# Run/Debug Configuration: Shell Script

> **TL;DR**
> Create: `Run | Edit Configurations |` ![Add New Configuration](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.add.svg) `| Shell Script`

Procedure: Enable the Shell scripts plugin

This functionality relies on the [Shell scripts](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/13122-shell-script)  plugin, which  is bundled and enabled in IntelliJ IDEA   by default. If the relevant features are not available, make sure that you did not disable the plugin.

1. Press `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Windows), `⌘ Comma` (macOS), `⌘ Comma` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ Comma` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (XWin), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (GNOME), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (KDE), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Sublime Text), `⌘ Comma` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Visual Studio), `⌘ Comma` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+S` (Eclipse), `⌘ Comma` (Eclipse (macOS)) to open settings and then select `Plugins`.

2. Open the Installed tab, find the Shell scripts plugin, and select the checkbox next to the plugin name.

Use this dialog to configure running shell scripts. For more information about working with shell scripts in IntelliJ IDEA, refer to [Shell scripts](shell-scripts.html).

## Shell Script-specific configuration options

The set of parameters in the dialog depends on the option you select under Execute:

* Script file (a configuration to run a script file)

* Script text (a configuration to run a single command)

Script file:

| Item | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Script path | Provide the path to the shell script file. Type the path manually or click ![the Browse button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.open.svg) and select the path in the dialog that opens.  |
| Script options | Specify the options that you want to [pass to the script](https://ss64.com/bash/syntax-parameters.html) when it is launched. |
| Working directory | Provide the absolute path of a directory to run the script in. |
| Environment variables | Specify environment variables if you need them in the script. You can click ![Edit variables](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.general.inlineVariables.svg) to open the Environment Variables window where you can browse and copy existing variables or create your own. |
| Interpreter path | Provide the path to the interpreter for running the script. Type the path manually or click ![the Browse button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.open.svg) and select the path in the dialog that opens.  |
| Interpreter options |  Specify the options that you want to [pass to the script interpreter](https://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/options.html).  |
| Execute in the terminal |    Select this checkbox to run the shell script in the [Terminal tool window](terminal-emulator.html).     If this checkbox is not selected, the script will run in the [Run tool window](run-tool-window.html).    |

Script text:

| Item | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Script text | Enter the text of the command to be run.  |
| Working directory | Provide the absolute path of a directory to run the command in. |
| Environment variables | Specify environment variables if you need them in the command. You can click ![Edit variables](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.general.inlineVariables.svg) to open the Environment Variables window where you can browse and copy existing variables or create your own. |
| Execute in the terminal |    Select this checkbox to run the shell script in the [Terminal tool window](terminal-emulator.html).     If this checkbox is not selected, the script will run in the [Run tool window](run-tool-window.html).    |

## Toolbar

The tree view of run/debug configurations has a toolbar that helps you manage configurations available in your project as well as adjust default configurations templates.

| Item | Shortcut | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ![the Add button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.add.svg) | `Alt+Insert` (Windows), `⌘ N` (macOS), `⌃ N` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ N` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Insert` (XWin), `Alt+Insert` (GNOME), `Alt+Insert` (KDE), `Alt+Insert` (Emacs), `Ctrl+N` (Sublime Text), `⌘ N` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+Insert` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+N` (Visual Studio), `⌘ N` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+Insert` (Eclipse), `⌘ N` (Eclipse (macOS)) | Create a run/debug configuration. |
| ![the Remove button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.remove.svg) | `Alt+Delete` (Windows), `⌘ ⌦` (macOS), `⌘ ⌦` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ ⌦` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Delete` (XWin), `Alt+Delete` (GNOME), `Alt+Delete` (KDE), `Alt+Delete` (Emacs), `Alt+Delete` (Sublime Text), `⌘ ⌦` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+Delete` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+R, D` (Visual Studio), `⌘ R, D` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+Delete` (Eclipse), `Alt+Delete` (Eclipse (macOS)) |  Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.  |
|  ![Copy](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.copy.svg)  |  `Ctrl+D` (Windows), `⌘ D` (macOS), `⌘ D` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ D` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Ctrl+D` (XWin), `Ctrl+D` (GNOME), `Ctrl+D` (KDE), `Meta+D` (Emacs), `Ctrl+Shift+D` (Sublime Text), `⌘ ⇧ D` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+D` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+D` (Visual Studio), `⌘ D` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+D` (Eclipse), `Ctrl+D` (Eclipse (macOS))  |  Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.  |
| ![Save configuration](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.save.svg) |  | The button is displayed only when you select a [temporary configuration](run-debug-configuration.html). Click this button to save a temporary configuration as permanent.  |
|  ![Move into new folder / Create new folder](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app-client.expui.actions.newFolder.svg)  |  |     Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by [placing them into folders](run-debug-configuration.html#config-folders).       To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click ![Folder](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app-client.expui.nodes.folder.svg), and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.       Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or ![Move Up](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.moveUp.svg) and ![Move Down](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.moveDown.svg) buttons.       To remove grouping, select a folder and click ![Remove Configuration](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.remove.svg).     |
|  ![Sort configurations](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app-client.expui.objectBrowser.sortAlphabetically.svg)  |  |   Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.  |

