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IntelliJ IDEA provides integration with the AngularJS framework.

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Before You Start

  1. Make sure the NodeJS and AngularJS plugins are installed enabled. The plugins are not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but they can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins. Once enabled, the plugins are available at the IDE level, that is, you can use it in all your IntelliJ IDEA projects.

Installing AngularJS and Setting Up an AngularJS Project

Install AngularJS. You can do it in three ways:
  • Manually, by downloading the AngularJS framework and configuring it as a IntelliJ IDEA JavaScript library, see the section Installing AngularJS Manually below on this page.
  • By means of the Bower package manager, see Installing and Removing Bower Packages.
  • Have IntelliJ IDEA generate a stub of an AngularJS project. IntelliJ IDEA sets up the AngularJS-specific project structure and generates the bower.json and package.json files with the definitions of all the necessary dependencies. See Generating an AngularJS Application Stub below on this page.

Installing AngularJS Manually

Download the AngularJS framework at http://angularjs.org/. Configure AngularJS as a IntelliJ IDEA JavaScript library, to let IntelliJ IDEA recognize AngularJS-specific structures and provide full coding assistance:
  1. Open the Settings dialog box, and click JavaScript Libraries.
  2. In the Libraries area, click the Add button.
  3. In the New Library dialog box that opens, specify the name of the library.
  4. Click the Add button add next to the list of library files and choose Attach Files or Attach Directory on the context menu, depending of whether you need separate files or an entire folder.
  5. Select the Angular.js or Angular.min.js, or an entire directory in the dialog box that opens. IntelliJ IDEA returns to the New Library dialog box where the Name read-only field shows the name of the selected files or folder.
  6. In the Type field, specify which version you have downloaded and are going to add.
    • If you added Angular.js, choose Debug. This version is helpful in the development environment, especially for debugging.
    • If you added the minified Angular.min.js, choose Release. This version is helpful in the production environment because the file size is significantly smaller.
Learn more at Configuring JavaScript Libraries.

Installing AngularJS through NPM and Bower

Download and install Node.js. This runtime environment is required for two reasons:
  • The Bower package manager is started through Node.js.
  • Node Package Manager (npm), which is a part of Node.js, is also the easiest way to download Bower.

For details on using Node.js in IntelliJ IDEA, see Node.Js

Alternatively, you can define Node.js as an external tool, as described in the section Configuring third-party tools. This approach is helpful, when you need facilities that are missing in the plugin, for example, the possibility to pass certain parameters as wildcards.

Install Bower as described in Using Bower Package Manager. If you are going to use the command line mode, make sure the following paths are added to the PATH variable:
  1. The path to the parent folder of the Node.js executable file.
  2. The path to the npm folder.
  3. The path to the parent folder of the Bower executable file.

This enables you to launch the tools from any folder.

Install and enable the NodeJS and AngularJS repository plugins. The plugins are not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but they can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins. Once enabled, the plugins are available at the IDE level, that is, you can use it in all your IntelliJ IDEA projects. Run Bower from IntelliJ IDEA using the Bower page of the Settings dialog box.
  1. Open the Settings dialog box, and click JavaScript, then click Bower.
  2. On the Bower page that opens, the Packages area shows all the Bower-dependent packages that are currently installed on your computer, both at the global and at the project level. Click add.
  3. In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select the AngularJS package.
  4. Specify the installation mode:
    • To have the tool installed globally at the IntelliJ IDEA level so it can be used in any IntelliJ IDEA project, select the Options check box and type -g in the text box next to it.
    • To have the tool installed in the current project and thus restrict its use to this project, clear the Options check box.
  5. Optionally specify the product version and click Install Package to start installation.

Generating an AngularJS Application Stub

IntelliJ IDEA can generate a project stub for developing applications using AngularJS.

  1. Choose File | New | Project on the main menu or click the New Project button on the Welcome screen.
  2. In the Project Category and Options dialog, which is the first page of the New Project wizard, choose Static Web in the left-hand pane.
  3. In the right-hand pane, choose AngularJS and click Next.
  4. On the second page of the wizard, specify the project name and the folder to create it in.

    From the Version drop-down list, choose the branch https://github.com/angular/angular.js to download the project template from. By default, master if shown.

  5. When you click Finish , IntelliJ IDEA sets up the AngularJS-specific project structure and generates the bower.json and package.json files with the definitions of all the necessary dependencies.
  6. Download the AngularJs dependencies that contain the AngularJS code and the tools that support development and testing.
    1. Launch the embedded Terminal by hovering your mouse pointer over show_tool_window_bars in the lower left corner of IntelliJ IDEA and choosing Terminal from the menu (see Working with Embedded Local Terminal for details).
    2. Switch to the directory where NPM is stored or define a PATH variable for it so it is available from any folder, see Installing NodeJs.
    3. At the command line prompt, type the following command: 
                                  npm install

    Learn more about the installation of dependencies in the Install Dependencies section of the readme.md file.

AngularJS Support

  • AngularJS-aware code completion for ng directives (also including custom directives), controller and application names, and code insights for data bindings inside curly-brace expressions {{}}.
  • AngularJS-specific navigation:
    • Between the name of a controller name in HTML and its definition in JavaScript.
    • Between ngView or &routeProvider to the template.
    • Go To Symbol navigation for entities.
  • Quick documentation look-up by pressing Ctrl+Q or Alt+Button2 Click, see Viewing Inline Documentation for details.