PyCharm 2018.1 Help

Requirements, Installation and Launching

Installation requirements

Hardware requirements

  • 4 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended
  • 1.5 GB hard disk space + at least 1 GB for caches
  • 1024x768 minimum screen resolution

Software requirements

JRE 1.8 is bundled with the PyCharm distribution. You do not need to install Java on your computer to run PyCharm.

Python 2.4 or higher, Jython, PyPy or IronPython are required for Python development.

WindowsmacOSLinux
32-bit or 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 10, 8, 7 (SP1) macOS 10.10 or later
(only 64-bit systems are supported)
  • OS Linux (note that a 32-bit JDK is not bundled, so a 64-bit system is recommended)
  • KDE, Gnome or Unity desktop environment recommended
  • GCC/C++ or Clang

Download and install PyCharm

PyCharm is available in two editions: Professional and Community. The Community edition is an open-source project and is free, but it has less features. The Professional edition is commercial, and provides an outstanding set of tools and features. For details, see the editions comparison matrix.

To install PyCharm

  1. Download PyCharm for your operating system.
  2. Do the following depending on your operating system:
    • Windows installation:
      1. Run the PyCharm-*.exe file you've downloaded.
      2. Follow the instructions in the installation wizard.
    • macOS installation:
      1. Open the PyCharm-*.dmg package that you've downloaded, and drag PyCharm to the Applications folder.
    • Linux installation:
        1. Ubuntu installation:

          For Ubuntu 16.04 and higher, you can use snap packages to install PyCharm.

          Run the following command:

          sudo snap install <pycharm-professional·or·pycharm-community> --classic

          Next, run pycharm-professional or pycharm-community in the Terminal.

        2. If snap packages are not available, unpack the pycharm-*.tar.gz file to a different folder, if your current Download folder doesn't support file execution:

          tar xfz pycharm-*.tar.gz -C <new_archive_folder>

          The recommended installation location according to the filesystem hierarchy standard (FHS) is /opt. To install PyCharm into this directory, enter the following command:

          sudo tar xfz pycharm-*.tar.gz -C /opt/
        3. Switch to the bin subdirectory:
          cd <new archive folder>/pycharm-*/bin
          For example,
          cd /opt/pycharm-*/bin
        4. Run pycharm.sh from the bin subdirectory.

    Earlier PyCharm versions are available for download on the Previous PyCharm Releases page.

    Run PyCharm for the first time

    Import PyCharm settings

    When you start PyCharm for the first time, or after you have upgraded it from a previous version, the Complete Installation dialog opens where you can select whether you want to import the IDE settings:

    py complete installation dialog

    If this is your first instance of PyCharm, choose the Do not import settings option.

    Select the user interface theme

    Next, you will be prompted to select the UI theme. You can choose between the Default and the Darcula themes.

    Download and install additional plugins

    On the next step, PyCharm prompts you to download and install additional plugins from the PyCharm plugins repository.

    Start a project in PyCharm

    After you have completed initial PyCharm configuration, the Welcome screen will be displayed. It allows you to:

    py welcomeScreen

    Register PyCharm

    To try and evaluate PyCharm, you can download and install its trial version for free. The trial version is available for 30 days, whereupon you need to obtain and register a license.

    1. Do one of the following:
      • On the Welcome screen, click Configure | Manage License
      • Select Help | Register from the main menu
      py register
    2. Select how you want to register PyCharm:
      • JetBrains Account: select this option if you have a JetBrains Account that allows you to access your purchases and manage licenses (see What is JetBrains Account? to learn more).
      • Activation code: select this option if you have an activation code for PyCharm, and paste it to the text area.
      • License server: select this option to register PyCharm through the License Server web application that allows you to manage floating licenses and issue licenses to users who do not have direct internet access.

        To override the URL of the system proxy during initial PyCharm startup, use the -Djba.http.proxy property, which can be added as a JVM option.

        When performing silent install or managing PyCharm installations on multiple machines, you can set the JETBRAINS_LICENSE_SERVER environment variable to point the installation to the license server URL.

    Update PyCharm

    1. Download the latest version of PyCharm.
    2. Launch the setup as described in Download and install PyCharm.
    3. Choose whether you want to uninstall the existing PyCharm version together with its settings, caches and local history and follow the instructions of the installation wizard.

    Out of the box, standalone PyCharm installation is configured to check for updates automatically. It will notify you when a new version is available (show you notification in the Events tool window):

    py update restart

    PyCharm updates are usually patch-based: they are applied to the existing installation and only require you to restart the IDE. Note that these patches can only be applied sequentially, on top of one another. If an update is ignored or skipped, subsequent updates cannot be applied. Updating PyCharm in this case will require either downloading and reinstalling it or using the Ignored updates list to apply updates one by one.

    If the patch download takes a long time, you can send it to the background and continue working. Once download is complete, you will be prompted to restart, which should finalize the update.

    If you do not want to install the proposed update for some reason, you can ignore it by clicking the Ignore This Update button in the update dialog box. The ignored build's number will be added to the Ignored updates list, and you will not be prompted to install this particular build until you remove it from the list.

    Manage PyCharm through Toolbox App

    Toolbox App is a control panel that allows you to manage all JetBrains developer tools, including PyCharm, as well as your projects, from a single point of access. It lets you maintain different versions of the same tool, install updates and roll them back if needed. It also remembers your JetBrains Account and uses it to automatically log you in when you install and register new tools.

    1. Download Toolbox App.
    2. Launch the setup file.
    3. When the installation is complete, accept the JetBrains privacy policy and sign in to your JetBrains Account.

    Now you can manage existing tools, install new tools and download updates:

    py toolbox app

    Perform silent installation on Windows

    Silent installation is performed without any user interface. It can be used by network administrators to install PyCharm on a number of machines and avoid interrupting other users.

    To perform silent install, run the installer with the following switches:

    • /S: Enable silent install

    • /D: Specify the path to the installation directory

    • /CONFIG: Specify the path to the silent configuration file

    For example:

    pycharm-professional.exe /S /CONFIG=d:\temp\silent.config /D=d:\IDE\PyCharm

    Silent configuration file

    You can download the silent configuration file for PyCharm at https://download.jetbrains.com/python/silent.config

    The silent configuration file defines options for installing PyCharm. With default options, silent installation is performed only for the current user (mode=user). If you want to install PyCharm for all users, open the silent configuration file with a text editor, change the value of the installation mode option (mode=admin) and run the installer as an administrator.

    Last modified: 23 July 2018

    See Also