## Common settings

When you edit a run configuration (but not a run configuration template), you can specify the following options:

| Item | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Specify a name for the run configuration to quickly identify it among others when editing or running. |
|  Allow multiple instances |    Allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.                           By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, IntelliJ IDEA suggests stopping the running instance and starting another one. This is helpful when a run configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.     |
| Store as project file |     Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is `.idea/runConfigurations`. However, if you do not want to share the `.idea` directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.                           By default, it is disabled, and IntelliJ IDEA stores run configuration settings in `.idea/workspace.xml`.    |

## Before launch

In this area, you can specify tasks to be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

| Item | Shortcut | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ![the Add button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.add.svg) | `Alt+Insert` (Windows), `⌘ N` (macOS), `⌃ N` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ N` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Insert` (XWin), `Alt+Insert` (GNOME), `Alt+Insert` (KDE), `Alt+Insert` (Emacs), `Ctrl+N` (Sublime Text), `⌘ N` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+Insert` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+N` (Visual Studio), `⌘ N` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+Insert` (Eclipse), `⌘ N` (Eclipse (macOS)) |    Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:        * Launch Web Browser: select this option to have a browser started. In the dialog that opens, select the type of the browser and provide the start URL. Also, specify if you want the browser to be launched with the JavaScript debugger.    * Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in IntelliJ IDEA yet, add its definition. For more information, refer to [External tools](configuring-third-party-tools.html) and [External tools settings](settings-tools-external-tools.html).    * Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration and wait until it finishes before starting the current configuration. If you want to run several configurations in parallel, use a [compound run/debug configuration](run-debug-multiple.html#compound-configs) .    * Build: select to compile the specified module. The [Build Module command](compiling-applications.html#compile_module) will be executed. If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.    * Build Project: select to compile the entire project. The [Build Project command](compiling-applications.html#compile_module) will be executed. If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.    * Build, no error check: the same as the Build option, but IntelliJ IDEA will try to start the run/debug configuration irrespective of the compilation results.    * Build Artifacts: select this option to build an [artifact](working-with-artifacts.html) or artifacts. In the dialog that opens, select the artifact or artifacts that should be built.    * Run Remote External Tool: adds a [remote SSH external tool](settings-tools-remote-ssh-external-tools.html).    * Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task. In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the `Gruntfile.js` where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool. Specify the location of the Node.js runtime, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.    * Run gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task. In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the `Gulpfile.js` where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool. Specify the location of the Node.js runtime, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.    * Run Maven Goal: select this option to [run a Maven goal](work-with-maven-goals.html). In the dialog that opens, select the goal to be run.    * Run npm script: select this option to execute an npm script. In the NPM Script dialog that opens, specify the [npm run/debug configuration settings](installing-and-removing-external-software-using-node-package-manager.html).    * Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected: * If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start. * If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.    * Upload files to Remote Host: select this option to have the application files automatically [uploaded to the server](configuring-synchronization-with-a-remote-host.html) according to the default server access configuration.    * Disconnect Data Source: select this option if you want to disrupt the connection to a data source before the run/debug configuration is run.     |
