How to install IntelliJ IDEA on Chrome OS

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate is a full-feature Java IDE for enterprise developers, web developers, and mobile developers. It supports a wide variety of languages, including Java, Groovy, Kotlin, Scala, and others. If you’re a developer and need a good Java IDE on your Chromebook, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate is a great choice.

In this guide, we’ll go over how to install IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate on your Chromebook, and how to get started with it too.

How to enable Linux on your Chromebook

For Chromebook users with compatible devices, enabling Linux applications is simple. Open the settings menu by clicking the clock and then the gear icon to dive into the Chrome OS settings.

Look for the “Advanced” section in the settings menu and click the down arrow to reveal more options, including the “Developers” section.

In the “Developers” section, you will find the “Linux development environment” option. Click on it and then select the “Turn on” button to begin the setup of the Linux LXC container, which is essential for running Linux apps on Chrome OS.

After enabling Linux, go to the Chrome OS dash. Search for and open “Terminal.” In the Terminal, select “Penguin” to enter the Linux command-line environment.

To ensure your Linux container is up to date, execute the update and upgrade commands as follows:

sudo apt update

The update command will search for available updates and refresh your package sources. Following the update, execute the upgrade command to install updates for your packages. This process may require some time to finish.

sudo apt upgrade -y

Once everything is up to date, you’ll be free to install Linux apps on your Chromebook like IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.

How to install IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate on Chrome OS

The best way to get IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate working on your Chromebook is Flatpak. Flatpak is best because no downloadable DEB packages are available, and users need to manually decompress and install the software. By contrast, the Flatpak version is way easier to get working.

To get started, open up the Chrome OS terminal. You can open up the Chrome OS terminal app by searching for “Terminal” in the Chrome app menu. Once the terminal is open, find the “Penguin” option, and select it with the mouse to load up the terminal interface.

Inside the terminal interface, use the apt install command to install the “flatpak” package. This package is essential and handles everything Flatpak-related.

sudo apt install flatpak

With the flatpak package installed, it is time to enable the Flathub app store on your system. Flathub is a software repository, and it makes it possible to install a wide variety of apps, including IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate. To enable Flathub on your system, enter the following flatpak remote-add command.

flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

When you’ve added the Flathub app store to your system, you’ll be able to install the latest version of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate on your Chromebook. Use the flatpak install command below to get it working.

flatpak install flathub com.jetbrains.IntelliJ-IDEA-Ultimate

With the command above successfully executed, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate will be installed on your Chromebook. From here, you can access it in the Chrome OS “Linux apps” folder.

Getting started with IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate on Chrome OS

To get started with IntelliJ Idea Ultimate on your Chromebook, start by launching it from the Chrome OS app menu. Once you’ve launched it, you’ll see the “IntelliJ IDEA User Agreement” appear on the screen. Read the agreement, and check the box that says “I confirm that I have read and accept the terms of this User Agreement.” Click “Continue” when done.

You’ll now be asked to configure data sharing. If you want to send data to JetBrains, select the “Send Anonymous Statistics” button. On the other hand, if you do not want to send statistics, click “Don’t Send.”

When you’ve made your choice on statistics, you’ll see the window to activate the product. If you want to try out IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate on your Chromebook for 30 days, select the “Start Free 30-Day Trial.” Alternatively, if you own the product, select the “Activate IntelliJ IDEA” button, and enter your registration information.