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JetBrains PlatformIntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio FAQ
We’ve received a large number of questions related to yesterday’s announcement of Android Studio, and we’ve decided to compile the answers in a FAQ post.
Where do I get Android Studio?
Android Studio is available for download at the developer.android.com site.
Is Android Studio a fork of IntelliJ IDEA?
No. Android Studio and the Android plugin for IntelliJ IDEA are built from the same code, and all of the changes in Android Studio are, and will continue to be, available in IntelliJ IDEA releases.
When can I get the Android Studio features in IntelliJ IDEA?
The EAP of IntelliJ IDEA 13, which includes all of the Android Studio features except for the redesigned new project wizard and the App Engine cloud endpoints integration, is available now. The remaining features are going to be integrated in the coming weeks.
Will the new features of Android Studio be available for users of IntelliJ IDEA 12?
No. The new features (especially the Gradle support) depend on the major changes that were done in the version 13 platform, and we do not have any plans to backport them.
If I’m already a user of IntelliJ IDEA, do I need to switch to Android Studio for Android development?
No. Android Studio is focused specifically on Android development and provides streamlined environment and project setup, but otherwise all of its features are available in IntelliJ IDEA.
If I rely on features that are only available in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate (such as additional version control plugins), will I be able to use Android Studio?
No, these additional features will not be available in Android Studio. You should continue using IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.
Are Android Studio projects compatible with IntelliJ IDEA?
Yes, the two IDEs use the same project format.
Is it planned to support NDK development in Android Studio or IntelliJ IDEA?
We have recently announced that we’re starting work on an IDE for C++, and we plan to eventually support NDK development as part of that effort. As for NDK development support in Android Studio, Google hasn’t announced anything so far.
Where do I report bugs?
If you’re using Android Studio, please report bugs to the AOSP issue tracker. IntelliJ IDEA issues, as before, should be reported through YouTrack.
Feel free to ask other questions and provide the feedback here and on our discussion forum.
UPDATE: Check out our official website for more details and learning materials about Android development and IntelliJ IDEA.
Simen says:
May 16, 2013Fantastic, especially the confirmation about it being wholly integrated into IDEA is good news.
Does this mean Google will actively contribute upstream to the IntelliJ platform? Not just on the Android-part, but maybe for WebStorm etc.?
Will there be in-IDE hookups to the Google Play Dev Console?
Also, kinda related, any ETA at all for the C++ IDE? As in, is it planned for IDEA 13 or 14?
Brian says:
May 16, 2013Regarding plug-ins, since there are currently none available for android-studio, if I follow the directions for creating a intelliJ plugin, will it be pretty much the same for android-studio? (No bitbucket plugin :()
yole says:
May 16, 2013So far Google is primarily focusing on Android stuff, not the core platform, but of course we’d be happy to accept the platform contributions from them as well.
No idea about the dev console hookups; you should ask the Google guys about that.
It’s unlikely that any C++ support would be available in the IDEA 13 release timeframe.
Michael C. says:
May 16, 2013I still don’t get what exactly is the point of Android Studio besides Google branding if the products are essentially the same. Is it like, um, selling German Opel cars in Britain as Vauxhall? Basically I can choose one or another, right? The existence of Android Studio simply allows Google to package it with its other products and downloads instead of linking to another company’s product (IDEA).
Richard says:
January 19, 2014And of course AndroidStudio is free. As in beer.
yole says:
May 16, 2013Brian,
There is a BitBucket plugin for IntelliJ IDEA, and it will actually work just fine in Android Studio today if you download it manually and use “Install plugin from disk”. The availability of plugins through the plugin manager UI is something that’s going to be fixed very soon.
yole says:
May 16, 2013Michael,
The main point of this for Google is being able to have an experience focused on Android – as an example, Android Studio bundles the Android SDK and configures it automatically for you. IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition has a broader focus; for it, Android development is just one of the many scenarios it supports.
Shripathi Kamath says:
May 16, 2013If I wanted to develop Node.js applications, which is the best choice, feature-wise? Android Studio, IntelliJ, or WebStorm?
yole says:
May 16, 2013Android Studio does not include any support for JavaScript or node.js development. If you need both node.js and Android in the same IDE, you’ll need to use IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.
Brian says:
May 16, 2013Yole,
Great! I was thrown for a loop by the phrasing in the FAQ, but it seems to be working fine.
Thank you!
David Gillooly says:
May 17, 2013How does one get the Android JVK etc set up in this? I have been trying for the last hour and can’t figure it out.
Andreas Elf says:
May 18, 2013If I understand this right. It doesn’t matter if I choose the Android SDK or IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition, if I want to develope applications both for Android devices and for computers? The only difference is that the Android SDK should make it easier to start develope applications for Android.
yole says:
May 19, 2013Andreas,
The New Project Wizard in Android Studio only offers you options for creating Android applications; there is no way to create a project for developing any other kind of application.
Dominic says:
May 21, 2013What are the licensing terms and or potential costs for Android Studio. IDEA states that the free community edition is for open source development only. Will Android Studio be the same way? Will it allow commercial development for free or will you have to purchase a license for commercial development?
yole says:
May 22, 2013Dominic,
IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition is completely free and open-source, licensed under the Apache 2 license and can be used for any kind of development. Android Studio has the same licensing terms.
Shripathi Kamath says:
May 27, 2013Yole, can you please clarify. I am interested in node.js development only. You eliminated Android Studio. Between Intelli J and Webstorm, which is better?
Svyatoslav says:
June 20, 2013“The remaining features are going to be integrated in the coming weeks.”
Are you going to integrate App Engine cloud endpoints to IntelliJ IDEA 13 Community Edition and if yes, than how soon? Thanks for the IDE!!!
yole says:
June 21, 2013Svyatoslav,
The cloud endpoints plugin is right now being migrated to the AOSP repository. Once the migration is done, we’ll have the access to its code and will be able to integrate it with IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition.
Andre Geiz says:
June 21, 2013I think the most important quastion is not clearly answered.
yole said:
“IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition is completely free and open-source, licensed under the Apache 2 license and can be used for any kind of development. Android Studio has the same licensing terms.”
Hmm – but in the “openSource License” section of Intellij IDEA can be read that you have to:
– been working on your open source project for a minimum of 3 months
– have recent activity in your newsgroups or forums
– have an updated News section on your site
– release updated builds on a regular basis
– have a dedicated website and an active developer community supporting your project
– do not perform any paid support, consulting or training services for your open source software
– do not distribute paid versions of your open source software
I have read the terms and conditions of Android Studio early access version and it seems to me, that none of the terms above apply to it.
Am i wrong here or do i misunderstand something?
Svyatoslav says:
June 21, 2013yole, thanks!
yole says:
June 26, 2013Andre,
What your’re reading are the license terms for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate. It is a commercial product which indeed is available for free to open-source developers who meet certain requirements.
IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition includes a subset of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate features, and is completely free and open-source without any restrictions.
See http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/features/editions_comparison_matrix.html?IC for more information.
David Hofmann says:
December 20, 2013I understand that “Android Studio” is IDEA base IDE + Android Plugin. So, when android plugin is updated by google, both Android Studio and Jetbrains IDEA IDEs gets the plugin updated at the same timeframe or is there a merging effort on both sides ? If so, how much will it normally take ?
Jerry Kurata says:
December 26, 2013Above it says “The EAP of IntelliJ IDEA 13, which includes all of the Android Studio features except for the redesigned new project wizard and the App Engine cloud endpoints integration, is available now. The remaining features are going to be integrated in the coming weeks.”
It is now December and the new project wizard is still missing tabs to configure features like (image size selection, background color); (Blank Activity, Fullscreen activitity, Login Activity, etc.), Navigation type (None, fixed table + swipe, scrollable tabs + swipe, Dropdown). When will these be available?
Drew DeNardo says:
January 1, 2014I have IntelliJ Ultimate 13. The new project wizard from Android Studio doesn’t appear to be present (yet). As a workaround I created a project using the Android Studio wizard and then have opened it IntelliJ 13 and that appears to be fine (I did need to fix the path to the Android Support library). Will the new project wizard be incorporated soon?
Todor Rikic says:
January 31, 2014I just upgraded to IntelliJ 13 Ultimate and new android application wizard is still not available 🙁
Any “idea” when this might be coming? Hopefully before 14 and another upgrade.
Todor Rikic says:
January 31, 2014I just tried, when creating new android application, Gradle Module, that seems to be same as Android Studio new project wizard.
