The Elide plugin imports a directory with elide.pkl the way IntelliJ IDEA imports a Maven or Gradle build, and runs,
tests and debugs through the elide CLI.
Requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3 or newer | Community or Ultimate, with the bundled Java and Kotlin plugins. Kotlin code on Elide 1.6 needs IntelliJ IDEA 2026.2 or newer, whose Kotlin plugin reads Kotlin 2.5 libraries. |
| Elide | Found through the project’s Elide distribution setting. Elide 1.6 needs plugin 0.9.3 or newer. |
| A JDK registered in the IDE | For JVM projects. |
| Pkl plugin (optional) | Completion, navigation and inspections in elide.pkl. |
Install
In Settings → Plugins → ⚙ → Manage Plugin Repositories, add:
https://plugins.elide.dev/intellijInstall Elide from the Marketplace tab and restart the IDE. Install Pkl from the same repository for
elide.pkl editing. Plugin ZIPs are also attached to each
GitHub release.
Import a project
Open a directory that contains elide.pkl (Projects). The plugin links it and syncs in the background.
- Each source set becomes a module; dependencies become libraries with sources and documentation attached.
- The project SDK is the JDK for
jvm.target, or the newest installed JDK. - Editing
elide.pklor the lockfile prompts a reload. - The Elide tool window lists linked projects, their modules and the build targets under Tasks, runnable from the tree.
File → New → Project → Elide creates a project from the templates elide init offers.
Workspaces
A manifest declaring workspace.members imports as one project. Every member gets its own modules, classpath and
JDK, and a project("name") dependency becomes a module dependency, so the IDE compiles and navigates across members.
Only the root is linked; editing a member’s manifest reloads the workspace. See
Workspaces.
Run
Create an Elide run configuration. Its command line takes anything the CLI accepts, with completion for commands, flags, entrypoints and the project’s build tasks:
run
test -t 'MyTest'
build -- --flag-for-the-tool
serve --port 8080| Gutter icon on | Actions |
|---|---|
A Kotlin or Java main function | Run, Debug |
| A JUnit test class or method | Run, Debug |
jvm.main, entrypoint and scripts in elide.pkl | Run, Debug (Pkl plugin) |
artifacts entries in elide.pkl | Build; a Native Image binary also Run, Debug (Pkl plugin) |
Run Anything (double Ctrl) accepts elide …. elide build reports to the Build tool window as a step tree
with timings and compiler diagnostics; other commands report to Run.
Test
An elide test configuration reports into the test runner: a tree with pass, fail and skip states, timings, output
and jump to source for JVM tests.
Run with Coverage adds --coverage and loads the JaCoCo and LCOV reports into the coverage view, including
reports from runs started outside the IDE.
Debug
Debug on an Elide run or test configuration adds --debugger and attaches the IDE’s JVM debugger on port 5005.
It debugs JVM code; for JavaScript, TypeScript and Python use the CDP or DAP debugger in
Debugging.
Run Native Image and Debug Native Image on a Native Image artifact build it and run or debug the binary with
GDB or LLDB. Debugging needs the Native Debugging Support plugin (IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate) and -g in the
artifact’s options.flags; images carry debug info on Linux only.
Settings
Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Build Tools → Elide:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Elide distribution | Auto-detect or a custom path. |
| Native Image debugging | Debugger (Auto, GDB or LLDB) and the GDB executable. |
Auto-detect checks $ELIDE_HOME, then:
| Platform | Locations, in order |
|---|---|
| Unix | $XDG_DATA_HOME/elide, ~/.local/share/elide, /opt/elide/current, ~/.elide |
| Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\elide, %ProgramFiles%\Elide, %USERPROFILE%\., %USERPROFILE%\.elide |