Install intellij-idea-oss with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

Project history

JetBrains released the first IntelliJ IDEA in January 2001, distinguishing it through advanced Java code navigation and integrated refactoring.

In October 2009, JetBrains announced IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition and open-sourced it under Apache 2.0 alongside the IntelliJ Platform. JetBrains moved the community source code to GitHub in 2011.

JetBrains announced a unified distribution strategy in 2025. The proprietary product became a single installer, while the open-source components remained maintained in the intellij-community repository and available as separately built OSS releases.

Adoption history

The Community Edition gave Java, Groovy, and Scala developers a free Apache-licensed IDE and became the foundation of JetBrains’ open-source IDE ecosystem. JetBrains reported in 2021 that IntelliJ IDEA as a whole was used by more than four million developers.

The IntelliJ Platform and Community codebase also became the foundation for other products, including Android Studio and numerous JetBrains and third-party development tools.

Beginning with the 2025.3 product generation, JetBrains replaced separate Community and Ultimate installers with a unified IntelliJ IDEA distribution while continuing to publish the open-source codebase and open-source builds through GitHub.

How it is used

Developers use IntelliJ IDEA OSS to create, navigate, refactor, test, debug, and version-control software projects. Built-in Gradle and Maven integration makes it especially common for JVM projects, while plugins broaden its language and framework support.

Why package nerds care

The OSS build matters to package users because it exposes the Apache-licensed core of one of the most influential Java IDEs without the proprietary pieces of JetBrains’ commercial distribution.

Its version-qualified configuration directories, large plugin ecosystem, and role as the upstream platform for other IDEs make upgrades and packaging behavior especially relevant to developers and system maintainers.

Timeline

• 2001: JetBrains releases the first IntelliJ IDEA.
• 2009: IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition and the IntelliJ Platform are open-sourced under Apache 2.0.
• 2011: JetBrains begins hosting the Community Edition and IntelliJ Platform source code on GitHub.
• 2021: IntelliJ IDEA reaches its twentieth anniversary; JetBrains reports more than four million users.
• 2025: JetBrains begins the transition to a unified proprietary distribution while retaining GitHub-hosted OSS builds.

Related projects

• The IntelliJ Platform is the shared application platform underlying IntelliJ IDEA and several other IDEs.
• Android Studio is built from the IntelliJ Platform and IntelliJ IDEA Community codebase.
• JetBrains Marketplace supplies plugins that extend the IDE with additional languages, frameworks, and tools.

Sources

• https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2009/10/intellij-idea-open-sourced/
• https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2025/07/intellij-idea-unified-distribution-plan/
• https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2025/12/intellij-idea-unified-release/
• https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/directories-used-by-the-ide-to-store-settings-caches-plugins-and-logs.html
• https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/intellijidea-20-anniversary/