Getting Started with IntelliJ IDEA

Last Updated

7 July 2020

This tutorial demonstrates how to use IntelliJ IDEA for creating a console application.

To get started, first download and install the latest version of IntelliJ IDEA.

Create an application

Once you've installed IntelliJ IDEA, it's time to create your first Kotlin application.

1. In IntelliJ IDEA, select File | New | Project.
2. In the panel on the left, select Kotlin.

3. Enter a project name, select Console Application as the project template, and click Next.

   

   By default, your project will use the Gradle build system with Kotlin DSL.

4. Go through and accept the default configuration, then click Finish.

   

   Your project will open. By default, you see the file build.gradle.kts, which is the build script created by the Project Wizard based on your configuration. It includes the kotlin("jvm") plugin and dependencies required for your console application.

5. Open the main.kt file in src/main/kotlin.
   The src directory contains Kotlin source files and resources. The main.kt file contains sample code that will print Hello World!.

   

6. Modify the code so that it requests your name and says Hello to you specifically, and not to the whole world.

   • Introduce a local variable name with the keyword val. It will get its value from an input where you will enter your name – readLine().
   • Use a string template by adding a dollar sign $ before this variable name directly in the text output like this – $name.

   fun main() {
       println("What's your name?")
       val name= readLine()
       println("Hello $name!")
   }
   

   

Run the application

Now the application is ready to run. The easiest way to do this is to click the green Run icon in the gutter and select Run 'MainKt'.

You can see the result in the Run tool window.

Enter your name and accept the greetings from your application!

Congratulations! You have just run your first Kotlin application.

What's next?

Once you’ve created this application, you can start to dive deeper into Kotlin syntax:

• Add sample code from Kotlin examples
• Install the EduTools plugin for IDEA and complete exercises from the Kotlin Koans course