Installing and Setting Up JetBrains Rider

1. Where to Get JetBrains Rider: Downloading

JetBrains Rider is a cross-platform IDE for C# and .NET from the team that created the legendary ReSharper and IntelliJ IDEA (yeah, the same folks who have been making Java devs happy for like 20 years). Rider is super popular among pros, especially those who work on different OSes — Windows, macOS, or Linux. Rider is famous for its powerful editor, fast code indexing, smooth Git integration, and those signature JetBrains “hints.” And yeah, people call coding with it “pain-free development” (well, at least until you hit a bug in your own code).

First, download Rider only from the official website:
https://www.jetbrains.com/rider/download/

On the download page, the site will auto-detect your OS and CPU architecture. You can pick it manually if you need to.

2. Installing Rider: Windows, macOS, Linux

Installing on Windows

1. Download the .exe installer file.
2. Run the downloaded file (Windows might ask for permission — just agree).
3. Follow the standard “installation wizard”:
   • You can leave the default path C:\Program Files\JetBrains\JetBrains Rider, that’s the usual way.
   • Add Open Folder as Project. Handy option, lets you open any folder as a project in Rider right from the Explorer context menu.
   • File associations. You can link files with .cs, .sln, and other extensions to Rider so they open in the IDE with a double-click.
   • Add executable path to PATH. This lets you launch Rider from the command line (you’ll need to reboot for this)
   • At the end of the install, Windows might suggest a reboot. You only need this if you added Rider to system paths (the PATH variable). Feel free to pick "I want to manually reboot later." Rider will launch and work just fine without it, and you can reboot whenever you want.
4. After the install finishes, launch Rider. On first launch, the IDE might offer to download and install the .NET SDK if you don’t have it yet. Agree — you won’t get any magic without it.

Installing on macOS

1. Download the .dmg file.
2. Open the file (double-click), you’ll see a window with the JetBrains Rider logo.
3. Drag the Rider icon into the Applications folder.
4. Open Finder → Applications → Rider and launch it (macOS might ask for permission — just confirm).

Installing on Linux

1. Download the .tar.gz archive.
2. Unpack the archive to any folder you like (usually ~/opt or ~/Programs).
3. In the terminal, go to the Rider folder and run the rider.sh script:

cd ~/opt/JetBrains\ Rider-<version>/bin
./rider.sh

On first launch, Rider will offer to create a shortcut — agree if you don’t want to launch the IDE from the terminal every time.

Note for Linux: sometimes you’ll need to install extra libraries (libicu, libssl, etc.), and Rider will let you know about them on first launch.

3. Rider for Non-Commercial Use

If you’re using Rider for non-commercial stuff, like learning, you can use it for free.

4. Initial Rider Setup: First Steps

Rider asks a ton of questions the first time you meet it. Let’s break down what you should pick and what you can totally skip.

Importing Settings

Rider asks if you want to import settings from a previous version or another JetBrains IDE. Since we’re installing Rider from scratch, we don’t have any old settings. Just hit Skip Import to start fresh.

Picking a Theme

Here you pick how your code editor will look: colors, background, syntax highlighting. Start with Rider in dark mode. It’s a classic. Anyway, you can change the theme anytime in the settings (Ctrl+Alt+S -> Appearance & Behavior -> Appearance). Hit Continue.

Choosing a Keymap

One of the most important steps. "Keymap" is the set of keyboard shortcuts for commands (search, refactoring, running code, etc.). Picking the right one will save you a ton of time.

JetBrains IDE is the standard and super powerful keymap from JetBrains. If you’re new and haven’t used other editors, pick this one. You’ll get used to the “right” shortcuts from the start.

Installing Plugins

Don’t install anything yet. Just hit Continue without Plugins. We’ll get back to plugins later.

After these steps, Rider will be ready to go.