Disable/enable auto rebuild of project

Problem

The IDE may automatically rebuild a project when this behavior is not expected. It is sometimes necessary to configure whether a project should rebuild automatically, but the required settings can be difficult to locate.

Resolution

Automatic rebuilds are controlled by several settings in the IDE. Review and adjust the following:

• In Settings | Appearance & Behavior | System Settings, the option Save files when switching to a different application or a built-in terminal, when combined with Build project in Settings | Tools | Actions on Save, will trigger a rebuild whenever you switch to another window.
• In Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Compiler, the Build project automatically option causes IntelliJ IDEA to perform an incremental build whenever changes are made to class files.
• In Run | Edit Configurations, setting On frame deactivation to Update classes and resources will recompile files whenever the IDE window loses focus.

Disabling any of these options will prevent rebuilds triggered by that behavior. Enabling them will make the rebuild occur automatically under those conditions.