IntelliJ IDEA 2016.3 Help

Module Category and Options

In the left-hand pane, select the module 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.

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

Java

Select this option if you are going to use your new module to develop a Java application.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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 use your new module to develop a Java EE application.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

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 ServerSpecify 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 /help/img/idea/2016.3/browseButton.png 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 use your new module to develop for Java ME.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK for your module.

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.

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.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

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 use your new module to develop a Spring application.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

For information on other options and settings, see:

See also, Enabling Spring Support.

IntelliJ Platform Plugin

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

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK for your module.

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.

Android

Select this option if you are going to use your new module to develop for the Android OS. Select:

  • Phone & Tablet Module to develop an Android application for an Android phone or an Android tablet.
  • Android Wear Module to develop an Android application for the Android Wear.
  • Android Library Module to develop a shared Android library.
  • Android TV Module to develop an Android application for the Android TV.
  • Glass Module to develop an Android application for the Android Glass.
  • Import Gradle Project to import an existing Gradle project as a module.
  • Import Eclipse ADT Project to import an existing Eclipse ADT project as a module .
  • Import .JAR/.AAR Package to import an existing JAR or AAR package as a new module.
  • Java Library to create a new Java library.

Maven

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

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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 archetypeIf 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 want a module with a Gradle build script (build.gradle) to be created.

See also Getting Started with Gradle and New Project Gradle References.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

Groovy

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

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

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.

See also Getting Started with Grails 3.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

Grails SDK Home 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.)

Click /help/img/idea/2016.3/browseButton.png this button to create a library for Grails. In the dialog that opens, select the Grails installation directory.

Createcreate-app - select this option if you want to create a Grails application.
create-plugin - select this option if you want to create a Grails plugin project.
OptionsUse this field to specify additional options such as profiles, for example.

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.

See also Creating a Griffon Application Module.

ItemDescription
Module SDK Specify an SDK (JDK) for your module.

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.)

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.

Static Web

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

The other options are for developing a Web site or a Web front end using an HTML5 Boilerplate template, or the Foundation or the Bootstrap framework.

Flash

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

ItemDescription
Target platformSelect 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 ActionScriptSelect this check box if you are not going to use MXML (i.e. all your source code will be written in ActionScript).
Output typeSelect 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 SDKSelect the Flex or AIR SDK to be used.

If the list is empty or does not contain the required SDK, click /help/img/idea/2016.3/browseButton.png (Shift+Enter) and add the required SDK in the Configure SDK dialog.

Target playerFor the Web target platform: the target Flash Player version (readonly). (This setting is defined by the selected Flex SDK version.)
Create sample appFor 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 templateFor 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.
Last modified: 21 March 2017