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Change the boot Java runtime of the IDE

Last modified: 11 October 2024

As a Java application, IntelliJ IDEA requires a Java runtime environment (JRE). By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses JetBrains Runtime (a fork of OpenJDK), which is included with the IDE. JetBrains Runtime fixes various known OpenJDK and Oracle JDK bugs, and provides better performance and stability. However, in some cases you may be required to use another Java runtime or a specific version of JetBrains Runtime.

The path to the selected runtime is stored in the idea.jdk or idea64.jdk file in the IntelliJ IDEA configuration directory. If there are problems with the selected runtime, you can delete this file to revert to the default runtime.

You can also override the runtime used for IntelliJ IDEA by adding the IDEA_JDK environment variable with the path to the desired JDK home directory.