion-folder references in the note. Moving a note keeps its companion folder beside it. The native Move dialog shows both entries; selecting both yourself does not duplicate the operation. Undo/Redo applies to the pair.

Existing destination files or folders stop the action; folders are never merged. Shared assets/ folders and Markdown files without their own companion folder retain normal IntelliJ behavior. Symbolic-link companions require manual handling. This integration applies to IntelliJ refactoring actions, not external filesystem operations, copy or delete actions. Open Merkzeug editors refresh their paths after a rename or move.

PDF export

Optionally open Settings → Tools → Merkzeug and select a PDF template folder for this project. Leave it empty to export without a template.
Click Export PDF.
If linked documents are found, the IntelliJ dialog lists them. Choose Only this document or Include linked documents. Cancel (or closing the dialog) stops the export.
Choose a destination filename and save.

The PDF uses the current IntelliJ document content, including edits already accepted by the IDE. The template selection is remembered per project. See the PDF guide for template files, frontmatter and supported document selection.

Scope and limitations

Files and images outside the current project root are not accessible through the plugin.
Cross-document links open the target file; cross-document heading navigation is incomplete.
PDF export temporarily switches away from the editor, then reloads the document.
Desktop vault settings, native OS calendars and bulk PDF export are not part of the plugin.

Contact support

Choose Help → Merkzeug: Contact Support…. The browser opens the support form with Merkzeug, the system language (German or English), IntelliJ and the plugin version selected. You can omit the app details before submitting. Note contents and repository paths are not included.

Bundled PDF starter

In Settings → Tools → Merkzeug, choose Use bundled PDF template and apply the settings to enable its cover, typography and page headers/footers. An editable copy is stored in the IDE configuration directory under merkzeug/pdf-templates/Merkzeug; existing copies are never overwritten. Copy the folder before customizing it with an agent. See PDF templates and the suggested agent prompt.

Appearance, tours and agent guidance

The editor automatically follows IntelliJ’s active theme, including live changes. There is no separate appearance selector. The ⋯ menu contains the guided tour, the prepared desktop tour video, attachment guidance and a shortcut to the PDF settings. These controls stay hidden during normal editing.

In the ⋯ menu, Merkzeug can suggest root AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md instructions for Note.md and Note.assets/. Review the single proposed text and the full contents of both instruction files. Select the destination files explicitly before choosing Add; none is preselected. For example, leave CLAUDE.md unchanged when it only redirects to AGENTS.md. Missing files are created only when selected. Later postpones it for the current session; Do not suggest again for this vault suppresses future prompts for that vault. Contradictory or unclear attachment rules require manual review. Concurrent external changes are preserved and require a refreshed preview. Existing shared assets/ references remain readable.

Calendar and meeting-note creation are available in the standalone apps. Create new files using IntelliJ’s project tools.

After installing a plugin update while IntelliJ is running, restart the IDE to load it. Synchronization status remains available to assistive technology and as a tooltip in the toolbar.

Preview PDF styles while editing

Enable Use PDF template while editing in the ⋯ menu. The choice is remembered per project. Content styles from the project's PDF template apply to the editor; the frontmatter area shares its light paper surface; toolbar, dialogs and IDE controls keep the IntelliJ theme. Disable the option to restore the normal editor appearance. This previews content typography and colors, not PDF pagination, cover pages or headers and footers. The preview refreshes after changing PDF settings and when the editor window regains focus.

IntelliJ can use the same template folder as the desktop app: select the actual template subfolder (containing stil.css, vorlage.json, etc.) under Settings → Tools → Merkzeug. Both editions read those files directly, so no import or duplicate copy is necessary. A custom or synchronized desktop template location works as well. The Desktop templates dropdown discovers the desktop app’s standard locations on macOS, Windows and Linux, including its custom templatesRoot setting and an inherited MERKZEUG_TEMPLATES_ROOT environment variable. Select an entry and apply the project settings. Refresh rescans after changes in the desktop app. Discovery does not change the current selection or copy files. If nothing is found or a location cannot be read, the manual folder chooser remains available.

Mermaid diagrams use the document background instead of a dark code-block panel and switch to the light PDF theme when PDF template editing styles are active, and return to the application theme when the preview is disabled.

Template styling prompt

Desktop Settings provides Template styling prompt for each template; expand it to review and copy a complete agent brief with the template's folder path. IntelliJ offers the same action in Settings → Tools → Merkzeug, using the folder currently shown in the settings field. On iOS, open Help → Template styling prompt and substitute the folder path on the agent's computer. iOS supports template styling while editing and AirPrint; standalone PDF export remains a desktop/plugin feature.

Replace the new template name and your colors, fonts, logo and design wishes before sending it. The prompt is in English, includes the complete offline technical reference, and works with older templates that lack instruction files. Copying it does not read note contents or modify existing templates. If clipboard access is unavailable in the web view, select and copy the displayed text manually.

New starter copies include AGENTS.md (format, CSS examples, placeholders, preview limitations and validation) and STYLING-PROMPT.md (reusable brief). Keep template-specific design choices in README.md. The brief instructs the agent to create a separate copy and preserve existing instructions. Existing desktop templates are not upgraded or overwritten. For manual use, concatenate STYLING-PROMPT.md and AGENTS.md and replace the template-path placeholder.

License and Marketplace edition

Merkzeug is proprietary software for private and internal business use under the shared End User License Agreement, also supplied in German. The plugin archive includes this license and third-party notices. The Marketplace build omits the unpublished guided tour and video. It is currently limited to IntelliJ IDEA build 262.10315.125; the Markdown plugin is optional. Move uses a theme-aware destination dialog built with public IntelliJ APIs; the native refactoring transaction still includes both the note and its attachments.

Alongside other Markdown editors

Merkzeug adds its own editor tab for local .md files. Keep the built-in Markdown editor installed and use the tabs at the bottom to switch between source/split view and Merkzeug. Both use the same IntelliJ document. Merkzeug neither replaces nor requires the Markdown plugin. Compatibility with other Markdown plugins depends on their editor registration; universal compatibility is not claimed.

Printing

With the Merkzeug editor active, File → Print uses Merkzeug's PDF rendering. The toolbar also offers Print…. A PDF preview opens with a Print… button for the native print dialog. Templates, headers/footers, diagrams, images and optional linked documents use the same rendering as PDF export. No save destination is required. Close the preview to remove the temporary PDF. Printing in another Markdown editor tab continues to use that editor's handler.