Project Category and Options

This page of the New Project wizard opens when you select File | New | Project in the main menu or Create New Project on the Welcome screen.

In the left-hand pane, select the project category. This may be the technology that you are going to use, the platform or runtime that your development is going to target, etc.

In the right-hand part of the page, select additional options and specify associated settings.

Don't worry about selecting "wrong" options at the moment. Just select the ones that you think suit you best. If necessary, you will be able to make the necessary changes to your project at a later time.

Note that the set of options you can select from depends on which plugins are currently enabled in IntelliJ IDEA.

Java
Java Enterprise
J2ME
Android
Clouds
Spring
Java FX
IntelliJ Platform Plugin
Spring Initializr
Maven
Gradle
Groovy
Grails
Griffon
PHP
Kotlin
Static Web
Flash
Empty Project

Java

Select this option if you are going to develop a Java application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New and select JDK. Then, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)

If necessary, select additional options and specify associated settings. For more information, see Additional Libraries and Frameworks.

Java Enterprise

Select this option if you are going to develop a Java EE application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Java EE version

Select the Java EE version to be supported. (Affects the corresponding version setting for the Web Application, EJB and JavaEE Application options.)

Application Server

Specify the application server that you are going to use to deploy and run your application. As a result, IntelliJ IDEA will create a run/debug configuration for the specified server. (You can specify the server later.)

You can select a server which IntelliJ IDEA is already aware of, or specify another "new" server.

To specify a new server, click New and select the server of interest. Then, specify the server settings:

For a server installed locally, specify the path to the server installation directory. (Click to select the directory in the corresponding dialog.)
For a hosted server (Cloud Foundry or CloudBees), specify your user account details.

Select additional options and specify associated settings. For more information, see Additional Libraries and Frameworks.

J2ME

Select this option if you are going to develop for Java ME.

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK for your project. If the necessary SDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired Java ME SDK. (By this time, the corresponding SDK must already be installed on your computer.)
SQL Support	Select the check box to enable SQL support. Select the SQL dialect to be used by default from the list.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK for your project.

If the necessary SDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired Java ME SDK. (By this time, the corresponding SDK must already be installed on your computer.)

SQL Support

Select the check box to enable SQL support. Select the SQL dialect to be used by default from the list.

Android

Select this option if you are going to develop for the Android OS. Select:

Gradle: Android Module to develop a Gradle-based Android application or library.
Application Module to develop an Android application.
Empty Module to develop an Android application or library.
Library Module to develop a shared Android library.

Clouds

Select this option if you are going to deploy your application to a cloud platform such as CloudBees, Cloud Foundry, Heroku or OpenShift. See also, Working with Cloud Platforms.

Item Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Account

Specify your cloud user account.

If the corresponding user account is already registerd in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New, select the cloud platfrom and specify your user account settings in the dialog that opens.

Application

Cloud platform-specific application settings.

CloudBees and Cloud Foundry. IntelliJ IDEA will create a sample Java web application which you'll be able to deploy to the cloud and run straight away.

Version. The version of the Servlet specification to be supported.
Create web.xml. For version 3.0 or later: select this check box to create the deployment descriptor file web.xml. (For earlier versions, this file is always created.)

Heroku. You can select to create a new application or to git-clone the source code for one of your applications already deployed on Heroku.

Template. A new sample application will be created. You'll be able to deploy this application to Heroku straight away.
Existing. Select the application whose source code you want to clone.

OpenShift. You can select to git-clone the source code for one of your applications already deployed OpenShift or to create a new application.

Existing. Select the application whose source code you want to clone.
New. Select this option to create a new application. Specify the settings for your new application (for OpenShift terminology, see OpenShift documentation):
- Standalone Cartridge. Select the primary cartridge.
- Gear size. Select the gear size.
- Scaling. Select the check box if the application should be scalable.
- Embeddable Cartridges. Select (additional) embedded cartridges.

Spring

Select this option if you are going to develop a Spring application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

For information on other options and settings, see:

Java FX

Select this option if you are going to develop a JavaFX application.

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project. If the necessary JDK (version 7 or later) is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and select JDK. Then, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK (version 7 or later) is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

IntelliJ Platform Plugin

Select this option if you are going to develop a plugin for IntelliJ IDEA or other IntelliJ Platform-based IDE.

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK for your project. If the necessary SDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired IntelliJ IDEA version. (An IntelliJ IDEA installation acts as an IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK.) (By this time, the corresponding IntelliJ IDEA version must already be installed on your computer.)
Groovy	Select the check box to be able to use Groovy. Specify the Groovy installation to be used. Use library. If the desired version of Groovy is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. (Groovy in IntelliJ IDEA is represented by a library.) Create. Click this button to create a library for Groovy. In the dialog that opens, select the Groovy installation directory.
SQL Support	Select the check box to enable SQL support. Select the SQL dialect to be used by default from the list.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK for your project.

If the necessary SDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired IntelliJ IDEA version. (An IntelliJ IDEA installation acts as an IntelliJ Platform Plugin SDK.) (By this time, the corresponding IntelliJ IDEA version must already be installed on your computer.)

