intelliJ not working on El capitan 10.11

I just installed the new OS El capitan 10.11 and discovered that intelliJ isn't working on it.

When I launch it, I get this error:

"This application requires the legacy Java SE 6 runtime which is unavailable for this version of OS X."

I'm guessin that Java hasn't been set up properly yet. Does anybody have any ideas on how I can make this work?

denislexic

Posted 2015-06-10T15:57:53.240

Reputation: 305

1You can properly setup Java. Based on the error it looks like its looking for a legacy installation and 10.11 isn't going to have an unsupported legacy version of Java. What version of IntelliJ are you using that still requires that legacy version of Java? – Ramhound – 2015-06-10T16:10:10.580

Running intelliJ 13. Not sure why it would require a legacy. Is that something I can change? – denislexic – 2015-06-10T16:18:24.703

As of 2013 the installer still required 1.6 so try adding 1.6 and see if it works. Also related

– Ramhound – 2015-06-10T16:23:14.757

Can't install 1.6 (official Apple java), it's not supported in 10.11 :( – denislexic – 2015-06-10T17:21:06.807

So upgrade to an IDE that doesn't require it or downgrade to 10.10.x – Ramhound – 2015-06-10T17:25:02.027

@denislexic which version of IntelliJ do you use ? – Anton Dozortsev – 2015-06-11T21:03:40.817

Java 6 for El Capitan: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572

– nschum – 2015-07-23T12:42:55.623

Answers

If you did an upgrade of an 10.10 install where everything still worked fine (and where the Apple-supplied java 6 runtime was installed), the following solution might work. I had the same problem as you had, and this solved my issues:

Quit IntelliJ and go to the Applications-folder in Finder
Right-click the IntelliJ.app and choose: Show package contents
Open the Contents-folder (this was the only file/folder in my case)
Open the Info.plist file using a text-editor of some kind (TextEditor should do the job, but I prefer using Sublime for such tasks).

Find the following tag:

<key>JVMVersion</key>
<string>1.6*,1.7+</string>

Remove 1.6*, from the string-tag, so it becomes:
```
<key>JVMVersion</key>
<string>1.7+</string>
```
Save the file, and try to start IntelliJ again.

As I said, this seems to work for me. I do have to note that I am using IntelliJ 14, but I think this process should work for 13 as well.

Also, when a more permanent solution from Apple comes out, it might be a good idea to undo these steps (just add the removed text again) or reinstall IntelliJ completely.

Dimiter

Posted 2015-06-10T15:57:53.240

Reputation: 316

1Awesome, worked! I changed it to 1.8* and worked like a charm. Thanks! – denislexic – 2015-06-15T12:45:16.523

Does not work for me at all ... edited the file, still the same blocking dialog (idea 14) – Jan Galinski – 2015-10-04T07:08:11.010

I simply reinstalled Java 6 from this Apple link https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572?locale=en_US and IntelliJ 14 was able to recognize it. This also allows me to continue using Java 1.6 in Intellij.

More here: https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/206827627-IDE-doesn-t-start-after-updating-to-Mac-OS-Yosemite-or-Mavericks

From Jetbrains support:

JDK 1.6 is required to run and may be missing on your system. Please install Apple JDK 1.6. There should be a window with the suggestion to install Java when you start the product for the first time, but it could be hidden by other application windows.

aVeryStableGenius

Posted 2015-06-10T15:57:53.240

Reputation: 41

Welcome to Super User! Please quote the essential parts of the answer from the reference link(s), as the answer can become invalid if the linked page(s) change. – DavidPostill – 2015-10-29T23:04:12.730