1. Installing the plugin

To make your life much easier, CodeGym created a special plugin for IntelliJ IDEA that lets you get tasks and submit them for verification in a couple of clicks. It's super convenient — you'll see for yourself right now.

For now, the CodeGym plugin isn't included in the standard set of plugins in the IntelliJ IDEA repository, so you will have to download it from our website and install it manually in IDEA. This is pretty simple to do.

Before installing it, you need to "Download the plugin".

STEP 1. Launch IntelliJ IDEA and select File -> Settings in the menu. For MacOS, in the menu, click IntelliJ IDEA -> Preferences.

STEP 2. Find the Plugins item. Click on the gear and select Install Plugins from disk.

STEP 3. Open the folder where you downloaded the plugin (i.e. the folder where the CodeGymIdeaPlugin.jar file is located), select it and click OK.

STEP 4. Restart IntelliJ IDEA.

STEP 5. After IDEA restarts and the CodeGym plugin has been activated, you will see a new group of seven buttons in the top row of IDEA buttons.

STEP 6. Creating a project for CodeGym tasks. Click any plugin button. The plugin will automatically detect that a CodeGym project has not yet been downloaded and will offer to download it.

STEP 7. Select a folder for downloading the project. Don't use system folders (such as Program Files, etc.).

STEP 8. After the download is complete, IDEA will open the project, and you will see instructions like this:

STEP 9. Additional project settings. Click File -> Project Structure. For MacOS, in the menu, click IntelliJ IDEA -> Project Structure.

Step 10. Under Project SDK, select Java 13 or Java 14. In the Project language level field, select 13 - No new language features: this is important.

Step 11. If you see, No SDK, then click Add SDK -> JDK... and select the folder with OpenJDK. That's it. You can now proceed to solving tasks.

3. Solving tasks in the CodeGym plugin

Solving tasks with the plugin is one of life's great joys. First, you need to choose one of the tasks that is available to you. Here's what you need to do:

STEP 1. Open the list of available tasks by clicking on this button:

STEP 2. You should see a list of available tasks. If the list is empty, then you have solved all the available tasks. You need to unlock new lessons in order to get more tasks. If there are tasks in the list, just click on the task you want.

STEP 3. A window with two tabs opens in front of you. One has the task conditions, and the other (Solution.java) is where you enter your code. Boom! You're ready to solve the task.

STEP 4. Go to the Solution tab and write your solution for the task. It may look something like this:

STEP 5. If you think you've solved the task correctly, it's time to submit it for verification. To do this, click the button with a checkmark:

STEP 6. If your solution didn't pass, then you will see the reasons as well as a list of recommendations. If it did pass, then congratulations! You have earned a well-deserved reward — dark matter.

4. Additional features

If you have a Premium Pro subscription, you have the option to check your program's coding style. To do this, click this button:

If you accidentally deleted something important in your program or perhaps become confused about your own solution, you can start solving the task again from the very beginning. There is a special button for this:

If you want to discuss your solution (or lack thereof) with other students, click here:

And if you feel that you really won't get unstuck without help from other students, then boldly click here:

We have a very large community — you are sure to find help.

And finally, if you decide to implement one of the game projects available on CodeGym and you want to publish it all users to enjoy, there is also a special button for this.

5. Solving your first task through the plugin

And of course, we have a special video tutorial for those who believe a picture is worth a thousand words:

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