Kotlin is a statically typed programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine and can be used to develop Android apps. IntelliJ IDEA is a popular IDE for developing Kotlin applications. In this guide, we will show you how to set up a Kotlin development environment using IntelliJ IDEA.
First, you need to download and install IntelliJ IDEA. We recommend the Ultimate Edition, which includes all the features you need for Kotlin development.
Once you have installed IntelliJ IDEA, you need to install the Kotlin plugin. To do this, open IntelliJ IDEA and go to Configure > Plugins. In the Marketplace tab, search for Kotlin
and install the plugin.
To create a new Kotlin project, open IntelliJ IDEA and select File > New > Project. In the New Project wizard, select Kotlin > JVM > Kotlin/JVM Project and click Next.
On the Project Settings page, specify the project name and location. We recommend using the default settings for the project SDK and Kotlin version.
On the _ Libraries_ page, select the Java SDK and click Next.
On the Framework Selection page, select Kotlin DSL and click Finish.
By default, the Kotlin compiler uses the Java 1.6 bytecode level. We recommend changing this to Java 8, which is required for some Kotlin features, such as lambdas. To do this, open the Project Structure dialog ( File > Project Structure) and go to Project Settings > Modules > Sources. In the Kotlin Compiler section, change the Target bytecode version to 1.8 and click Apply.
Kotlin has a set of style guidelines that we recommend following. IntelliJ IDEA can help you follow these guidelines by providing code inspections and quick-fixes. To enable these features, go to File > Settings > Editor > Inspections and select the Kotlin inspection profile.
The Kotlin REPL (Read-Eval-Print-Loop) is a handy tool for quickly testing Kotlin code. To launch the Kotlin REPL, open the Tools menu and select Kotlin > Kotlin REPL.
In this guide, we have shown you how to set up a Kotlin development environment using IntelliJ IDEA. We have also covered some of the basic configuration options and features that are available.