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Does IntelliJ require an installed JDK?

I was trying to run IntelliJ on my laptop. I don't have a JDK file but I do have a JRE file. Can I run IntelliJ on my windows laptop with JRE and without JDK? For the information, I have windows 11 version. Thank you

Solution

  • Looking on the documentation of IntelliJ on how to change the runtime it says:

    By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses JetBrains Runtime (a fork of OpenJDK), which is included with the IDE.

    So it should be possible to start IntelliJ without an additional installed JDK even without a separate installed JRE.

    However, in order to compile and execute new written Java programs you must have a compiler, which is part of the Java Development Kit (JDK). Otherwise, you cannot compile and execute your written Java programs with IntelliJ.

    Without an installed JDK you will most likely only be able to use IntelliJ has an enhanced text editor, but not as a fully integrated development environment.