IntelliJ IDEA on Ubuntu: Begin Your Journey into Java Development!

Hello, young Padawan! 🧑‍💻 It’s time to embark on an epic journey into the world of Java development, and our trusted companion will be the powerful IntelliJ IDEA. Ready? Let’s go!

Before we start, we need to download the tool. But take a deep breath and hold your excitement, young apprentice! IntelliJ comes in two versions: a paid one (Ultimate Edition) and a free one (Community Edition). To get started, I recommend the Community Edition. Simply visit the official website, scroll down a bit, and click the button to download the free version.

Here's the link:
Download IntelliJ IDEA 👉 Link

Ready to install? Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Extract the File

Open a terminal and navigate to the directory where the file was downloaded (usually ~/Downloads):

cd ~/Downloads

Now, extract the .tar.gz file using the following command:

tar -xzf ideaIU-*.tar.gz

This will create a folder containing the IntelliJ IDEA files.

Step 2: Move the Files

To keep your system organized, move the extracted folder to the /opt directory (recommended for manually installed programs):

sudo mv idea-IU-* /opt/intellij

Step 3: Run IntelliJ IDEA

Go to the IntelliJ directory and start the program:

cd /opt/intellij/bin
./idea.sh

And voilà! 🎉 The IDE will open, and you can configure it according to your preferences.

Step 4: (Optional) Create a System Shortcut

To make accessing IntelliJ easier, let’s create a shortcut in Ubuntu’s application menu:

Open a text editor to create a shortcut file:

sudo nano /usr/share/applications/intellij-idea.desktop

Add the following content to the file:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=IntelliJ IDEA
Icon=/opt/intellij/bin/idea.png
Exec="/opt/intellij/bin/idea.sh" %f
Comment=The most intelligent Java IDE
Categories=Development;IDE;
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true

Save and close the file (press Ctrl+O, then Enter, and Ctrl+X).

Now, IntelliJ IDEA will appear in your Ubuntu application menu. Easy, right?

You’re now ready to explore the amazing world of Java development! 🚀 In the next post, we’ll take the first step by creating a Hello World program. See you then! 👋