intellij-community

IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition & IntelliJ Platform

17,068

5,222

17,068

288

View on GitHub

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brackets

33,268

An open source code editor for the web, written in JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

openvscode-server

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Run upstream VS Code on a remote machine with access through a modern web browser from any device, anywhere.

Quick Overview

IntelliJ COMMUNITY is the open-source version of JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA, a powerful integrated development environment (IDE) for Java and other JVM languages. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for software development, including code analysis, refactoring, and debugging capabilities. The community edition serves as the foundation for many of JetBrains' other IDEs.

Pros

Robust and feature-rich IDE with excellent Java support
Large and active community contributing to its development
Extensible through plugins, allowing for customization and additional language support
Free and open-source, making it accessible to all developers

Cons

Large codebase can be challenging for new contributors to navigate
Resource-intensive, potentially requiring significant system resources
Steeper learning curve compared to simpler text editors or lightweight IDEs
Some advanced features are only available in the paid Ultimate edition

Getting Started

To get started with IntelliJ COMMUNITY:

Download the latest version from the official JetBrains website: https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/
Install the IDE following the instructions for your operating system
Launch IntelliJ IDEA and create a new project or open an existing one
Familiarize yourself with the IDE's interface and basic features
Explore available plugins to extend functionality as needed

For developers interested in contributing to the project:

Fork the repository on GitHub
Clone your fork locally
Set up the development environment following the instructions in the CONTRIBUTING.md file
Make your changes and submit a pull request for review

Competitor Comparisons

vscode

162,288

Visual Studio Code

Pros of Visual Studio Code

Lightweight and fast, with a smaller installation footprint
Extensive marketplace with a wide variety of extensions
Cross-platform compatibility with consistent experience across operating systems

Cons of Visual Studio Code

Less robust out-of-the-box functionality for specific languages and frameworks
Limited built-in refactoring tools compared to IntelliJ IDEA
Steeper learning curve for advanced features and customizations

Code Comparison

IntelliJ IDEA (Java):

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, World!");
    }
}

Visual Studio Code (JavaScript):

console.log("Hello, World!");

While both IDEs support multiple languages, IntelliJ IDEA provides more comprehensive Java support out-of-the-box, whereas Visual Studio Code relies on extensions for advanced language-specific features. IntelliJ IDEA offers more sophisticated code analysis and refactoring tools, while Visual Studio Code provides a more lightweight and customizable environment.

atom

60,150

:atom: The hackable text editor

Pros of Atom

Lightweight and faster startup compared to IntelliJ IDEA
Highly customizable with a large ecosystem of community packages
Built on web technologies, making it easier for web developers to extend

Cons of Atom

Less powerful out-of-the-box IDE features than IntelliJ IDEA
Performance can degrade with many packages installed
Limited support for complex refactoring operations

Code Comparison

Atom (CoffeeScript):

class AtomEnvironment
  constructor: (params={}) ->
    {@clipboard, @enablePersistence, @project, @config} = params
    @emitter = new Emitter
    @disposables = new CompositeDisposable

IntelliJ IDEA (Java):

public class ProjectImpl extends UserDataHolderBase implements Project {
  private final ProjectManager myManager;
  private final String myName;
  private final String myBasePath;
  private final AtomicBoolean mySavingInProgress = new AtomicBoolean(false);

Both examples show core classes responsible for managing the project environment, but IntelliJ IDEA's implementation is more complex and feature-rich, reflecting its more comprehensive IDE capabilities.

brackets

33,268

An open source code editor for the web, written in JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

Pros of Brackets

Lightweight and fast, with a smaller footprint than IntelliJ IDEA
Focused on web development, offering specialized features for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Open-source and easily extensible with a wide range of community-developed extensions

Cons of Brackets

Limited language support compared to IntelliJ IDEA's extensive multi-language capabilities
Fewer advanced features and refactoring tools than IntelliJ IDEA
Less robust debugging capabilities and integrations with build tools

Code Comparison

Brackets (JavaScript):

define(function (require, exports, module) {
    "use strict";
    
    var CommandManager = require("command/CommandManager");
    var Commands       = require("command/Commands");
    var Menus          = require("command/Menus");
});

IntelliJ IDEA (Java):

package com.intellij.openapi.actionSystem;

import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;

public interface AnAction {
  void actionPerformed(@NotNull AnActionEvent e);
  void update(@NotNull AnActionEvent e);
}

The code snippets demonstrate the different focus areas of each IDE. Brackets emphasizes web development with its module system, while IntelliJ IDEA showcases its robust Java support and action system architecture.

openvscode-server

4,935

Run upstream VS Code on a remote machine with access through a modern web browser from any device, anywhere.

