Selecting the JDK version the IDE will run under
All the products on all the supported platforms already have 64-bit JetBrains Runtime 21 bundled and it will be used by default to run the IDE. If you need to change the runtime to a different version, see below. Please note that all the current IDE versions require at least Java 17 version to run. Our IDEs will not run on the older Java versions like Java 8 or 11.
All platforms: download and install JetBrains Runtime via Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE action
- Start the IDE, use Help | Find Action (Ctrl+Shift+A or Cmd+Shift+A on Mac), type "Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE", press Enter.
- Select the version to install, the higher the number after b, the more recent is the version. It makes sense to install the most recent version or the version you were asked to try by JetBrains staff. Installing old runtime versions may render your IDE unusable or introduce new issues.
- Click the OK button and wait until the file with JetBrains Runtime is downloaded and configured.
- Restart the IDE to try the new runtime.
- Verify via About dialog that the new runtime is used. Notice the vendor (should be JetBrains s.r.o) and the release number (should correspond to the number after b in the file you've downloaded).
- If the JDK version in the About dialog doesn't match or didn't change, see below. Most likely, you have an environment variable configured which has the priority over the <product>.jdk file. Remove any environment variables affecting IDE runtime selection and restart.
All platforms: Add Custom Runtime
- Follow the steps from the section above to open the Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE dialog.
- Use the Add Custom Runtime option
- Select one of the already installed JDK 21 options or click Add JDK
- To add a new JDK specify the home folder of the Java 21 installation on your disk
This option is useful to check if the issue you might have is specific to JetBrains Runtime or is common to this Java version from all the vendors. It helps to isolate and fix issues with JetBrains Runtime or workaround problems as you can continue working until the issue is resolved.
All platforms: Switch back to the default bundled JetBrains Runtime
- Open the Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE dialog as described above
- Click the Use Default Runtime button
- Restart the IDE
If you can't start the IDE to access this dialog or the runtime doesn't change, please see below for the platform specific instructions. You would need to remove the <product>.jdk file from the configuration directory and unset any environment variables that override the default runtime. If there is no jbr subdirectory in the IDE installation directory, reinstall the product.
Windows
JDK (JetBrains Runtime) is bundled with all the product installers and it's recommended that you will use the provided JDK version unless there are any specific issues. Since 2017.1 version 64-bit JDK is bundled by default on all the systems.
<product>64.exe uses this JDK search sequence:
- IDEA_JDK / PHPSTORM_JDK / WEBIDE_JDK / PYCHARM_JDK / RUBYMINE_JDK / CL_JDK / DATAGRIP_JDK / GOLAND_JDK environment variable
- idea.config.path\<product>64.exe.jdk file
- ..\jbr directory
- system Registry
- JDK_HOME environment variable
- JAVA_HOME environment variable
It’s also possible to start the IDE with <product>.bat file located in the bin directory, it uses the following JDK search sequence:
- IDEA_JDK / PHPSTORM_JDK / WEBIDE_JDK / PYCHARM_JDK / RUBYMINE_JDK / CL_JDK / DATAGRIP_JDK / GOLAND_JDK environment variable (depends on the product)
- idea.config.path\<product>64.exe.jdk file
- idea.config.path\<product>.exe.jdk file
- ..\jbr directory
- JDK_HOME environment variable
- JAVA_HOME environment variable
c:\Program Files\Java\jdk17.0.10
- The actual JDK version used by the IDE can be verified in Help | About dialog (open any project to access the menu).
- Define IDEA_JDK / PHPSTORM_JDK / WEBIDE_JDK / PYCHARM_JDK / RUBYMINE_JDK / CL_JDK / DATAGRIP_JDK / GOLAND_JDK variable depending on the product to override the default version from IDE_HOME\jbr.
- Use Rapid Environment Editor to add/edit the variables, it will detect incorrect paths.
Linux
- Starting from IntelliJ IDEA 2016 and the most recent versions of the lightweight IDEs, we are bundling custom JRE (JetBrains Runtime) with Linux distributions, just like we've been doing for Mac. Our custom JRE is based on OpenJDK and includes the most up to date fixes to provide better user experience on Linux (like font rendering improvements and HiDPI support).
- Boot JDK path is stored in the <product>.jdk file located in the config folder. It can be modified either via the Change IDE boot JDK action or by manually editing .jdk file (if you can't start the IDE to change it via an action).
- It's recommended to use the bundled JRE (if available). In case you have any issues with the bundled version, you can switch to the latest Oracle JDK or OpenJDK build available on your system (JDK 21 is recommended).
