# Install CLion CLion is a cross-platform IDE that provides a consistent experience on Windows, macOS, and Linux. (for setup on FreeBSD, refer to [this instruction](https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/206525024-How-to-start-CLion-on-FreeBSD-)) ## Toolchain requirements You need to install a toolchain along with CLion itself to have the IDE ready to work. A toolchain is a set of programming tools used to build C and C++ applications. It typically includes a compiler, debugger, and build system. Windows: CLion comes with the MinGW toolchain bundled on Windows, providing a ready-to-use development environment without additional setup. You can also configure other toolchains manually. For detailed instructions, refer to [Configure CLion on Windows](quick-tutorial-on-configuring-clion-on-windows.html). For WSL configuration, refer to [Configure a WSL toolchain](how-to-use-wsl-development-environment-in-product.html#wsl-tooclhain). macOS: If you already have Xcode installed, you don't need to install any additional tools – CLion will detect the pre-installed ones. If you don't have Xcode, installing the Xcode command line developer tools will be enough. You can install them by running `xcode-select --install` in the terminal. For detailed instructions, refer to [Configure CLion on macOS](quick-tutorial-on-configuring-clion-on-macos.html). Linux: On Linux, use [GCC/G++](https://gcc.gnu.org/) or [Clang](https://clang.llvm.org/). ```BASH # Installing GCC: sudo apt update sudo apt install gcc sudo apt install build-essential # Installing Clang: sudo apt update sudo apt install clang ``` ## Install using the Toolbox App The [JetBrains Toolbox App](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/toolbox/app/) is the recommended tool to install JetBrains products. Use it to install and manage different products or several versions of the same product, including [Early Access Program](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/community/eap/) (EAP) and Nightly releases, update and roll back when necessary, and remove any tool. The Toolbox App maintains a list of all your projects to quickly open any project in the right IDE and version. > **Note:** > Before working with the Toolbox App, ensure that its [system requirements](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/help/toolbox-app/installation.html) are met. Windows: Procedure: Install the Toolbox App 1. Download the installer `.exe` from the [Toolbox App web page](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/toolbox/app/). 2. Run the installer and follow the wizard steps. 3. After you run the Toolbox App, click its icon ![Toolbox App icon](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.nodes.toolbox.svg) in the notification area and select which product you want to install. To install a specific version, click ![](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.actions.more.svg) and select Available versions. ![CLion in the Toolbox App](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/cl_toolbox_app.png) Log in to your JetBrains Account from the Toolbox App, and it will automatically activate the available licenses for any IDE that you install. macOS: Procedure: Install the Toolbox App 1. Download the disk image `.dmg` from the [Toolbox App web page](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/toolbox/app/). > **Note:** > There are separate disk images for Intel and Apple Silicon processors. 2. Mount the image and drag the JetBrains Toolbox app to the `Applications` folder. 3. After you run the Toolbox App, click its icon in the main menu and select which product you want to install. To install a specific version, click ![](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.actions.more.svg) and select Available versions. ![CLion in the Toolbox App](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/cl_toolbox_app_mac.png) Log in to your JetBrains Account from the Toolbox App, and it will automatically activate the available licenses for any IDE that you install. Linux: Procedure: Install the Toolbox App The following packages must be present: `libxi6` `libxrender1` `libxtst6` `mesa-utils` `libfontconfig` `libgtk-3-bin` `tar` `dbus-user-session`, `libxcb-keysyms1`. 1. [Download the tarball](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/toolbox/app/) `.tar.gz`. 2. Unpack the downloaded the Toolbox App distribution archive to the location where you want to install the application (``): ```SHELL tar -xvf jetbrains-toolbox-.tar.gz -C ``` 3. To start the application, open a console, navigate to the [installation directory](directories-used-by-the-ide-to-store-settings-caches-plugins-and-logs.html) (`cd` into ``), and run the following command: ```BASH ./bin/jetbrains-toolbox ``` This will initialize various Toolbox application files in the application directory: ```BASH ~/.local/share/JetBrains/Toolbox ``` Upon the first launch, the Toolbox App will also create a `.desktop` entry file in `~/.local/share/applications`. 