Ashish says:
February 12, 2014When creating a new Activity by choosing android component, with kind activty, there is no option of choosing the navigation type. Why is it so? I guess the first time when you create a project, you can choose what type of navigation you need for the launcher activity. But when creating any other activity, we dont’t get this option. I am using Android Studio preview 0.4.4, build no 133.1005886.
Peter Schmalfeldt says:
August 3, 2014I have created a Github repo with CSS & JavaScript support for Android Studio. There is even a settings.jar file for easy import. Let me know if there is anything you would like added.
https://github.com/manifestinteractive/android-studio-filetypes
Suroh says:
August 29, 2014I seem to be a little lost here, the licensing isn’t specific enough maybe I’m just missing the part I need. What exactly can I do with the community edition Ie. I’m sure that I can’t sell the app ( which I don’t really want to do any way ) but is it acceptable to ask for donations.
Or am I going to get an email with a link to the license ( like QT did a long time ago ) which basically tells me ” in no way can you sell this or ask for donations “
Teo says:
September 2, 2014@Suroh
There are four different versions of IntelliJ that you seem to be confusing:
1) Community Edition – Free, you can do anything with you produce, but some functionality is missing
2) Ultimate Edition for Open Source – Free, you can only produce open source software, full functionality but you need to be approved by JetBrains
3) Ultimate Edition for Education – Discounted, you can’t sell what you produce, full functionality but you need to be approved by JetBrains
4) Ultimate Edition – Full price, you can do anything with what you produce, full functionality available
Android Studio is based on #1, as is the version of IntelliJ IDEA that is available for free without the time restriction.
Andrey Cheptsov says:
September 2, 2014I would even say that there are two editions of IntellIJ IDEA: Ultimate and Community Edition. Android Studio is based on Community Edition. Ultimate includes everything from CE, Android Studio and much more.
Suroh says:
September 2, 2014Awesome thank you for clearing that up for me!
Kevin says:
January 12, 2015I just installed Android Studio on my Mac Mini.
But I can’t go to next process after accept in License agreement under Setup of Android Studio.
Could you help me for fix this trouble ?
My environment:
Mac OS X 10.10
Recent Android Studio
Hesam says:
January 14, 2015Unfortunately, I’m not able to import my Android studio application into IntelliJ Idea although you said “it is possible since they are using same functionalities”.
My Android application is working fine on Android studio however when I import it to IntelliJ Idea it loads some modules that O have comment them out in settings.gradle and doesn’t recognise some modules that I clearly mentioned to be included in settings.gradle 🙁 I’m not sure does anybody else has same problem. Thanks.
conncui says:
August 7, 2015Is intellij idea14 ultimate has no “Cpu monitor ” like in Android Studio 1.2.2 ?
i can’t find it
Dabney says:
February 13, 2016Is AS still used (2016)..wish I could understand this stuff !!!!
Raj says:
February 2, 2017I have been using Android studio since two months. Suddenly I came across the intellij idea platform and decided to take a look at it and went on to install it. After setting up the intellij idea, I found that Android studio stopped working and a message box pops up saying that it can’t find the JDK et cetra…
If you haven’t come across any such problem try stimulating my condition by trying to do exactly what I did (mentioned in the feedback above).
N.B.: Windows 7 SP 1,
Pentium dual core Intel precessor.
Ram: 2 GB, HDD space 1 TB.
P.S.: Android studio worked wonders even with 2GB of RAM, though minimum requirement was 3GB, still my computer managed to work with it.
Please give me a fix/solution soon as I want to get to developing Android apps soon!
hmz says:
March 23, 2017“We have recently announced that we’re starting work on an IDE for C++, and we plan to eventually support NDK development as part of that effort. As for NDK development support in Android Studio,” Google has announced NDK supoort , androidNDK Provides plugins. What time does the IDEA of support?
Chris says:
October 24, 2017Dear IntelliJ, I am developing Android Applications within Android Studio, I am having issues with the emulator. Please will you be able to work with AMD to optimise the android studio emulator. I am running a Ryzen 7 1800x, it is expected this is powerful enough to handle android emulators. However, it seems the software is not optimized for this? I’m sure there is a third-party solution. Though a first-party solution would be a great advantage. It would be a massive benefit for developers who use AMD Architecture, if you designed android studio to take advantage of all the cores and threads in such processors.
Warmest Regards,
Chris