- Check bin/<product>.sh file for the JDK search order, it's similar to Windows in terms of the environment variable names. It's a legacy way to adjust the boot jdk, use it for older product versions. Consider using <product>.jdk file instead (see above), so that your modifications can survive IDE updates/re-installation.
- Check this answer if you need to install the JDK manually on Linux.
- If you have problems with ugly fonts, please see this thread comments for the tips.
- Help | About will show the actual JDK version.
macOS
- IDE is using the bundled JetBrains Runtime by default.
- If you override IDE JDK version (via the Choose Runtime plug-in), its path is stored in <product>.jdk file located in the config folder (idea.jdk for IntelliJ IDEA, pycharm.jdk for PyCharm, etc). Delete this file or change the path inside the file manually in case IDE no longer starts and you can't change it via the menu.
- If IDE doesn't start and this file doesn't exist, create it manually and specify Java path to use (Java home location), for example:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-21.jdk/Contents/Home
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I couldn't get Android Studio pick up JDK 1.8 either using just the
idea.propertiesfiles.I ended up using the
STUDIO_JDK: http://stackoverflow.com/a/32952022/3055345 .Maybe there's an equivalent for vanilla Idea.
I downloaded IntelliJ 15 for OSX. It downloaded IdeaIU-15.0.1-custom-jdk-bundled.dmg by default. Upon startup all of my projects failed to load saying the maven projects failed to load. In the log I am seeing MavenServerManager failing to reconnect. I tried to run IntelliJ 14 with Java 8 in the past and found that I had to set java.net.preferIPv4Stack=false to get it to work. IntelliJ 15 comes with the value preset to true.
I was able to download IdeaIU-15.0.1.dmg and it runs without that problem but it gives me a warning that updates cannot be automatically downloaded because it is running on Java 6.
See https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/entries/23395793 to chnage the value of this property. Disable secure updates to make it work on 1.6: http://i.imgur.com/p037pW2.png .
I am not sure how the linked article helps me. I don't see any reference to Maven or running IntelliJ 15 on OSX with Java 8 - which I guess is the default download now - and the fact that the default options for it don't work.
Please submit a support ticket with more details and idea.log.
Hello and Happy New Year.
I do not understand why this is not working in my Intellij 15.0.2 IDEA. I have jdk version 1.8.0_11 installed in Program files(x86) /Java on my Windows 8.1 machine and have the project SDK pointing to that library. I have set the Language Level to " 8 - Lambdas, ....." for both Projects and Modules in the Project Settings window. Intellij continues to show a compiler error - red squiggly underscore -under this entire lambda statement:
() -> 5 the error shown when mousing over is "Lambda expression not expected here"
When I click on Help->About I see the JRE that the IDEA is using is 1.8.0_51-b16 X86. So I created a IDEA_JDK environment variable pointing to the same Java 8 library even though the project settings already are set to point to the Java 8 library. Creating this environment variable changed the Java version the IDE is using to 1.8.0_11-b12 amd64. That is fine however I continue to get the compiler error mentioned.
Can somebody please advise? What am I missing? Why are these settings not working? Thank you for your time
Gary
Hi,
I found a minor bug in this workflow.
Under Windows when upgrading from WebStorm 11.0.3 (x86) to WebStorm 2016.1 (x64), the IDE_HOME\jre was copied directly from the previous installation, which of course was 32-bit java and the IDE couldn't use it. Then WebStorm ignored the IDEA_JDK_64 environment variable and only tried to use JAVA_HOME which is set to Java 1.7 in my case for different platforms to use. Eventually I copied the contents of my 64-bit JDK installation's jre folder to IDE_HOME\jre and the IDE started fine.
János
WebStorm uses WEBIDE_JDK. 2016.1 version requires Java 8 version to run. If you have Java 8 installed and run webstorm64.exe, it should find it automatically from the registry.
I just downloaded the new 2016.1 version of PHPStorm. When I try to open it, it says it doesn't run with the older Java 1.6 version (which was required for the previous version of PHPStorm). So I uninstalled that and installed Java 1.8. When I type `java -version` in Terminal, it says that version 1.8 is installed. I also added a link to that Java version in the `.jdk` config file which I called `PhpStorm2016.1.jdk` (as explained above).
Now when I try to open PHPStorm it says that a suitable Java version can not be found and it gives me a link to this Apple page (https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US) where I can download the 1.6 version. So I installed that again and then I'm back where I started, getting the message from PHPStorm that I need version 1.8 of Java instead of 1.6.
So, I seem to be in an infinite loop :(
I'm on OSX by the way (El Capitan 10.11.3)
Please advise what to do, because I am completely stuck and can't work.
PhpStorm comes with bundled Java on Mac. If you don't have .jdk file, it should run on the bundled JDK by default. See also https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/articles/206544879. I've submitted a bug for the 1.6 installation suggestion: https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-153217. Please vote. Submit a ticket to support if you still have a problem.
Serge, I have JDK 8 (x64) installed, WebStorm did not find it using the IDEA_JDK_64 environment variable, it was only checking JDK_HOME which was set to JDK 7 (x64), so it didn't start. So the JDK search sequence seems to be broken.
The two things that worked was either changing the JDK_HOME variable to JDK 8, which was undesirable or copying my Java 8 JDK's jre folder to IDE_HOME\jre. This works perfectly, while JAVA_HOME can remain at JDK 7, so I just wanted to share my experience.
WebStorm doesn't use IDEA_JDK_64. It's IntelliJ IDEA specific. Every product has its own variable. Please check the article again. Example is for idea64.exe only.
Cool, thanks! Sorry, I didn't read carefully enough.
Thanks for your fast response Serge! I removed all Java versions from my machine, when I now run `java -version` in terminal, it says that Java is not installed (I even reinstalled PhpStorm and rebooted, just to be sure). Tried to fire up PhpStorm again, but still got the message that PhpStorm was unable to find a suitable Java version.
http://www.mkyong.com/java/how-to-set-java_home-environment-variable-on-mac-os-x/
Now if I run `echo $JAVA_HOME` in terminal, it tells me the location, so that works. Still PhpStorm doesn't start.
I was able to resolve the issue about PhpStorm not being able to find the correct JVM by doing the following:
I removed all Java versions from my machine. Then, in this file
There is a property that says
I removed that line and all is fine now.
I've downloaded PyCharm 2016.1, installed in and try to start. I get the following error:
Unsupported Java Version: Cannot start under Java 1.7.0_95-b00: Java 1.8 or later is required.
I have openjdk 1.7 installed, but as I've read, PyCharm brings it's own JRE with it. But why the contained JDK isn't used? I've tried to start the java binary in the $IDE_HOME/jre/jre/bin/ folder, but it seems a 64 bit executable. I'm on a 32 bit Ubuntu system.
Is the contained JRE only 64 bit? Do I have to install JRE from Oracle? But then I have nothing of the improvements you made in openjdk to provide better user experience on Linux (like font rendering improvements and HiDPI support).
Yes, we provide 64-bit Java on Linux. If you are on a 32-bit system you have to install 32-bit Java 8 manually.
I have two Java 8 installed:
>la /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 7 root wheel - 238B 13 Dez 17:56 ./
drwxrwxr-x 6 root wheel - 204B 13 Dez 17:56 ../
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel - 102B 14 Jul 2015 1.6.0.jdk/
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel - 102B 10 Dez 00:49 jdk1.7.0_45.jdk/
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel - 102B 10 Dez 01:12 jdk1.7.0_67.jdk/
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel - 102B 10 Dez 00:26 jdk1.8.0_20.jdk/
drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel - 102B 10 Dez 01:13 jdk1.8.0_66.jdk/
Why do you show an error message telling me too install one. Now i have to read tons of doku, change config files and whatever else. How about you make it that is “just works”. It is not that difficult to look in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines for a java which will do the trick.
It just works if you didn't modify any .properties files overriding the Java version since Java 8 is bundled by default. See https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-153217.
Everything correct and you still use the wrong Java:
~ Darwin martin@iMac Sa Mär 26 11:30:35 standart 0
>echo $JAVA_HOME
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_77.jdk/Contents/Home
~ Darwin martin@iMac Sa Mär 26 11:30:40 standart 0
>echo $JDK_HOME
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_77.jdk/Contents/Home
~ Darwin martin@iMac Sa Mär 26 11:30:44 standart 0
>java -version
java version "1.8.0_77"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_77-b03)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.77-b03, mixed mode)
~ Darwin martin@iMac Sa Mär 26 11:30:49 standart 0
>/Applications/Developer/IntelliJ\ IDEA\ CE.app/Contents/MacOS/idea
2016-03-26 11:30:57.410 idea[2046:25499] Value of IDEA_JDK: (null)
2016-03-26 11:30:57.416 idea[2046:25505] fullFileName is: /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:30:57.416 idea[2046:25505] fullFileName exists: /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:30:57.417 idea[2046:25505] Value of IDEA_VM_OPTIONS is (null)
2016-03-26 11:30:57.417 idea[2046:25505] Processing VMOptions file at /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:30:57.417 idea[2046:25505] Done
Unsupported Java Version: Cannot start under Java 1.6.0_65-b14-468-11M4833: Java 1.8 or later is required.
~ Darwin martin@iMac Sa Mär 26 11:30:58 standart 10
>
What a pain. But wait. What is IDEA_JDK?
Attach the output again.
The following did the trick:
typeset -x -g IDEA_JDK=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_77.jdk
Interesting. Why was it null? And no I did not change any property files. At least not since the update from IDEA 15.
IDEA_JDK is not needed, by default IDE will use the bundled JDK.
The requested output from a fresh command line (to make it fail):
—————
>/Applications/Developer/IntelliJ\ IDEA\ CE.app/Contents/MacOS/idea
2016-03-26 11:40:21.640 idea[2520:32862] Value of IDEA_JDK: (null)
2016-03-26 11:40:21.640 idea[2520:32862] Reading at /Users/martin/Library/Preferences/IdeaIC2016.1/idea.properties OK
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] Found Java Virtual Machines:
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_77.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_66.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/jre/jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_20.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_67.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_45.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] Required VMs: 1.6*
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] Chosen VM:
2016-03-26 11:40:21.642 idea[2520:32862] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] fullFileName is: /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] fullFileName exists: /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] Value of IDEA_VM_OPTIONS is (null)
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] Processing VMOptions file at /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] Reading at /Applications/Developer/IntelliJ IDEA CE.app/Contents/bin/idea.vmoptions OK
2016-03-26 11:40:21.647 idea[2520:32873] Done
Unsupported Java Version: Cannot start under Java 1.6.0_65-b14-468-11M4833: Java 1.8 or later is required.
—————
Interesting again: Required VMs: 1.6* — where did that one come from? I checked the Info.plist — it correctly requests 1.8.
It comes from your /Users/martin/Library/Preferences/IdeaIC2016.1/idea.properties file which was migrated from the previous version, see https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-153217 that I've already linked above.
For PyCharm on Mac, the file name is pycharm.jdk and not charm.jdk as mentioned.
Run the following command in Terminal:
echo "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_77.jdk" > ${HOME}/Library/Preferences/PyCharm2016.1/pycharm.jdk
Replacing the string "jdk1.8.0_77" with whatever version of Java you have installed.
Hello! I've just installed PyCharm 2016.1.3, since i'm on windows and i need to run 64-bit (i need to use the ODBC data sources on the machine), i need to install JDK 8. The JDK available to my firm is only JDK 1.8.0_05. I've defined PYCHARM_JDK variable and pointed it to:
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_05.
PyCharm now starts, but it doesn't support 64-bit functionality, meaning, my ODBC data sources are not supported and i'm receiving an error when i try to run a query against them:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver
I confirm that PyCharm is running as 64-bit:
PyCharm 2016.1.3
Build #PY-145.971, built on May 3, 2016
JRE: 1.8.0_05-b13 amd64
JVM: Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM by Oracle Corporation
So, is this JDK not supported or is this an issue?
It's unrelated to JDK, please submit a ticket to support and attach a screenshot with your JDBC driver configuration (jar files) in the database connection properties.
WIth the release of IntelliJ 2016.2, I see this noted in the blog post announcing it:
Installer
Last but not least, the Windows installer now includes our custom JDK build with fixes that address focus and font rendering issues.
But it appears that is still just the 32-bit JDK (or it seems JRE as that's what the directory is called: "IntelliJ IDEA 2016.2\jre". Is this correct? If we use the 64-bit version do we still have to point IDEA_JDK_64 to our own install? (Seems so from the experimenting I've done.)
Is the 64-bit version slated to get a bundled JDK/JRE build with fixes for these issues at some point?
Also, idea.bat seems to only want to run idea.exe the way it is written. In fact, it has one issue around 10 lines down where it is using the variable %BITS% which hasn't been set yet. That seems bad to me.
Only 32-bit JDK is bundled, just like before. What has changed is that we bundle our custom OpenJDK instead of Oracle JDK like we did before.
64-bit version of the custom OpenJDK is available at https://bintray.com/jetbrains/intellij-jdk/.
Thanks for pointing to the %BITS% issue in idea.bat, we'll investigate it.