4. Select the product that you want to install. To install a specific version, click ![](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.actions.more.svg) and select Available versions. ![CLion in the Toolbox App](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/cl_toolbox_app.png) Log in to your JetBrains Account from the Toolbox App, and it will automatically activate the available licenses for any IDE that you install. > **Note:** > If you installed CLion via the [Toolbox App](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/toolbox/app/), you can find the installation directory in the app: open the settings of the IDE instance in the Toolbox App, expand Configuration, and look for the Install location field. ## Standalone installation You can install CLion manually and have the option to manage the location of every instance and all the configuration files. This is useful, for example, if you have a policy that requires specific install locations. Windows: Procedure: 1. [Download the installer](http://www.jetbrains.com/clion/download/) `.exe`. > **Note:** > There is a separate installer for ARM64 processors. 2. Run the installer and follow the wizard steps. On the Installation Options step, you can configure the following: * Create a desktop shortcut for launching CLion. * Add the directory with CLion [command-line launchers](working-with-the-ide-features-from-command-line.html) to the `PATH` environment variable to be able to run them from any working directory in the Command Prompt. * Add the Open Folder as Project action to the system context menu (when you right-click a folder). * Associate specific file extensions with CLion to open them with a double click. To run CLion, find it in the Windows Start menu or use the desktop shortcut. You can also run the launcher batch script or executable in the installation directory under `bin`. Windows (ZIP): Procedure: 1. [Download the ZIP archive](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/clion/download/) 2. Extract the archive to the desired folder. To run CLion, use the launcher batch script or executable in the extracted directory under `bin`. macOS: Procedure: 1. [Download the disk image](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/clion/download/) . > **Note:** > There are separate disk images for Intel and Apple Silicon processors. 2. Mount the image and drag the CLion app to the `Applications` folder. Run the CLion app from the `Applications` directory, Launchpad, or Spotlight. Linux: Procedure: 1. [Download the tarball](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/clion/download/) `.tar.gz`. 2. Unpack the downloaded `CLion-*.tar.gz` archive. The recommended extract directory is `/opt`: ```SHELL sudo tar xvzf CLion-*.tar.gz -C /opt/ ``` > **Warning:** > Do not extract the tarball over an existing installation to avoid conflicts. Always extract to a clean directory. 3. Execute the `CLion.sh` from `bin` subdirectory to run CLion: ```SHELL sh /opt/clion-*/bin/clion.sh ``` To create a desktop entry, do one of the following: * On the Welcome screen, click Configure | Create Desktop Entry * In the main menu, go to Tools | Create Desktop Entry When you run CLion for the first time, you can take several steps to complete the installation, customize your instance, and start working with the IDE. For more information, refer to [Run CLion for the first time](run-for-the-first-time.html). ## Install as a snap package on Linux > **Warning:** > CLion installed via snap may encounter issues including performance degradation, problems with JavaScript debugging using Chromium ([WEB-38511](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/WEB-38511)), difficulties importing SBT projects ([SCL-17169](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/SCL-17169/Snap-Flatpack-IntelliJ-fails-to-import-sbt-project)), and delays in file management operations ([IJPL-1234](https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IJPL-1234/Show-in-dolphin-takes-a-long-time)). > > > > If you experience these issues, we recommend installing CLion via the [Toolbox App](#toolbox) for a potentially smoother experience. You can install CLion as a self-contained [snap](https://snapcraft.io) package. Since snaps update automatically, your CLion installation will always be up-to-date. To use snaps, install and run the snapd service as described in the [snapd installation guide](https://docs.snapcraft.io/core/install). On Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and later, this service is pre-installed. CLion is distributed via two channels: * The stable channel includes only stable versions. To install the latest stable release of CLion, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install clion --classic ``` The `--classic` option is required because the CLion snap requires full access to the system, like a traditionally packaged application. * The edge channel includes EAP builds. To install the latest EAP build of CLion, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install clion --classic --edge ``` When the snap is installed, you can launch it by running the `clion` command. To list