In IntelliJ IDEA, you can run or debug your project in numerous ways. In this chapter, we will focus on creating runtime configurations and explain its options. We will cover topics such as running a standalone application, a web application using the Tomcat server, and to step out of the Java world for a while, the Node.js application. This chapter will give you an overview of the configuration dialog boxes and make it easier for you to create your own configurations.

Each run or debug configuration is the named set of parameters IntelliJ IDEA will use to run your application. The IDE comes with some predefined settings. By installing the corresponding plugin, you can extend the IDE runtime features even further. We covered the installing process of plugins in Chapter 1, Get to Know Your IDE Fast.

The run/debug configurations in IntelliJ IDEA are categorized into temporary and permanent. Let's start with the temporary one because this is the...