Toolbox App 2.1 Is Now Available

Ivan Kuzmin

In the previous release, we reworked the installation and update processes from the ground up, allowing for update downloads in the background to be performed first and introducing permanent installation paths that conform to operating system guidelines.

Toolbox App 2.1 addresses feedback, fixes bugs, adds a few finishing touches to the new installation process, and introduces Ukrainian localization.

Changing the installation directory is back

In Toolbox App 2.0, we introduced the new default and fixed location for your tools, conforming to the operating system guidelines (%LocalAppData%\Programs for Windows, ~/Applications for macOS, and ~/.local/share/JetBrains/Toolbox/apps for Linux).

With the introduction of Toolbox App 2.1, we bring back the ability to change the installation directory for your tools. You can now install your tools in the location of your choice, be it in a different folder or on a separate disk entirely. 

To specify the new location, go to the Toolbox App settings (choose Settings under the locknut icon in the upper right-hand corner of the main Toolbox App screen), scroll down to the Tools section, and change the Tools install location field. All new tools will then be installed in the new location.
Keep in mind that tools installed prior to choosing a new location will remain in the directory in which they were originally installed. They won’t be moved to the new directory with this action or when updating the Toolbox App. We plan to introduce functionality to migrate already installed tools to a custom directory in a later release.

Dedicated action for cleaning backups

We introduced a new Remove the previous versions action for cleaning backups. By default, the Toolbox App cleans up the previously stored versions to enable instant rollback after three days. With the new action, you can see how much storage they use and remove them with a single click.

Cache and temporary file storage 

We eliminated the usage of a temporary directory for storing temporary files, fixing the need to allocate more storage to /tmp to update your tools seamlessly. The temporary files will now be stored in the Toolbox App cache folders.

On Linux, the cache directory now conforms to operating system guidelines and is moved to ~/.cache/JetBrains/Toolbox.

Warning about insufficient permissions

The Toolbox App can update tools only to a directory for which the user has given permissions. Previously, for tools in a write-protected directory, the Toolbox App didn’t show the Update button. Starting with version 2.1, you will see a disabled Update button and a link to an article providing clear instructions on how to restore the ability to update in the tool settings.
In a future release, we plan to introduce the ability to elevate permissions and install and update tools system-wide.

Ukrainian community localization

A new language is available! You can now use the Toolbox App in Ukrainian, thanks to the contribution of our users, Artem Dorosh and Volodymyr Lantsov. If you’d like to help us add a language that’s not yet available, contact us via YouTrack or email.

Toolbox Enterprise improvements

We also added several features for Toolbox Enterprise, a centralized solution for the provisioning and management of JetBrains IDEs to the developers’ machines in an organization. Toolbox Enterprise received plugin management improvements, as well as tool version notifications according to organizational guidelines.
If you think your organization would benefit from a streamlined IDE management solution, feel free to request a demo or get preview access on the Toolbox Enterprise page.

For more information on changes and improvements, head over to the full release notes.

Yours,

The Toolbox App team