Groovy

Select the check box to be able to use Groovy. Specify the Groovy installation to be used.

Use library. If the desired version of Groovy is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. (Groovy in IntelliJ IDEA is represented by a library.)

Create. Click this button to create a library for Groovy. In the dialog that opens, select the Groovy installation directory.

SQL Support

Select the check box to enable SQL support. Select the SQL dialect to be used by default from the list.

Spring Initializr

Select this option if you are going to develop a Spring Boot application.

Item Description

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project. If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)
Initializr Service URL	Specify the Spring Initializr instance URL. By default, it is `https://start.spring.io`, but you can use any other custom instance if needed.

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)

Initializr Service URL Specify the Spring Initializr instance URL. By default, it is https://start.spring.io, but you can use any other custom instance if needed.

Maven

Select this option if you are going to develop a Java application with dependencies managed by Maven.

Item Description

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project. If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)
Create from archetype	If this check box is not selected, the new `pom.xml` file will contain the basic information. If this check box is selected, the new module will be created on the base of a Maven archetype chosen from the list that includes both the standard archetypes, and the ones found in Maven indices. You can modify Maven properties on Maven Settings Page. If you want to populate the list with some archetype from a remote Maven repository, click the Add Archetype button, and find the desired archetype by Maven coordinates specified in Add Archetype Dialog.

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Otherwise, click New and, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)

Create from archetype If this check box is not selected, the new pom.xml file will contain the basic information.
If this check box is selected, the new module will be created on the base of a Maven archetype chosen from the list that includes both the standard archetypes, and the ones found in Maven indices. You can modify Maven properties on Maven Settings Page.
If you want to populate the list with some archetype from a remote Maven repository, click the Add Archetype button, and find the desired archetype by Maven coordinates specified in Add Archetype Dialog.

Gradle

Select this option if you are going to develop a Java application with dependencies managed by Gradle.

Item	Description
Project SDK	Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project. If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and select JDK. Then, in the dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired JDK. (By this time, the corresponding JDK must already be installed on your computer.)
Use auto-import	Select this check box to resolve all the changes made to the Gradle project automatically every time you refresh your project.
Use default gradle wrapper (recommended)	Select this option to use Gradle wrapper. Using Gradle wrapper lets you get automatic Gradle download for the build. It also lets you build with the precise Gradle version.
Use customizable gradle wrapper	Select this option to use Gradle wrapper customization in script.
Use local gradle distribution	Select this option to run local build scripts.
Gradle home	Use this field to specify the fully qualified path to your Gradle installation. This field becomes active when you select Use local gradle distribution.

Groovy

Select this option if you are going to develop a Groovy application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Groovy library

If the desired version of Groovy is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. (Groovy in IntelliJ IDEA is represented by a library.)

Create. Click this button to create a library for Groovy. In the dialog that opens, select the Groovy installation directory.

If necessary, select additional options and specify associated settings. For more information, see Additional Libraries and Frameworks.

Grails

Select this option if you are going to develop a Grails application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Grails library

If the desired version of Grails is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. (Grails in IntelliJ IDEA is represented by a library.)

Create. Click this button to create a library for Grails. In the dialog that opens, select the Grails installation directory.

If necessary, select additional options and specify associated settings. For more information, see Additional Libraries and Frameworks.

Griffon

Select this option if you are going to develop a Griffon application.

Item

Description

Project SDK

Specify an SDK (JDK) for your project.

If the necessary JDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list.

Griffon library

If the desired version of Griffon is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. (Griffon in IntelliJ IDEA is represented by a library.)

Create. Click this button to create a library for Griffon. In the dialog that opens, select the Griffon installation directory.

If necessary, select additional options and specify associated settings. For more information, see Additional Libraries and Frameworks.

PHP

Select PHP if you are going to develop an application using PHP. This option is available only if the PHP plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.

In the right-hand pane, choose one of the following project types:

PHP Empty Project: choose this option to get just a project folder without any contents. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: PHP Empty Project for a detailed description of the fields.
Composer Project: choose this option to have a project stub created using the Composer template. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Composer Project for a detailed description of the fields.
Drupal Module: choose this option to have a Drupal module created and set up. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Drupal Module for a detailed description of the fields. The option is available only if the Drupal Support plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
WordPress Plugin: choose this option to get a project stub for developing applications using WordPress, see Using WordPress Content Management System for details.
In the right-hand pane, type the project location and specify the folder where WordPress is installed. This folder should contain the wp-admin and wp-includes subdirectories.

The option is available only if the WordPress Support plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
App Engine Project: choose this option to get a project stub for developing applications that will run in the Google PHP Runtime Environment, see Using Google App Engine for PHP for details. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see for a detailed description of the fields.
The option is available only if the Google App Engine for PHP plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.

Kotlin

Select this option if you are going to create a Kotlin project. Specify the associated settings.

