How to Install the PyCharm Python IDE in Linux

Get going with Python on Linux

by
Gary Newell
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Gary Newell was a freelance contributor, application developer, and software tester with 20+ years in IT, working on Linux, UNIX, and Windows.
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Gary Newell
Updated on October 30, 2020
reviewed by
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Michael Barton Heine Jr
Lifewire Tech Review Board Member
Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.
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Article reviewed on Apr 09, 2020
Michael Barton Heine Jr

What to Know

  • PyCharm works well on Linux platforms. It's installed from an archive file, although JetBrains also supplies a snap package for Ubuntu.
  • PyCharm requires a computer with a minimum of 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended) and 2.5 GB of disk space.
  • Before you try this, you must have either Python 2 (2.6.x or 2.7.x series) or Python 3 (3.4.x or higher) installed.

This article provides specific how-to instructions and includes system requirements at the bottom.

These instructions apply to PyCharm 2019.1 and work with any Linux distribution.

How to Install PyCharm for Linux

The universal method for installing PyCharm involves downloading the zipped archive then unpacking it into the /opt directory.

  1. Download PyCharm from the JetBrains website. Select a local folder for the archive file to execute the tar command.

  2. Install PyCharm. The standard and recommended location is /opt, although you can modify this selection if necessary. Run the following command: 

    sudo tar xfz pycharm-*.tar.gz -C /opt/

  3. Run pycharm.sh from the bin subdirectory: 

    cd /opt/pycharm-*/bin

    ./pycharm.sh

  4. Complete the first-time-run wizard to get started.

How to Install PyCharm for Ubuntu Linux

On Ubuntu 16.04 and higher versions, use a snap package instead: 

sudo snap install pycharm-community --classic

Then run pycharm-community in the terminal.

Instead of pycharm-community, you could install snap packages for pycharm-professional or pycharm-educational, if you're appropriately licensed for these packages.

System Requirements

PyCharm requires a computer with a minimum of 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended) and 2.5 GB of disk space, as well as a display with a minimum resolution of 1024-by-768 pixels. Also, either Python 2 (2.6.x or 2.7.x series) or Python 3 (3.4.x or higher) must be installed.

PyCharm

JetBrains recommends a 64-bit Linux distribution and the KDE, Gnome, or Unity desktop environments.

The installer bundles a 64-bit version of JRE, but not a 32-bit version. On a 32-bit distribution, install 32-bit JRE separately.

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