# 1. Prerequisites

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## Download and Install IntelliJ IDEA

Download and install either IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate or IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition from [here](https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/).

## Check out Community Edition Source Files

> While not required, having the full sources of the platform and all bundled plugins available for browsing allows finding related implementations.
>
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Download the IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition source files as described in the IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition [README](%gh-ic%/README.md) file.

## Install Required Plugins

Make sure that the bundled *Plugin DevKit* and *Gradle* plugins are enabled.
Install and enable [Grammar-Kit](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6606-grammar-kit) and [PsiViewer](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/227-psiviewer) plugins.

## Create a Project

Create an empty [IntelliJ Platform Plugin project](creating_plugin_project.md) or start using [](plugin_github_template.md) when creating a plugin hosted on GitHub.