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Selecting the JDK version the IDE will run under

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JetBrains Support
Updated

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Click the OK button and wait until the file with JetBrains Runtime is downloaded and configured.
  4. Restart the IDE to try the new runtime.
  5. 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).
  6. 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

  1. Follow the steps from the section above to open the Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE dialog.
  2. Use the Add Custom Runtime option
  3. Select one of the already installed JDK 21 options or click Add JDK
  4. 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

  1. Open the Choose Boot Java Runtime for the IDE dialog as described above
  2. Click the Use Default Runtime button
  3. 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:

  1. IDEA_JDK / PHPSTORM_JDK / WEBIDE_JDK / PYCHARM_JDK / RUBYMINE_JDK / CL_JDK / DATAGRIP_JDK / GOLAND_JDK environment variable
  2. idea.config.path\<product>64.exe.jdk file
  3. ..\jbr directory
  4. system Registry
  5. JDK_HOME environment variable
  6. 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:

  1. IDEA_JDK / PHPSTORM_JDK / WEBIDE_JDK / PYCHARM_JDK / RUBYMINE_JDK / CL_JDK / DATAGRIP_JDK / GOLAND_JDK environment variable (depends on the product)
  2. idea.config.path\<product>64.exe.jdk file
  3. idea.config.path\<product>.exe.jdk file
  4. ..\jbr directory
  5. JDK_HOME environment variable
  6. JAVA_HOME environment variable
Environment variable must point to the JDK installation HOME directory, for example:
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

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208 comments
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Serge Baranov
Updated

No, you are mixing up the location of the JDK itself and the location of the text .jdk file that overrides the default JDK.

Edited by Serge Baranov
1
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Permanently deleted user
Updated

My installation of IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition 2017.2.5 in Linux does not have the idea.jdk file in ~/.IdeaIC2017.2 this page is talking about.

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Serge Baranov
Updated

Delete idea.jdk file from the config directory as described in this document.

Edited by Serge Baranov
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Alexander Zolotov
Updated

Hi Dmytro.

This article is about setting JRE for real IDE, not for sandbox-IDEA.

If you're using gradle-intellij-plugin, make sure you're using the latest version of the plugin and see `jbrVersion` option in `runIde` task. More details here: https://github.com/jetbrains/gradle-intellij-plugin#running-dsl

The documentation about plugins development you can find here: http://www.jetbrains.org/intellij/sdk/docs/welcome.html

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Serge Baranov
Updated

Delete idea.jdk file from the config directory as described in this document.

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Avatar
Serge Baranov
Updated

This plug-in is needed when you were instructed by the support team or by the developers to use some specific runtime version in order to try some fix or a workaround for a problem. In all the other cases you should not override the runtime and use the default one that is bundled with the product.

Your usability concerns are valid and I've reported the same to the responsible developer long time ago. In any case, the plug-in is open source and you are welcome to contribute if you are interested: https://github.com/denis-fokin/ChooseRuntime .

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Brandon Bird
Updated

Please help. I've installed IDEA 2020.3 and all of my gradle 2.x projects are broken. This article's workaround (set IDE to use JDK 8) worked with 2020.2. However with 2020.3, when I perform the steps outlined in this article, IntelliJ fails to start with the error that JDK 11 is required.

Is IDEA 2020.3 no longer capable of running under JDK 8??

Is this article no longer valid?

Thanks.

Edited by Brandon Bird
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Finitud
Updated

I'm running macOS 12 latest beta (21A5506j). None of the JetBrains apps open, they all refuse to open with no warning if launched from the GUI. If I run them from the terminal, I see that the JetBrains Java Runtime is crashing with the error I include at the end of the comment.

Trying to change the JRE used by this method doesn't seem to change anything. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

#
# A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment:
#
#  SIGSEGV (0xb) at pc=0x000000011f421ddc, pid=74007, tid=40195
#
# JRE version: OpenJDK Runtime Environment JBR-11.0.11.9-1504.16-jcef (11.0.11+9) (build 11.0.11+9-b1504.16)
# Java VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM JBR-11.0.11.9-1504.16-jcef (11.0.11+9-b1504.16, mixed mode, tiered, compressed oops, g1 gc, bsd-aarch64)
# Problematic frame:
# J 236 c2 com.intellij.util.io.Murmur3_32Hash.hashBytes([BII)I (109 bytes) @ 0x000000011f421ddc [0x000000011f421c80+0x000000000000015c]
#
# No core dump will be written. Core dumps have been disabled. To enable core dumping, try "ulimit -c unlimited" before starting Java again
#
# An error report file with more information is saved as:
# /Users/alice/java_error_in_webstorm_74007.log
Compiled method (c2)     255  236       4       com.intellij.util.io.Murmur3_32Hash::hashBytes (109 bytes)
 total in heap  [0x000000011f421a90,0x000000011f4221c0] = 1840
 relocation     [0x000000011f421c00,0x000000011f421c48] = 72
 main code      [0x000000011f421c80,0x000000011f421f40] = 704
 stub code      [0x000000011f421f40,0x000000011f421fd0] = 144
 oops           [0x000000011f421fd0,0x000000011f421fd8] = 8
 metadata       [0x000000011f421fd8,0x000000011f421ff0] = 24
 scopes data    [0x000000011f421ff0,0x000000011f4220f8] = 264
 scopes pcs     [0x000000011f4220f8,0x000000011f4221a8] = 176
 dependencies   [0x000000011f4221a8,0x000000011f4221b0] = 8
 nul chk table  [0x000000011f4221b0,0x000000011f4221c0] = 16
Could not load hsdis-aarch64.dylib; library not loadable; PrintAssembly is disabled
#
# If you would like to submit a bug report, please visit:
#   https://bugreport.java.com/bugreport/crash.jsp
#
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Avatar
Andrey Dernov
Updated

Try try workaround from JBR-3715 mac os 12 beta6 Unable to start IDEA. 

