How to Use the JetBrains Student Pack, Junie Plugin, and Junie Client

Aïcha Es-senhaji — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:47:45 +0000

Part 1 – Get the JetBrains Student Pack and install the IDEs
Step 1 – Open the JetBrains Student Pack page
Go to JetBrains Academy and open the Student Pack page. The pack gives students free access to professional developer tools.

Step 2 – Apply for the Student Pack
Fill in the application form: select “I’m a student”, choose your country or region, then verify your student status. Four verification methods are available:
• University email address
• ISIC/ITIC membership
• Official document
• GitHub
Once your account is verified, you receive a pack valid for one year. JetBrains sends a reminder before it expires so you can renew it.

Step 3 – Check your educational license
After approval, the JetBrains Educational Pack page shows your license ID, the license holder, the restriction (educational use only) and the expiry date (October 14, 2027). It also lists the included products, such as IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, WebStorm, PyCharm Pro, CLion, GoLand, PhpStorm, Rider, RubyMine and DataGrip.

Step 4 – Confirm the pack by email and link your license
Open the confirmation email from JetBrains Sales and click “link your free license” to attach it to a new or existing JetBrains Account. Use this account every time you access JetBrains tools.
The link expires on October 18, 2026. After that date, sign in to the JetBrains Account portal with the same email address to access your license.

Step 5 – Download IntelliJ IDEA
Open the IntelliJ IDEA download page, choose the .exe (Windows) installer and click Download.

Step 6 – Install IntelliJ IDEA and allow firewall access
Run the installer, then launch IntelliJ IDEA. When the Windows Defender Firewall alert appears, click “Autoriser l’accès” (Allow access) so the IDE can communicate on the network.

Step 7 – Download and start the WebStorm installer
Download WebStorm the same way, run the installer and click Next on the welcome screen.

Step 8 – Choose the install location
Keep the default destination folder (or click Browse to change it), check that enough disk space is available (about 3.0 GB required), then click Next.

Step 9 – Set the installation options
Select the options you want, then click Next:
• Create a desktop shortcut
• Add the “bin” folder to the PATH variable (restart needed)
• Add “Open Folder as Project” to the context menu
• Create associations for .js, .css, .html and .json files

Step 10 – Finish the installation
Keep “Run WebStorm” checked and click Finish.

Step 11 – Allow firewall access for WebStorm
When the Windows Defender Firewall alert appears for WebStorm, click “Autoriser l’accès” (Allow access).

Part 2 – Use the Junie plugin in IntelliJ IDEA
Step 1 – Open the plugin Marketplace
In IntelliJ IDEA, open Plugins and select the Marketplace tab. Search for Junie and click Install.

Step 2 – Link a card to your JetBrains Account
The first time you open Junie, a notice says card verification is temporarily enabled due to abuse. No charges apply. Click “Link card to your JetBrains Account” and complete the process. The button then changes to “Card Linked”.

Step 3 – Follow Junie while it works
In this example the task is to create a Java class Task.java in the JavaOmniroute project. Junie shows each action as it goes: it examines the project structure, reads Main.java and Product.java, edits Task.java (+47 lines) and sends the request to the LLM. Click Stop to interrupt it at any time.

Step 4 – Review the generated code
Open the new file and check the result. Here Junie created the Task class with the fields id, description and completed, a constructor, and the getters and setters.

Part 3 – Use the Junie client with Ollama
Step 1 – Install the Junie client
Open PowerShell and run this command:
powershell -NoProfile -Command "iex (irm 'https://junie.jetbrains.com/install.ps1')"
Step 2 – Launch Junie and trust the project
Start Junie in the terminal. It displays its version (v.26.10.12) and asks whether you trust the contents of the project. Choose one of the options:
• Trust this project
• Trust all projects in the current folder
• Keep untrusted
Trusting a project loads its MCP servers, skills, commands and Junie configuration. If it is not trusted, the files stay available but the project configuration is not loaded.
Tip: start Junie from your own project folder rather than C:\Windows\System32, as shown in the screenshot.

Step 2: Access Account Settings
To access account management

Step 3: Choose Connection Type
What we see: The Connected accounts and API keys settings menu. Here you can choose from several options: Manage your JetBrains account. Use your own Cloud API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Meta, OpenRouter, GitHub Copilot). Connect custom local models and endpoints (LiteLLM, Ollama, LM Studio).

*Step 4: Select Your Local Server Provider
*

Step 5: Configure Ollama Settings
The Ollama settings panel. Here you can customize the Base URL option if your Ollama instance runs on a different port or network address.

Step 6: Verify Active Model and Interface Shortcuts
The main chat prompt interface featuring quick command guides at the top (/ for available commands, @ to search files, ! for bash commands, and ? for help).

Step 7: Model Processing & Useful Shortcuts
The active execution state of the client. After sending a user prompt (e.g., create a empty file.txt), the interface displays Thinking... esc to stop, showing that the LLM is currently processing the request.

Step 8: Identifying the Error Message
When submitting an action command like create a empty file.txt, Junie outputs an error: "The model returned an unexpected response format. Try again or switch to a different model."

**
💡 Important Note on System Requirements:**
The performance and availability of local AI models depend directly on your PC’s hardware specifications (RAM, VRAM, and GPU power). Running larger models (7B+ parameters) smoothly requires a solid setup. If your machine's hardware capacity is limited, switching to a Cloud API key (such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini) is the best way to get fast, reliable, and error-free responses without overloading your computer!

DEV Community: Aïcha Es-senhaji

How to Use the JetBrains Student Pack, Junie Plugin, and Junie Client