| ![the Remove button](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.remove.svg) | `Alt+Delete` (Windows), `⌘ ⌦` (macOS), `⌘ ⌦` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ ⌦` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Delete` (XWin), `Alt+Delete` (GNOME), `Alt+Delete` (KDE), `Alt+Delete` (Emacs), `Alt+Delete` (Sublime Text), `⌘ ⌦` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+Delete` (NetBeans), `Ctrl+R, D` (Visual Studio), `⌘ R, D` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+Delete` (Eclipse), `Alt+Delete` (Eclipse (macOS)) |  Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.  |
|  ![Edit](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.edit.svg)  |  `Enter` (Windows), `⏎` (macOS), `⏎` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⏎` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Enter` (XWin), `Enter` (GNOME), `Enter` (KDE), `Enter` (Emacs), `Enter` (Sublime Text), `⏎` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Enter` (NetBeans), `Enter` (Visual Studio), `⏎` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Enter` (Eclipse), `⏎` (Eclipse (macOS))  | Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.  |
|     ![Method up](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.moveUp.svg)       ![Method down](https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2026.2/app.expui.general.moveDown.svg)     |     `Alt+Up` (Windows), `⌃ ⇧ ↑` (macOS), `⌃ ↑` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌃ ⌥ ↑` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Up` (XWin), `Alt+Up` (GNOME), `Alt+Up` (KDE), `Alt+Up` (Emacs), `Alt+Up` (Sublime Text), `Alt+Up` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+Up` (NetBeans), `Alt+Up` (Visual Studio), `⌃ ⇧ ↑` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Shift+Up` (Eclipse), `⌃ ⌥ ↑` (Eclipse (macOS))       `Alt+Down` (Windows), `⌃ ⇧ ↓` (macOS), `⌃ ↓` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌃ ⌥ ↓` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+Down` (XWin), `Alt+Down` (GNOME), `Alt+Down` (KDE), `Alt+Down` (Emacs), `Alt+Down` (Sublime Text), `Alt+Down` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Ctrl+Alt+Down` (NetBeans), `Alt+Down` (Visual Studio), `⌃ ⇧ ↓` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Ctrl+Shift+Down` (Eclipse), `⌃ ⌥ ↓` (Eclipse (macOS))     | Click these icons to move the selected task one line up or down in the list. The tasks are performed in the order that they appear in the list.  |
| Show this page |  | Select this checkbox to show the run/debug configuration settings prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.  |
| Activate tool window |  |      By default this checkbox is selected and the [Run](run-tool-window.html) or the [Debug](debug-tool-window.html) tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.       Otherwise, if the checkbox is cleared, the tool window is hidden. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing `Alt+4` (Windows), `⌘ 4` (macOS), `⌘ 4` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ 4` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+4` (XWin), `Alt+4` (GNOME), `Alt+4` (KDE), `Alt+4` (Emacs), `Alt+4` (Sublime Text), `⌘ 4` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+4` (NetBeans), `Alt+4` (Visual Studio), `⌘ 4` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+4` (Eclipse), `⌘ 4` (Eclipse (macOS)) or `Alt+5` (Windows), `⌘ 5` (macOS), `⌘ 5` (IntelliJ IDEA Classic (macOS)), `⌘ 5` (macOS System Shortcuts), `Alt+5` (XWin), `Alt+5` (GNOME), `Alt+5` (KDE), `Alt+5` (Emacs), `Alt+5` (Sublime Text), `⌘ 5` (Sublime Text (macOS)), `Alt+5` (NetBeans), `Alt+5` (Visual Studio), `⌘ 5` (Visual Studio (macOS)), `Alt+5` (Eclipse), `⌘ 5` (Eclipse (macOS)).      |
| Focus tool window |  |     Select this checkbox to automatically move focus to the [Run](run-tool-window.html) or the [Debug](debug-tool-window.html) tool window when you start the run/debug configuration.     |

## See also

### Concepts

[Run/debug configurations](run-debug-configuration.html)

### Procedures

[Shell scripts](shell-scripts.html)