diff --git a/changelog/@unreleased/pr-1144.v2.yml b/changelog/@unreleased/pr-1144.v2.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9a1c11e48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/@unreleased/pr-1144.v2.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+type: feature
+feature:
+  description: Configure Intellij to optimize imports on the fly
+  links:
+  - https://github.com/palantir/gradle-baseline/pull/1144
diff --git a/gradle-baseline-java/src/main/groovy/com/palantir/baseline/plugins/BaselineIdea.groovy b/gradle-baseline-java/src/main/groovy/com/palantir/baseline/plugins/BaselineIdea.groovy
index 986a2dfd3..07d5afe39 100644
--- a/gradle-baseline-java/src/main/groovy/com/palantir/baseline/plugins/BaselineIdea.groovy
+++ b/gradle-baseline-java/src/main/groovy/com/palantir/baseline/plugins/BaselineIdea.groovy
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ class BaselineIdea extends AbstractBaselinePlugin {
                 ideaRootModel.workspace.iws.withXml { provider ->
                     def node = provider.asNode()
                     setRunManagerWorkingDirectory(node)
+                    addEditorSettings(node)
                 }
             }
 
@@ -238,6 +239,14 @@ class BaselineIdea extends AbstractBaselinePlugin {
             """.stripIndent()))
     }
 
+    private void addEditorSettings(node) {
+        node.append(new XmlParser().parseText("""
+            <component name="CodeInsightWorkspaceSettings">
+                <option name="optimizeImportsOnTheFly" value="true" />
+              </component>
+            """.stripIndent()))
+    }
+
     private void addGitHubIssueNavigation(node) {
         GitUtils.maybeGitHubUri().ifPresent { githubUri ->
             node.append(new XmlParser().parseText("""