Install IntelliJ IDEA on Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3)

Posted on:June 13, 2023

It can be easy to install the wrong version of IntelliJ IDEA for Mac which can lead to annoying slowdowns when using the IDE. Let’s go over how to install the correct version of IntelliJ IDEA for an Apple Silicon Macbook such as one with an M1, M2 or M3 chip. The end of the guide will also go over how to verify that the correct binary version of IntelliJ IDEA is running.

Installation

You can install IntelliJ IDEA either by downloading the correct .dmg file from JetBrain’s website or by running a brew install command in the Terminal.

.dmg Installation

  1. First, go to https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/.
  2. Decide whether you want the Ultimate or Community Edition verion.
  3. Click the .dmg dropdown to the right of the Download button.
  4. Select the .dmg (Apple Silicon) option. This should begin the download.
IntelliJ IDEA CE - Download .dmg (Apple Silicon)
  1. Once the file is downloaded, open the file, and drag and drop IntelliJ IDEA into the Applications folder. The application will be named IntelliJ IDEA CE if you downloaded the Community Edition.
IntelliJ IDEA CE.dmg

brew Installation

If you have the brew package manager installed, you can install IntelliJ IDEA with one command:

brew install --cask intellij-idea
brew install --cask intellij-idea-ce
Installing IntelliJ IDEA with brew

Congratulations, you can now run the Apple Silicon version of IntelliJ IDEA on your Mac!

IntelliJ IDEA Welcome Screen

Verification

Now, let’s verify that the correct version of IntelliJ IDEA is installed. To do this:

  1. Run the IntelliJ IDEA or IntelliJ IDEA CE application.
  2. Open Activity Monitor.
  3. Go to the CPU tab.
  4. Search, in the top right corner, for idea.
  5. Under the Kind column, make sure it says Apple.
    • This means you are running the correct and most optimized version for your Apple Silicon Mac.
    • If it says Intel, then you are running the wrong and less optimal version for an M1 or M2 Macbook.
    • If you do not see the Kind column, right click the column bar, and check Kind to be able to see it.
IntelliJ IDEA in Activity Monitor