EAP: Get Access to IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (No Hacking Required)

Unlocking IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate: A Coder’s Guide through JetBrains’ EAP setup.

3 min readJan 21, 2024

Introduction

HeyHiHello! As a solution architect and an eternal developer, I can safely say I use IntelliJ IDEA more than any other tool, its incredible range and versatility make it my weapon of choice.

Today, I want to share the method of how I got to access JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition for free back when I was young and broke.

Step-by-Step Guide to Free Access

Step 1: Begin by downloading the JetBrains Toolbox from their official website. Ensure you have a JetBrains account, as this is a prerequisite for accessing their products.

Step 2: After you install it, start the JetBrains Toolbox, and find IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition. Click the “snowman” icon, and select “Other Versions”.

Step 3: Choose the latest build, typically labeled as ‘EAP’ (Early Access Program) or ‘Release Candidate’. These versions are part of JetBrains’ EAP program, which showcases upcoming features and enhancements.

Maximizing the 30-Day Evaluation

Now, the fun part. Since JetBrains frequently releases updates often sooner than 30 days, updating your IDE with each new release effectively resets your evaluation period. (You can see the frequent releases below)

It is worth noting that when there is a release there won’t be an EAP version available so you will run out of those 30 days once in a while so it is advisable to use this approach only for personal projects.

CONS

There is the occasional glitch, but I have experienced very few issues, and because of the feedback from users like you and me, they are usually fixed quickly. (See below for how to report bugs)
When updating to an EAP version some plugins stop working. This is usually a mild inconvenience at best. Recently my biggest issue was the Copilot plugin, which stopped working — which is a rather big deal for me, since I am playing for it.

Responsible Usage

With great power, comes great responsibility! — BEN

Ideal for Personal Projects: Due to the uncertain timing of new releases, this method is best suited for personal or experimental projects, where occasional gaps in access won’t pose significant issues.
Contributing to JetBrains’ Development: If you adopt this approach, I encourage you to send usage statistics and constructive feedback. Community support is important for the amazing team at JetBrains to keep up the awesome work they are doing.
You can report any bugs you find on their YouTrack Issue Tracker
If you love it, put a ring on it: If you find significant value in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate and are in a position to do so, purchasing a license is the way to go.

Conclusion

This method offers an excellent opportunity to explore the full spectrum of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition’s features without any initial financial commitment. But be careful, once you get an IDEA, there is no going back!

TLDR;

Join the Early Access Program at JetBrains.

Bonus

Congratz on making it to the end, here is a code snippet about how you can programmatically check if your code is running in IntelliJ. (inspiration source)

public static void main(String[] args) {
   boolean runningInIntellij = false;
   try {
      runningInIntellij = Main.class.getClassLoader().loadClass("com.intellij.rt.execution.application.AppMainV2") != null;
   } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {}
   if (runningInIntellij) {
      System.out.println("Happy Coding!"); // 
   } else { 
      System.out.println("Meh, coding");
   }
}