Use the latest IntelliJ release and install the Scala plugin from within the IDE.
To create the IntelliJ project files:
- Run
sbt intellij
- Open
src/intellij/scala.ipr
in IntelliJ - In
File
→Project Structure
→Project
→Project SDK
, create an SDK entry named "1.8" containing the Java 1.8 SDK (1.6 if you're on the Scala the 2.11.x branch)
The project files are created as copies of the .SAMPLE
files, which are under version
control. The actual IntelliJ project files are in .gitignore
so that local changes
are ignored.
For every module in the IntelliJ project there is a corresponding -deps
library, for example compiler-deps
provides ant.jar
for the compiler codebase.
The .jar
files in these -deps
libraries can be easily kept up-to-date by running sbt intellij
again.
This is necessary whenever the dependencies in the sbt build change, for example when the starr
version is updated.
Note that this command only patches the dependency lists, all other settings in the IntelliJ project definition are unchanged.
To overwrite the project definition files by copying the .SAMPLE
files again run sbt intellijFromSample
.
The 2.12.x branch contains IntelliJ module files for actors
and forkjoin
even though these modules only exist in 2.11.x.
This allows using the same IntelliJ project files when switching to the 2.11.x branch (without causing any issues while working on 2.12.x).
When switching between 2.11.x and 2.12.x, make sure to run sbt intellij
.
Note that the Project SDK
is not updated in this process.
If you want to use the Java 1.6 SDK while working on 2.11.x you need to change it manually (File
→ Project Structure
→ Project
→ Project SDK
).
If you switch between 2.11.x and 2.12.x often, it makes sense to have a separate clone of the repository for each branch.
Run Build
→ Make Project
to build all modules of the Scala repository (library,
compiler, etc). Note that compilation IntelliJ is performed in a single pass (no
bootstrap), like the sbt build.
Note that the output directory when compiling in IntelliJ is the same as for the
sbt and (deprecated) ant builds. This allows building incrementally in IntelliJ
and directly use the changes using the command-line scripts in build/quick/bin/
.
JUnit tests can be executed by right-clicking on a test class or test method and selecting "Run" or "Debug". The debugger will allow you to stop at breakpoints within the Scala library.
It is possible to invoke the Scala compiler from a JUnit test (passing the source
code as a string) and inspect the generated bytecode, see for example
scala.issues.BytecodeTest
. Debugging such a test is an easy way to stop at
breakpoints within the Scala compiler.
You can create run/debug configurations to run the compiler and REPL directly within IntelliJ, which might accelerate development and debugging of the compiler.
To debug the Scala codebase you can also use "Remote" debug configuration and pass the corresponding arguments to the jvm running the compiler / program.
To run the compiler create an "Application" configuration with
- Main class:
scala.tools.nsc.Main
- Program arguments:
-usejavacp -cp sandbox -d sandbox sandbox/Test.scala
- Working directory: the path of your checkout
- Use classpath of module:
compiler
To run the REPL create an "Application" configuration with
- Main class:
scala.tools.nsc.MainGenericRunner
- Program arguments:
-usejavacp
- Working directory: the path of your checkout
- Use classpath of module:
repl
The command intellijToSample
overwrites the .SAMPLE
files using the current project definition files.