How to Install PyCharm on Linux

PyCharm—the cross-platform integrated development environment for Python developed by JetBrains—works well on Linux platforms. It's installed from an archive file, although JetBrains also supplies a snap package for Ubuntu.

Read our review of PyCharm on Linux

These instructions were written for PyCharm 2019.1. They will work with any Linux distribution.

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.

You must already have installed either Python 2 (2.6.x or 2.7.x series) or Python 3 (3.4.x or higher).

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, so if you're on a 32-bit distribution, you'll need to install 32-bit JRE separately.

How to Install PyCharm for Linux

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

Download PyCharm from the JetBrains website. Select a local folder for the archive file wherein you can execute the tar command.

Download from JetBrains
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/
```
Run pycharm.sh from the bin subdirectory:
```
cd /opt/pycharm-*/bin
```
```
./pycharm.sh
```
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 also install snap packages for pycharm-professional or pycharm-educational, if you're appropriately licensed for them.