Download and Install IntelliJ IDEA

What is IntelliJ IDEA?

IntelliJ IDEA is a full-featured Integrated Development Environment (IDE) built by JetBrains. It is the most widely used IDE for Java development, offering deep code intelligence, built-in tools, and powerful refactoring capabilities.

Unlike a plain text editor, an IDE combines your code editor, compiler, debugger, version control, and build tools into a single window — making development faster and less error-prone.

💡 Why IntelliJ? IntelliJ IDEA understands your code — it detects errors as you type, suggests fixes, auto-completes intelligently, and lets you refactor safely across your entire codebase.

Community Edition vs Ultimate Edition

IntelliJ IDEA comes in two editions. For Java beginners and most backend developers, Community Edition is sufficient.

Free & Open Source

Community Edition

  • Full Java & Kotlin support
  • Intelligent code completion
  • Debugger & profiler
  • Git / VCS integration
  • Maven & Gradle support
  • Unit testing (JUnit, TestNG)
  • Android development

Best for: Learning Java, backend development, Android.

Paid (free trial)

Ultimate Edition

  • Everything in Community
  • Spring / Jakarta EE support
  • Database tools & SQL editor
  • JavaScript / TypeScript
  • Docker & Kubernetes
  • HTTP client
  • Microservices tools

Best for: Enterprise full-stack development.

⚠️ Students and educators can get IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate for free through the JetBrains Student License program using a university email.

System Requirements

Component Minimum Recommended
RAM 2 GB free 8 GB or more
Disk Space 3.5 GB SSD with 5+ GB
OS Windows 10, macOS 12, Linux (glibc 2.17+) Latest stable OS
Screen Resolution 1024 × 768 1920 × 1080
JDK Bundled (no separate install needed) JDK 21 recommended

📌 IntelliJ IDEA ships with a bundled JDK for running the IDE itself. You can still configure any external JDK (17, 21, etc.) for your projects.

Step 1 — Download IntelliJ IDEA

1
Go to the JetBrains download page

Visit https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/ and select your operating system (Windows / macOS / Linux).

2
Choose your edition

Click Download under Community Edition (free). The Ultimate edition download starts a 30-day trial.

3
Save the installer

The file will be named something like ideaIC-2024.1.4.exe (Windows), ideaIC-2024.1.4.dmg (macOS), or ideaIC-2024.1.4.tar.gz (Linux).

Step 2 — Install IntelliJ IDEA

Install on Windows

1
Run the installer

Double-click the downloaded .exe file. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.

2
Choose install location

Accept the default path C:\Program Files\JetBrains\IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition <version> or choose your own. Click Next.

3
Installation options

On the Installation Options screen, check these boxes:

  • Create Desktop Shortcut — adds an icon to your desktop
  • Add "Open Folder as Project" — lets you right-click any folder to open it in IntelliJ
  • Add launchers dir to PATH — lets you run idea from terminal
  • .java association — optional, opens .java files in IntelliJ by default
4
Complete the installation

Click Install and wait for completion. Choose Reboot now if prompted (needed for PATH changes to take effect).

5
Launch IntelliJ IDEA

Open it from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut. On first launch, import settings if migrating from another IDE, or choose Do not import settings.

Install on macOS

1
Open the .dmg file

Double-click the downloaded .dmg file. A window opens showing the IntelliJ IDEA icon and your Applications folder.

2
Drag to Applications

Drag the IntelliJ IDEA CE icon into the Applications folder.

3
Launch the app

Open Finder ? Applications ? IntelliJ IDEA CE and double-click. On first open, macOS may warn it's from the internet — click Open.

4
Optional: add shell command

Inside IntelliJ go to Tools ? Create Command-line Launcher to enable opening projects from terminal with idea .

Install on Linux

Option A — Snap (Ubuntu)

1 
sudo snap install intellij-idea-community --classic

Then launch with intellij-idea-community from the terminal or your app menu.

Option B — Manual tar.gz

1
Extract the archive 
sudo tar -xzf ideaIC-2024.1.4.tar.gz -C /opt
2
Launch from the extracted folder 
/opt/idea-IC-241.18034.62/bin/idea.sh
3
Create a desktop entry

Inside IntelliJ go to Tools ? Create Desktop Entry to add it to your application menu.

4
Optional: add to PATH 
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/idea-IC-241.18034.62/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Now you can type idea.sh . to open the current folder as a project.

Step 3 — First Launch Setup

When you open IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, it walks you through a quick setup wizard:

1
UI Theme

Choose Dark (Darcula) or Light. You can change this anytime via File ? Settings ? Appearance.

2
Plugins

The default plugins are sufficient for Java. You can skip or add extras like Kotlin, Git Toolbox, or Rainbow Brackets.

3
Click "Start using IntelliJ IDEA"

You'll land on the Welcome Screen with options to create a new project, open an existing one, or clone from VCS.

Step 4 — Create Your First Java Project

1
Click "New Project" on the Welcome Screen.
2
Configure the project
  • Name: HelloWorld
  • Location: choose a folder on your machine
  • Language: Java
  • Build system: IntelliJ (simplest for beginners)
  • JDK: select your installed JDK 21 (or click Download JDK if not yet installed)
3
Click "Create" — IntelliJ generates the project structure with a src folder.
4
Create a Java class

Right-click src ? New ? Java Class ? name it HelloWorld.

5
Write and run your program 
public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello from IntelliJ IDEA!");
    }
}

Click the green ▶ Run button next to main, or press Shift + F10 (Windows/Linux) / Ctrl + R (macOS). The output appears in the Run panel at the bottom.

✅ IntelliJ IDEA is set up! You wrote, compiled, and ran your first Java program without touching the command line.

Configuring the JDK in IntelliJ

If IntelliJ does not detect your JDK automatically, set it manually:

  1. Go to File ? Project Structure (or press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S).
  2. Under Project Settings ? Project, click the SDK dropdown.
  3. Click Add SDK ? JDK and navigate to your JDK folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-21).
  4. Set Project language level to match your JDK version.
  5. Click Apply ? OK.

Key Features You'll Use Daily

Feature How to use it
Smart code completion Start typing — IntelliJ suggests relevant completions. Press Tab to accept.
Error highlighting Red underlines show compile errors instantly as you type — no need to run to find mistakes.
Quick fix Press Alt + Enter on any error or warning to see suggested fixes.
Refactor ? Rename Shift + F6 — renames a variable/method everywhere in your project safely.
Go to Declaration Ctrl + B (or Cmd + B on Mac) — jump to where a class or method is defined.
Debugger Click the gutter (left margin) to set a breakpoint, then run with Shift + F9 to debug.
Git integration VCS ? Git ? Commit / Push / Pull — all version control without leaving the IDE.

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Action Windows / Linux macOS
Run program Shift + F10 Ctrl + R
Debug program Shift + F9 Ctrl + D
Quick fix / suggestion Alt + Enter Option + Enter
Rename refactor Shift + F6 Shift + F6
Go to declaration Ctrl + B Cmd + B
Find in project Ctrl + Shift + F Cmd + Shift + F
Search everywhere Double Shift Double Shift
Format code Ctrl + Alt + L Cmd + Option + L
Comment / uncomment Ctrl + / Cmd + /
Duplicate line Ctrl + D Cmd + D
Delete line Ctrl + Y Cmd + Backspace
Generate code Alt + Insert Cmd + N

Tip: Use JetBrains Toolbox

JetBrains Toolbox is a free app that manages all your JetBrains IDEs. Instead of manually downloading updates, Toolbox handles installation, updates, and version rollbacks for you.

  • Install multiple versions of IntelliJ side by side
  • One-click update to the latest version
  • Roll back to a previous version if needed
  • Manage all JetBrains IDEs (PyCharm, WebStorm, etc.) from one place

📌 Download Toolbox at https://www.jetbrains.com/toolbox-app/ — recommended for any developer using JetBrains products.

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What is IntelliJ IDEA? Community vs Ultimate System Requirements Step 1 — Download Step 2 — Install Step 3 — First Launch Step 4 — First Project Configure JDK Key Features Keyboard Shortcuts JetBrains Toolbox

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