# Install IntelliJ IDEA IntelliJ IDEA is a cross-platform IDE that provides a consistent experience on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Previously, IntelliJ IDEA was offered as two separate products: IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition and IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate with extended capabilities. Starting with IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3, we're combining these two editions into a single, unified product: IntelliJ IDEA. This change allows all users to access essential functionality without needing to decide between editions. The core functionality of IntelliJ IDEA remains free and now comes with even more features compared to the former Community Edition. Additionally, the new Ultimate subscription gives you access to advanced tooling with a free 30-day trial available for all users when installing IntelliJ IDEA. Afterward, you can choose to subscribe or continue using IntelliJ IDEA for free. For more information about the Ultimate subscription, refer to the [comparison matrix](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/idea/features/editions_comparison_matrix.html). ## 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. | ### 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 IntelliJ IDEA because JetBrains Runtime is bundled with the IDE (based on JBR 21). However, to develop Java applications, a [standalone JDK](sdk.html#jdk) is required. > **Warning:** > * IntelliJ IDEA configurations with modified JRE/JDK are not supported. > > * Installations of IntelliJ IDEA with manually removed or changed distribution files (e.g., plugin files) are not supported. ## 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. > **Warning:** > Before working with the Toolbox App, ensure that its [system > requirements](#requirements) 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. ![IntelliJ IDEA in the Toolbox App](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/win_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. ![IntelliJ IDEA in the Toolbox App](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/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. 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. ![IntelliJ IDEA in the Toolbox app](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/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 IntelliJ IDEA 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 Install IntelliJ IDEA manually to manage the location of every instance and all the configuration files. For example, if you have a policy that requires specific install locations. Windows: Procedure: 1. [Download the installer](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/idea/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 IntelliJ IDEA. * Add the directory with IntelliJ IDEA [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 IntelliJ IDEA to open them with a double click. ![The Installation Options step of the installation wizard](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/installation-options.png) To run IntelliJ IDEA, 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/idea/download/) 2. Extract the archive to the desired folder. To run IntelliJ IDEA, 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/idea/download/) . > **Note:** > There are separate disk images for Intel and Apple Silicon processors. 2. Mount the image and drag the IntelliJ IDEA app to the `Applications` folder. Run the IntelliJ IDEA app from the `Applications` directory, Launchpad, or Spotlight. Linux: Procedure: 1. [Download the tarball](https://www.jetbrains.com.cn/en-us/idea/download/) `.tar.gz`. > **Note:** > There is a separate tarball for ARM64 processors. 2. Extract the tarball to a directory that supports file execution. For example, to extract it to the recommended `/opt` directory, run the following command for IntelliJ IDEA: ```SHELL sudo tar -xzf idea-*.tar.gz -C /opt ``` > **Warning:** > Do not extract the tarball over an existing installation to avoid conflicts. Always extract it to a clean directory. Execute the `./bin/idea.sh` script from the extracted directory to run IntelliJ IDEA. Procedure: Create a desktop entry 1. In the main menu, go to `Tools | Create Desktop Entry`. > **Note:** > The following steps are for Ubuntu 23.10. If you are using a different Linux distribution or version of Ubuntu, refer to its documentation. 2. Click Activities in the top-left corner of the screen. 3. Click the grid button in the dash to show all applications. 4. To pin the app to the dash, right-click the IntelliJ IDEA icon ![IntelliJ IDEA App icon](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/product.idea.svg) and select Add to Favorites. When you run IntelliJ IDEA 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 IntelliJ IDEA for the first time](run-for-the-first-time.html). For more information about the location of the default IDE directories with user-specific files, refer to [Directories used by the IDE](directories-used-by-the-ide-to-store-settings-caches-plugins-and-logs.html). ## Silent installation on Windows Silent installation is performed without any user interface. It can be used by network administrators to install IntelliJ IDEA on a number of machines and avoid interrupting other users. > **Tip:** > When performing a silent installation or managing IntelliJ IDEA 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) * `/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: ```SHELL ideaIU.exe /S /CONFIG=d:\temp\silent.config /D=d:\IDE\IntelliJ IDEA ``` 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 ideaIU.exe /S /CONFIG=d:\temp\silent.config /LOG=d:\JetBrains\IDEA\install.log /D=d:\IDE\IntelliJ IDEA ``` ### Silent configuration file You can download the default silent configuration file for IntelliJ IDEA at [https://download.jetbrains.com/idea/silent.config](https://download.jetbrains.com/idea/silent.config) The silent configuration file defines the options for installing IntelliJ IDEA. With the default options, silent installation is performed only for the current user: `mode=user`. If you want to install IntelliJ IDEA 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. ## Install as a snap package on Linux > **Warning:** > IntelliJ IDEA 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 IntelliJ IDEA via the [Toolbox App](#toolbox) for a potentially smoother experience. You can install IntelliJ IDEA as a self-contained [snap](https://snapcraft.io) package. Since snaps update automatically, your IntelliJ IDEA 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. IntelliJ IDEA is distributed via two channels: * The stable channel includes only stable versions. To install the latest stable release of IntelliJ IDEA, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install intellij-idea --classic ``` The `--classic` option is required because the IntelliJ IDEA 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 IntelliJ IDEA, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install intellij-idea --classic --edge ``` When the snap is installed, you can launch it by running the `intellij-idea` 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 intellij-idea ``` 2. To install the version you want, run the following command: ```SHELL sudo snap install intellij-idea --channel=2025.3/stable --classic ``` For more information about other snap commands, refer to the [Snapcraft documentation](https://docs.snapcraft.io/).