At the IntelliJ IDEA level, the RESTful Web Services development support is based on the Java EE: RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) plugin. This plugin is bundled with IntelliJ IDEA and enabled by default.

At a module level, the service development support can be enabled when creating a project, adding a new module to an existing project, and also for an existing module.

Making sure that the RESTful Web Services plugin is enabled
  1. Open the Preferences dialog (e.g. ⌘, or ⌘,⌘, or ⌘,⌘, or ⌘,⌥ F7, ⌥F7 or ⌥F7^ ⌥ S, ⌃⌥S or ⌃⌥S).
  2. In the left-hand part of the dialog, select Plugins.
  3. In the right-hand part of the dialog, on the Plugins page, type restful in the search box. As a result, only the plugins whose names and descriptions contain restful are shown in the list of plugins.
  4. If the check box to the right of Java EE: RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) is not selected, select it.
  5. Click OK in the Preferences dialog.
  6. If suggested, restart IntelliJ IDEA.
Enabling REST support when creating a project
  1. If no project is currently open in IntelliJ IDEA, click Create New Project on the Welcome screen. Otherwise, select File | New | Project.

    As a result, the New Project wizard opens.

  2. On the first page of the wizard, in the left-hand pane, select Java Enterprise. In the right-hand part of the page, specify the JDK to be used and select the Java EE version to be supported.
  3. Under Additional Libraries and Frameworks, select the Restful Web Service check box.
  4. You'll need a library that implements the JAX-RS API. You can choose to use an existing library, create and use a new one, download the library files if they are not yet available on your computer, or postpone setting up the library until a later time.
    • Use library. Select the library to be used from the list (if the corresponding library is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA).

      Create. If the corresponding library files (.jar) are already available on your computer, you can arrange those files in a library and use that new library. To do that, click Create and select the necessary files in the dialog that opens. (Use the ^ key for multiple selections.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the selected library. (For an existing library the Edit Library Dialog will open, for the library that you have just created - the Create Library Dialog.)

    • Download. Select this option to download the files that implement the JAX-RS API. (The downloaded files will be arranged in a library.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the library settings and contents. (The Downloading Options Dialog will open.)

    • Set up library later. Select this option to postpone setting up the library until a later time.

    Configure. Click this button to edit the settings for the library selected next to Use library or the one that is about to be downloaded.

    Click Next.

  5. Specify the name and location settings for your project and module. For more information, see Project Name and Location.

    Click Finish.

Enabling REST support when adding a module to a project
  1. Open the project you want to add a module to, and select File | New | Module.

    As a result, the New Module wizard opens. (There are also other ways of accessing this wizard, see Opening the New Module wizard.)

  2. On the first page of the wizard, in the left-hand pane, select Java Enterprise. In the right-hand part of the page, select the Java EE version to be supported.
  3. Under Additional Libraries and Frameworks, select the Restful Web Service check box.
  4. You'll need a library that implements the JAX-RS API. You can choose to use an existing library, create and use a new one, download the library files if they are not yet available on your computer, or postpone setting up the library until a later time.
    • Use library. Select the library to be used from the list (if the corresponding library is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA).

      Create. If the corresponding library files (.jar) are already available on your computer, you can arrange those files in a library and use that new library. To do that, click Create and select the necessary files in the dialog that opens. (Use the ^ key for multiple selections.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the selected library. (For an existing library the Edit Library Dialog will open, for the library that you have just created - the Create Library Dialog.)

    • Download. Select this option to download the files that implement the JAX-RS API. (The downloaded files will be arranged in a library.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the library settings and contents. (The Downloading Options Dialog will open.)

    • Set up library later. Select this option to postpone setting up the library until a later time.

    Configure. Click this button to edit the settings for the library selected next to Use library or the one that is about to be downloaded.

    Click Next.

  5. Specify the name and location settings for your module. For more information, see Module Name and Location.

    Click Finish.

Enabling REST support for an existing module
  1. Open the Project tool window (e.g. View | Tool Windows | Project).
  2. Right-click the module of interest and select Add Framework Support.
  3. In the left-hand pane of the Add Frameworks Support dialog that opens, select the RESTful Web Service check box.
  4. You'll need a library that implements the JAX-RS API. You can choose to use an existing library, create and use a new one, download the library files if they are not yet available on your computer, or postpone setting up the library until a later time.
    • Use library. Select the library to be used from the list (if the corresponding library is already defined in IntelliJ IDEA).

      Create. If the corresponding library files (.jar) are already available on your computer, you can arrange those files in a library and use that new library. To do that, click Create and select the necessary files in the dialog that opens. (Use the ^ key for multiple selections.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the selected library. (For an existing library the Edit Library Dialog will open, for the library that you have just created - the Create Library Dialog.)

    • Download. Select this option to download the files that implement the JAX-RS API. (The downloaded files will be arranged in a library.)

      Optionally, click Configure to edit the library settings and contents. (The Downloading Options Dialog will open.)

    • Set up library later. Select this option to postpone setting up the library until a later time.

    Configure. Click this button to edit the settings for the library selected next to Use library or the one that is about to be downloaded.

  5. Click OK in the Add Frameworks Support dialog.