Run IntelliJ IDEA for the first time
You can use the Toolbox App to run any JetBrains product. In case of a standalone installation, running IntelliJ IDEA depends on the operating system:
To run IntelliJ IDEA, find it in the Windows Start menu or use the desktop shortcut. You can also run the launcher batch script or executable in the installation directory under bin.
Run the IntelliJ IDEA app from the Applications directory, Launchpad, or Spotlight.
Run the idea.sh shell script in the installation directory under bin. You can also use the desktop shortcut, if it was created during installation.
For information about running IntelliJ IDEA from the command line, see Command-line interface.
When you run IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, some steps are required to complete the installation, customize your instance, and start working with the IDE.
Select the user interface theme
Select whether you want to use the default Darcula or Light theme.
For more information, see User interface themes.
Create launcher script
For macOS and Linux users, IntelliJ IDEA suggests to create a script for opening projects and files from the command line.
Windows users can run the executable file in the installation directory.
For more information, see Command-line interface.
Disable unnecessary plugins
IntelliJ IDEA includes plugins that provide integration with different version control systems and application servers, add support for various frameworks and development technologies, and so on. To increase performance, you can disable plugins that you do not need. If necessary, you can enable them later in the Settings/Preferences dialog Ctrl+Alt+S under Plugins. For more information, see Manage plugins.
You can click the Disable All link for each group of plugins to disable them all, or Customize to disable individual plugins in the group.
Download and install additional plugins
If necessary, click Plugins in the left-hand pane and download and install additional plugins from the IntelliJ IDEA plugins repository.
Start a project in IntelliJ IDEA
When you click Start using IntelliJ IDEA, it will show the Welcome screen.
In the Welcome to IntelliJ IDEA dialog, you can do the following: