Installing JDK

To install JDK, you can refer to help.ubuntu.com/community/Java.

If you want to install openJDK,

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk 

If you want to install Oracle JDK, you can use PPA from webup8 team.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer

Installing IntelliJ IDEA

[Updated Answer]

Download IntelliJ IDEA CE from www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/.

  1. Extract ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz using

    tar -zxvf ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz
    
  2. Run idea.sh in bin directory inside the extracted folder.

  3. To create command-line runner, Tools > Create Command-line Launcher
  4. To create a desktop entry, Tools > Create Desktop Entry

That's it. Now, you can launch IntelliJ from Ubuntu dash.

[Old Answer]

Download IntelliJ IDEA CE from www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/.

  1. Extract ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz using

    tar -zxvf ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz
    
  2. Become root.

    sudo -i
    
  3. Move the extracted folder to /opt/idea

    mv ideaIC-XX.Y.Z /opt/idea
    
  4. Create a desktop file and install it:

    gedit idea.desktop
    

    and copy the following to the idea.desktop file.

    [Desktop Entry]
    Name=IntelliJ IDEA 
    Type=Application
    Exec=idea.sh
    Terminal=false
    Icon=idea
    Comment=Integrated Development Environment
    NoDisplay=false
    Categories=Development;IDE;
    Name[en]=IntelliJ IDEA
    

    then execute the following command to automatically install it in the unity:

    desktop-file-install idea.desktop
    
  5. Create a symlink in /usr/local/bin using

    cd /usr/local/bin
    ln -s /opt/idea/bin/idea.sh
    
  6. For idea icon to be displayed in dash, idea icon can be added as

    cp /opt/idea/bin/idea.png /usr/share/pixmaps/idea.png
    

That's it. Now, you can launch IntelliJ from Ubuntu dash.


This should get you started:

#!/bin/sh

add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java &&
apt-get update &&
apt-get install oracle-java7-installer &&
echo oracle-java7-installer shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 select true | sudo /usr/bin/debconf-set-selections &&
update-java-alternatives -s java-7-oracle &&

wget -O /tmp/intellij.tar.gz http://download.jetbrains.com/idea/ideaIC-12.0.4.tar.gz &&
tar xfz /tmp/intellij.tar.gz &&
cd idea-IC-123.169/bin &&
./idea.sh

Some things you should consider:

  • I'm not sure at which part the echo oracle-java7-installer shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 select true | sudo /usr/bin/debconf-set-selections has to be. Might be a line earlier.
  • The line cd idea-IC-123.169/bin is dependend on the IntelliJ version, as the extracted folder is named in that way. It only works with the version available while I'm writing this.
  • Same goes for the download link. It might change with a newer version.
  • I'm not sure what happens if you try to add a ppa that already exists again. This could lead to problems.
  • You have to execute the script as root