Add the following VM options:

-XX:+TieredCompilation 
-XX:TieredStopAtLevel=1
Edited by Andrey Dernov
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Finitud
Updated

That worked, thank you!

1
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Permanently deleted user
Updated

How can I run Idea 12 with the default Java 6 VM and target code and binaries to Java 7?

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

On Mac OS X 10.8.4

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Serge Baranov
Updated

Project/module SDK and byte code level doesn't depend on the JDK IDEA runs under. JDK is configured for the project/module in the File | Project Structure, refer to help for details.

http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/webhelp/configuring-global-project-and-module-sdks.html

 http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/webhelp/compiler-java-compiler.html

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Harold Finch
Updated

Serge: did you make a typo for the "JAVA_HOME" env var?

Note under your Windows section that the first 2 occurrences (the first two 5. items) use "JAVA HOME" (no underscore, whereas the last one (the third 4. item) uses "JAVA_HOME" (with an underscore).

"JAVA_HOME" (with an underscore) is THE universal convention, to my knowledge.  I have never seen "JAVA HOME" before, indeed, I think that that space may cause all kinds of problems.

Please confirm what is going on, and correct your original posting if needed.

 

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Serge Baranov
Updated

Thanks, I've fixed the typo.

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Stephen Welch
Updated

Can I change the jdk used for database connections without changing the ide  jdk version?

0
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Serge Baranov
Updated

Stephen, why do you need to change the JDK version for the database connections? It's not possible at the moment, IDE JDK is always used.

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

On OSx you can define environment variables in /etc/launcd.conf (create the file if it does not exist).

The variables defined in launchd.conf will be available in Terminal and for all other processes. The downside is that changes to the file are not picked up before restarting your system.

But if you just want to set IDEA_JDK once to 1.7 (instead of changing Info.plist in every EAP install you download) it is a pretty good solution - since it allows you to launch Intellij any way you want.

 

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

Doh - spelled the file name wrong - the correct name is "/etc/launchd.conf".

 

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Peter West
Updated

If you want to do this the hard way, see

http://codepulsive.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/using-environmentplist-with-mountain.html

and

http://codepulsive.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/setting-environment-variables-in-os-x.html

 

It's the way I keep my shell and GUI environment variables synchronised. Before ML it was easier, using environment.plist, but ML broke that.  The ML solution still works with Mavericks.

 

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Peter West
Updated

An easier way, that maintains synchronisation of .profile and desktop environments.

http://codepulsive.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/setting-environment-variables-in-os-x.html

 

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Peter West
Updated

12C seems to be completely broken for La Clojure under Mavericks.  I have a small clojure test project that hangs 12C when I try to open it. I have to force close.

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Peter West
Updated

It's broader than that for me. 12C seems to hang at the 'scanning files" stage on most projects. Nasty. Thank you Apple for the constant API changes. Is there any information I can forward?  It seems that you know the way out of this, but it is just going to take some time.

0
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Peter West
Updated

I've reported the bug: IDEA-116177. In the meantime, though, I seem to have found a fix for it.  I uninstalled the new Wacom Intuous 3 drivers I installed after upgrading to Mavericks. This may be useful information for others.

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Peter West
Updated

Still hanging if I set IDEA_JDK to Java 7. On this display, I would say that Mavericks is a disgrace to its developers. It is Java-hostile to an advanced degree.

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

hello, I installed webstorm7 and pycharm3.02 in the same time, my os is mavericks. then i change both product files in  /Applications/<Product>.app/Contents/Info.plist to jvm 1.7,

and then webstorm started successfully,but pycharm still need jdk6 to start . why?

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Serge Baranov
Updated

Li Acerphoenix, most likely WebStorm 7 has a more recent java launcher stub version that doesn't require JDK 1.6 to run, PyCharm 3.0.2 is built from the older platform version which still requires JDK 1.6 to be present, even if you are running under JDK 1.7. This will be resolved in the future updates.

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

After editing the plist, make sure to resign the app bundle to avoid a nagging prompt and intermittent hangs at startup. Create a  code-signing cert, and then run:

    sudo codesign --verbose --force --sign "<CERT COMMON NAME>" /Applications/WebStorm.app/

I verified this with Webstorm 7.0.3 on OS X Mavericks 10.9.2.

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Permanently deleted user
Updated

The IDEA_JDK variable doesn't work on Mac OSX.  But it will in will in IDEA v14: http://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-123552#comment=27-739506

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