Item	Description
Project name	Specify the project name.
Project location	Specify the path to the directory in which you want to create the project. (By default, a directory having the same name as the project is created.) You can click (`Shift+Enter`) and select the necessary directory in the dialog that opens. (You can create a new directory in that dialog, e.g. by using .)
Project SDK	Specify an SDK for your project. If the necessary SDK is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA, select it from the list. Otherwise, click New and select SDK type. Then, inkotlin_intro_p dialog that opens, select the installation folder of the desired SDK. (By this time, the corresponding SDK must already be installed on your computer. If it isn't, download and install it first.)
Kotlin runtime	Specify here the runtime library `kotlin-runtime.jar`. The library resides within the Kotlin plugin and contains the standard Kotlin classes. If the desired library is missing, click Create. When a project is being created, one can either copy the said jar to the project (option Copy to), or just refer to the jar from the Kotlin plugin (option Use library from plugin).
More Settings	Click the arrow ( or ) to show or hide additional settings. Mainly, these are the settings for the module to be created (discussed below). Note that in certain cases those additional settings are unavailable.
Module name	Specify the module name.
Content root	Specify the path to the module content root folder. (This is where all the files that make up you module will be stored; for more information, see Content Root.) To use a different folder, click (`Shift+Enter`) and select the necessary folder in the dialog that opens. (You can create a new folder in that dialog, e.g. by using .)
Module file location	Specify the path to the folder where the `.iml` module file should be created. By default, this file is created in the module content root folder (recommended). To use a different folder, click (`Shift+Enter`) and select the necessary folder in the dialog that opens. (You can create a new folder in that dialog, e.g. by using .)
Project format	Select the project format to be used. (The `.idea` directory-based format is recommended).

Static Web

Select Static Web if you are going to develop a Web application using HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Node.js, and related frameworks.

Choose this option also if you want to generate a project stub based on a framework template.

In the right-hand pane, choose one of the following project types:

Static Web: choose this option to get just a project folder without any contents.
HTML5 Boilerplate: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the HTML5 Boilerplate template. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: HTML5 Boilerplate for a detailed description of the fields.
Web Starter Kit: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated in accordance with the Web Starter Kit requirements. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Web Starter Kit for a detailed description of the fields.
React Starter Kit: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated according to the React requirements. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: React Starter Kit for a detailed description of the fields.
Twitter Bootstrap: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the Twitter Bootstrap template. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Twitter Bootstrap for a detailed description of the fields.
Foundation: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the Foundation framework template. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Foundation for a detailed description of the fields.
AngularJS: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the AngularJS framework template.
Dart Web Application: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated for a Dart application.
Node.js Express App: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some project sources generated based on the Express framework. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Node.js Express App for a detailed description of the fields.
The option is available only if the Node.js plugin is installed and enabled. The plugin is not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but it can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins.
PhoneGap/Cordova App: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the PhoneGap, Apache Cordova, and Ionic frameworks. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: PhoneGap/Cordova for a detailed description of the fields.
Meteor App: choose this option to have the project structure set up and some sources generated based on the Meteor frameworks. Click Next, and then specify the project name, location, and other settings in the dialog box that opens, see New Project: Meteor Application for a detailed description of the fields.

Flash

Select this option if you are going to develop for the Adobe Flash runtimes using Flex or ActionScript. Specify the associated settings.

Item	Description
Target platform	Select the target environment for the content that you are going to develop: Web for Flash player / Web browser-targeted content. Desktop for Adobe AIR-targeted content. Mobile for the content intended for mobile devices (Android, iOS, etc.).
Pure ActionScript	Select this check box if you are not going to use MXML (i.e. all your source code will be written in ActionScript).
Output type	Select the intended output type, that is, what your resulting content is going to be: Application. A runnable application, an SWF file. Runtime-loaded module. A dynamically-loadable module, an SWF file. Library. An SWC file.
Target devices	For a Mobile Application: use the Android and iOS check boxes to specify the intended target devices for your application. As a result, IntelliJ IDEA enables or disables creating an application descriptor and packaging your application for the corresponding devices. (The Android and iOS check boxes on this page correspond to the Enabled check boxes on the Android and iOS tabs in the build configuration that will be created.)
Flex/AIR SDK	Select the Flex or AIR SDK to be used. If the list is empty or does not contain the required SDK, click (`Shift+Enter`) and add the required SDK in the Configure SDK dialog.
Target player	For the Web target platform: the target Flash Player version (readonly). (This setting is defined by the selected Flex SDK version.)
Create sample app	For the Application output type: select this check box if you want a sample application to be created. You can use this sample application for learning and also as a basis for your own application development. If necessary, change the source file name suggested by IntelliJ IDEA.
Create HTML wrapper template	For a Web Application: select this check box if you want an HTML wrapper template for your application to be created. Select or deselect the associated options as needed: Enable integration with browser navigation . Select this option to enable deep linking. Deep linking lets users navigate their interactions with the application by using the Back and Forward buttons in their browser. Check Flash player version . If you select this option, the compiled application will check for the correct version of Flash Player. Express install . If you select this option, the application will run an SWF file in the existing Flash Player to upgrade users to the latest version of the player.

Empty Project

If you select this option, IntelliJ IDEA will create just a minimal folder structure and the necessary project definition files. You'll be able to expand your project later.

Last modified: 23 November 2016