all installed snaps, run `sudo snap list`. Procedure: Install a specific version 1. To check the list of available versions, run the following command: ```SHELL snap info clion ``` 2. To install the version you want, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install clion --channel=/stable --classic ``` For more information about other snap commands, refer to the [Snapcraft documentation](https://docs.snapcraft.io/). ## Silent installation on Windows Silent installation is performed without any user interface. It can be used by network administrators to install CLion on a number of machines and avoid interrupting other users. > **Tip:** > When performing a silent installation or managing CLion installations on multiple machines, you can set the `JETBRAINS_LICENSE_SERVER` environment variable to point to the URL of the [Floating License Server](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/help/license_server/Activating_license.html) or [License Vault](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/help/license-vault-cloud/Activating_a_license.html#to-activate-a-license). > > > > Alternatively, you can set the URL of the Floating License Server or License Vault by adding the `-DJETBRAINS_LICENSE_SERVER` [JVM option](tuning-the-ide.html#configure-jvm-options). To perform silent install, run the installer with the following switches: * `/S`: Enable silent install * `/CONFIG`: Specify the path to the [silent configuration file](#silent-config-cl) * `/D`: Specify the path to the installation directory This parameter must be the last in the command line, and it should not contain any quotes even if the path contains blank spaces. * `/NCRC`: Disable the [CRC check](https://nsis.sourceforge.io/Docs/Chapter4.html#acrccheck) if you want to suppress the Verifying Installer popup. For example: ```PLAINTEXT clion.exe /S /CONFIG=d:\temp\silent.config /D=d:\IDE\CLion ``` To check for issues during the installation process, add the `/LOG` switch with the log file path and name between the `/S` and `/D` parameters. The installer will generate the specified log file. For example: ```SHELL clion.exe /S /CONFIG=d:\temp\silent.config /LOG=d:\JetBrains\CLion\install.log /D=d:\IDE\CLion ``` ### Silent configuration file You can download the default silent configuration file for CLion at [https://download.jetbrains.com/cpp/silent.config](https://download.jetbrains.com/cpp/silent.config). The silent configuration file defines the options for installing CLion. With the default options, silent installation is performed only for the current user: `mode=user`. If you want to install CLion for all users, change the value of the installation mode option to `mode=admin` and run the installer as an administrator. The default silent configuration file is unique for each JetBrains product. You can modify it to enable or disable various installation options as necessary. > **Note:** > It is possible to perform silent installation without the configuration file. In this case, omit the `/CONFIG` switch and run the installer as an administrator. Without the silent configuration file, the installer will ignore all additional options: it will not create desktop shortcuts, add associations, or update the `PATH` variable. However, it will still create a shortcut in the Start menu under JetBrains. ## System requirements ### Hardware | CPU | CPU with x86_64 or arm64 architecture and 4 cores | | RAM | 8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes | | Disk space | 10 GB | | Display resolution | 1280 x 720 | ### Operating systems | Windows | 10, 11 | | macOS | 15, 26 | | Linux | Distributions: * Ubuntu 24.04, 26.04 LTS * Fedora 43, 44 * Debian 13 * Amazon Linux 2023 Desktop environments: * Gnome * KDE Plasma [glibc](https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/libc/): * 2.28 or later* > **Tip:** > BSD-based operating systems are not supported. | * CLion is not available for some Linux distributions, such as RHEL6/CentOS7, which do not include [glibc](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/) version 2.29 required by JBR 21. ### Remote development Learn more about [JetBrains Remote Development](remote.html). | Hardware | Same as for [desktop installation](#hardware-requirements). Local disk or network block storage (e.g., EBS) is required. > **Tip:** > Network file systems, such as NFS and SMB, are not supported. | | OpenSSH server | Version 7.9p1 or later | | Docker (if the IDE is running in a container) | 25.0, 29.0 | | Connection | Server: * Minimum 50 Mbps downstream capacity from the internet Client-server connection: * Minimum 20 Mbps bandwidth * Maximum 200 ms latency | | WSL | WSL 2 with a [supported Linux distribution](#linux). > **Tip:** > WSLg graphics forwarding is not supported. | You do not need to install Java to run CLion because JetBrains Runtime is bundled with the IDE (based on JBR 21). > **Warning:** > * CLion configurations with modified JRE/JDK are not supported. > > * Installations of CLion with manually removed or changed distribution files (e.g., plugin files) are not supported.