# IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition [![official JetBrains project](http://jb.gg/badges/official.svg)](https://confluence.jetbrains.com/display/ALL/JetBrains+on+GitHub) These instructions will help you build IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition from source code, which is the basis for IntelliJ Platform development. The following conventions will be used to refer to directories on your machine: * `` is your home directory. * `` is the root directory for the IntelliJ source code. * `` is the root directory for the 1.6 JDK, which is optional. * `` is the root directory for the 1.8 JDK. ## Getting IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition Source Code IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition source code is available from `github.com/JetBrains/intellij-community` by either cloning or downloading a zip file (based on a branch) into ``. The default is the *master* branch. The master branch contains the source code which will be used to create the next major version of IntelliJ IDEA. The branch names and build numbers for older releases of IntelliJ IDEA can be found on the page of [Build Number Ranges](http://www.jetbrains.org/intellij/sdk/docs/basics/getting_started/build_number_ranges.html). If you intend to make open source contributions to the IntelliJ Platform, see [Contributing to the IntelliJ Project](http://www.jetbrains.org/display/IJOS/Contribute) for more information. _**Speed Tip:**_ If the complete repository history isn't needed then using a shallow clone (`git clone --depth 1`) will save significant time. These Git operations can also be done through the [IntelliJ IDEA user interface](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/using-git-integration.html). IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition requires additional Android modules from separate Git repositories. To clone these repositories, run one of the `getPlugins` scripts located in the `` directory. These scripts clone their respective *master* branches. * `getPlugins.sh` for Linux or macOS. * `getPlugins.bat` for Windows. _**Note:**_ Always `git checkout` the `intellij-community`, `android`, and `android/tools-base` Git repositories to the same branches/tags. ## Building IntelliJ Community Edition Version 2018.2 or newer of IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition or IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition is required to build and develop for the IntelliJ Platform. ### Opening the IntelliJ Source Code for Build Using IntelliJ IDEA **File | Open**, select the `` directory. * If IntelliJ IDEA displays an error about a missing or out of date required plugin (e.g. Kotlin), [enable, upgrade, or install that plugin](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/managing-plugins.html) and restart IntelliJ IDEA. * If IntelliJ IDEA displays and error about a Gradle configuration not found, [refresh the Gradle projects](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/jetgradle-tool-window.html). ### IntelliJ Build Configuration JDK version 1.8 (u91 or newer) is required for building and developing for IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. 1. Using IntelliJ IDEA, [configure](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/sdk.html) a JDK named "**1.8**", pointing to ``. * If not already present, add `/lib/tools.jar` [to the Classpath](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/sdk.html#manage_sdks) tab for the **1.8** JDK. 2. Also configure a JDK named "**IDEA jdk**" (case sensitive), pointing to ``. If you don’t want to install JDK 1.6 then you may configure **IDEA jdk** to point to ``. However, you must be careful to avoid using Java 8 APIs in IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition modules that use **IDEA jdk**. * If not already present, add the corresponding path for tools.jar to the Classpath for "**IDEA jdk**" JDK. 3. If the _Maven Integration_ plugin is disabled, [add the path variable](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/working-with-projects.html#path-variables) "**MAVEN_REPOSITORY**" pointing to `/.m2/repository` directory. 4. _**Speed Tip:**_ If you have enough RAM on your computer, [configure the compiler settings](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/specifying-compilation-settings.html) to enable the "Compile independent modules in parallel" option. Also set the "User-local build process VM options" to `-Xmx2G`. These changes will greatly reduce the compile time. ### Building the IntelliJ Application Source Code To build IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition from source, choose **Build | Build Project** from the main menu. To build installation packages, run the `ant` command in `` directory. See the `build.xml` file for details. ## Running IntelliJ IDEA To run the IntelliJ IDEA built from source, choose **Run | Run** from the main menu. This will use the preconfigured run configuration "**IDEA**". To run tests on the build, apply these setting to the **Run | Edit Run Configurations... | Defaults | JUnit** configuration tab: * Working dir: `/bin` * VM options: * `-ea` * `-Djava.system.class.loader=com.intellij.util.lang.UrlClassLoader` * `-Didea.config.path=../test-config` * `-Didea.system.path=../test-system` You can find other helpful information at [http://www.jetbrains.org](http://www.jetbrains.org). The [contribute section](http://www.jetbrains.org/display/IJOS/Contribute) of that site describes how you can contribute to IntelliJ IDEA.