This guide walks you through using IntelliJ IDEA to build one of the Getting Started guides.

What you’ll build

You’ll pick a Spring guide and import it into IntelliJ IDEA. Then you can read the guide, work on the code, and run the project.

What you’ll need

Installing IntelliJ IDEA

If you don’t have IntelliJ IDEA (Ultimate Edition) installed yet, visit the link up above. From there, you can download a copy for your platform. To install it simply unpack the downloaded archive.

When you’re done, go ahead and launch IntelliJ IDEA.

Importing a Getting Started guide

To import an existing project you need some code, so clone or copy one of the Getting Started guides, e.g. the REST Service guide:

$ git clone https://github.com/spring-guides/gs-rest-service.git

With IntelliJ IDEA up and running, click Import Project on the Welcome Screen, or File | Open on the main menu:

Import Project

In the pop-up dialog make sure to select either Maven's pom.xml or Gradle's build.gradle file under the complete folder:

Select File or Directory to Import

IntelliJ IDEA will create a project with all the code from the guide ready to run.

Creating a Project from Scratch

In case you’d like to start with an empty project and copy-and-paste your way through the guide, create a new Maven or Gradle project in the Project Wizard:

Project Wizard

See Also

The following guide may also be helpful: