Intro to Java Setup

Launch the IntelliJ IDEA application.

Select the New Project option.

Name the project into-to-java.

Create the project in the ~/code/ga/lectures directory.

⚠️ Windows users, the lectures directory is likely at this location on your device: C:\Users\username\code\ga\lectures (replacing username with your username). Create the project in that directory instead.

Ensure the JDK used is temurin-17. This should be the default setting when starting a new project. If it’s not, alert your instructor.

Ensure that the Add sample code option is not checked.

After confirming the New project window looks similar to the screenshot below, select the Create button.

A new project being created with the appropriate values - intro-to-java is the project name, it's located in the ~/code/ga/lectures directory, the JDK is temurin-17, and the add sample code option is has been unchecked.

If everything goes according to plan, you’ll see a new window like the one below.

Our brand new project created in IntelliJ IDEA

Take the opportunity to note that the new project comes with a very basic file structure:

.idea holds some workspace configuration settings for the IntelliJ IDEA app.
src holds the Java code we write.
A .gitignore file with some sensible defaults pre-configured.

With that done, we’re ready to write our first Java code!