Pros of openvscode-server

Lightweight and optimized for cloud-based development environments
Easier to set up and deploy in containerized environments
More flexible for web-based and remote development scenarios

Cons of openvscode-server

Less comprehensive feature set compared to IntelliJ IDEA
Smaller ecosystem of plugins and extensions
May lack some advanced debugging and profiling capabilities

Code Comparison

openvscode-server:

export async function startServer(options: ServerOptions): Promise<void> {
    const app = express();
    app.use(express.json());
    app.use(cors());
    // ... (server setup continues)
}

intellij-community:

public class IntelliJApplication {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        ApplicationManager.getApplication().runWriteAction(() -> {
            // ... (application initialization)
        });
    }
}

The code snippets highlight the different approaches: openvscode-server focuses on a web-based server setup, while intellij-community initializes a desktop application. This reflects their distinct use cases and architectures.

code-server

67,525

VS Code in the browser

Pros of code-server

Browser-based IDE, accessible from any device without local installation
Lightweight and faster to set up compared to IntelliJ IDEA
Supports remote development out of the box

Cons of code-server

Limited language support and features compared to IntelliJ IDEA
Less robust refactoring and code analysis tools
Smaller ecosystem of plugins and extensions

Code Comparison

code-server (JavaScript)

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'));
app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on port 3000'));

intellij-community (Java)

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World!");
    }
}

Summary

code-server offers a lightweight, browser-based IDE solution ideal for remote development and quick setup. However, it lacks the extensive features and language support found in IntelliJ IDEA. intellij-community provides a more robust development environment with advanced refactoring tools and a larger ecosystem, but requires local installation and more system resources. The choice between the two depends on specific project requirements and development preferences.

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README

IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition

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:

<USER_HOME> is your home directory.
<IDEA_HOME> is the root directory for the IntelliJ source code.

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 <IDEA_HOME>. 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.

These Git operations can also be done through the IntelliJ IDEA user interface.

Speed Tip: If the complete repository history isn't needed, then using a shallow clone (git clone --depth 1) will save significant time.

On Windows: Two git options are required to check out sources on Windows. Since it's a common source of Git issues on Windows anyway, those options could be set globally (execute those commands before cloning any of intellij-community/android repositories):

git config --global core.longpaths true
git config --global core.autocrlf input

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 <IDEA_HOME> directory. Use the --shallow argument if the complete repository history isn't needed. These scripts clone their respective master branches. Make sure you are inside the <IDEA_HOME> directory when running those scripts, so the modules get cloned inside the <IDEA_HOME> directory.

getPlugins.sh for Linux or macOS.
getPlugins.bat for Windows.

Note: Always git checkout the intellij-community and android Git repositories to the same branches/tags.

Building IntelliJ Community Edition

Version 2023.2 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 <IDEA_HOME> 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 and restart IntelliJ IDEA.

IntelliJ Build Configuration

It's recommended to use JetBrains Runtime 17 to compile the project. When you invoke Build Project for the first time, IntelliJ IDEA should suggest downloading it automatically.
If the Maven plugin is disabled, add the path variable "MAVEN_REPOSITORY" pointing to <USER_HOME>/.m2/repository directory.
Make sure you have at least 8GB of RAM on your computer. With the bare minimum of RAM, disable "Compile independent modules in parallel" option in the compiler settings. With notably more memory available, increase "User-local build process heap size" to 3000 - that will greatly reduce compilation time.

Note that it is important to use the variant of JetBrains Runtime without JCEF. So, if for some reason jbr-17 SDK points to an installation of JetBrains Runtime with JCEF, you need to change it: ensure that IntelliJ IDEA is running in internal mode (by adding idea.is.internal=true to idea.properties file), navigate to jbr-17 item in Project Structure | SDKs, click on 'Browse' button, choose 'Download...' item and select version 17 and vendor 'JetBrains Runtime'.

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 installers.cmd command in <IDEA_HOME> directory. installers.cmd will work on both Windows and Unix systems.

Options to build installers are passed as system properties to installers.cmd command. You may find the list of available properties in BuildOptions.kt

Examples (./ should be added only for Linux/macOS):

Build installers only for current operating system: ./installers.cmd -Dintellij.build.target.os=current
Build source code incrementally (do not build what was already built before): ./installers.cmd -Dintellij.build.incremental.compilation=true

installers.cmd is used just to run OpenSourceCommunityInstallersBuildTarget from the command line. You may call it directly from IDEA, see run configuration Build IDEA Community Installers (current OS) for an example.

Dockerized Build Environment

To build installation packages inside a Docker container with preinstalled dependencies and tools, run the following command in <IDEA_HOME> directory (on Windows, use PowerShell):
docker run --rm -it -v ${PWD}:/community $(docker build -q . --target build_env)

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 Configurations... | Templates | JUnit configuration tab:

Working dir: <IDEA_HOME>/bin
VM options:
- -ea

You can find other helpful information at https://www.jetbrains.com/opensource/idea. The "Contribute Code" section of that site describes how you can contribute to IntelliJ IDEA.

Running IntelliJ IDEA on CI/CD environment

To run tests outside of IntelliJ IDEA, run the tests.cmd command in <IDEA_HOME> directory. tests.cmd will work on both Windows and Unix systems.

Options to run tests are passed as system properties to tests.cmd command. You may find the list of available properties in TestingOptions.kt

Examples (./ should be added only for Linux/macOS):

Build source code incrementally (do not build what was already built before): ./tests.cmd -Dintellij.build.incremental.compilation=true
Run a specific test: ./tests.cmd -Dintellij.build.test.patterns=com.intellij.util.ArrayUtilTest

tests.cmd is used just to run CommunityRunTestsBuildTarget from the command line. You may call it directly from IDEA, see run configuration tests in community for an example.

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