Set Up Git and GitHub in IntelliJ IDEA and Clone a Repository

Cloning a repository means creating a full local copy of a project together with its commit history and a link back to the remote. Unlike downloading a ZIP archive, a cloned project can be refreshed with git pull and can receive your own commits with git push. This lesson covers the whole path: creating a GitHub account, installing Git, connecting the account to IntelliJ IDEA, cloning a repository, and publishing a project of your own.

Create a GitHub account

Already have an account? Skip ahead to installing Git.

1. Open github.com and click Sign up.

2. Enter your email, choose a password and a username. GitHub sends a confirmation code to that address — enter it to activate the account.

Your username becomes part of every repository URL you ever create (https://github.com/username/project.git), and recruiters do open those links. Pick something short and neutral rather than something you will want to change later.

Install Git

IntelliJ IDEA does not ship Git inside itself — it calls the Git executable installed on your system. So Git has to be installed separately.

• Windows: download the installer from gitforwindows.org, run the .exe and accept the default options.
• macOS: run brew install git, or install the Xcode Command Line Tools with xcode-select --install.
• Linux: sudo apt install git on Debian/Ubuntu, sudo dnf install git on Fedora.

When the installer finishes, open a terminal (on Windows use Git Bash or the command prompt) and check the version:

git --version

A line such as git version 2.46.0 confirms the installation. Set your name and email right away — Git writes them into every commit you make:

git config --global user.name "John Smith"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Connect your GitHub account to IntelliJ IDEA

1. Open Settings (Ctrl+Alt+S, or Cmd+, on macOS) and go to Version Control. Two entries matter here: Git and GitHub.

2. Open Version Control → Git and check the Path to Git executable field. IDEA usually detects it automatically; if the field is empty, point it at the binary yourself (C:\Program Files\Git\bin\git.exe on Windows, /usr/bin/git on Linux and macOS). The Test button prints the detected Git version.

3. Open Version Control → GitHub and click + (Add account).

4. Choose how you want to sign in. Your account password is not an option any more; there are three ways in:

Tokens are created on GitHub under Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens. For IDE work the token needs the repo, read:org, gist and workflow scopes. GitHub shows the token once — copy it immediately.

Clone a repository from GitHub

There are three ways to download a project from GitHub with IntelliJ IDEA. The result is identical in all three.

Option 1. From the Welcome screen

With no project open, IDEA shows the Welcome screen. Click Clone Repository (in the 2020.3–2022.x builds the button is called Get from VCS).

Option 2. From an open project

Choose File → New → Project from Version Control, or Git → Clone in the main menu.

Both options open the same dialog. Paste the repository address into the URL field, for example https://github.com/milkina/java-core.git, pick a local folder in Directory, and click Clone. IDEA downloads the repository with its full commit history and opens it in a new window.

You get that address from the repository page on GitHub: the green Code button → the HTTPS tab → the copy icon.

Option 3. From the command line

One terminal command does the same job; afterwards open the folder with File → Open:

git clone https://github.com/milkina/java-core.git
cd java-core
git log --oneline -5

The last command prints the five most recent commits, which proves you got a real working copy with history rather than a plain folder of files.

Configure the project after cloning

The steps below apply only to projects without a build system — repositories that contain no pom.xml and no build.gradle. Small training projects keep their module layout inside IDE files, so after cloning you have to describe it manually.

1. Select the project root in the Project tool window and press F4 (or right-click → Open Module Settings).

2. In the Project section check the SDK. If none is set, click Add SDK → JDK and point it at your installed JDK, then pick a matching Language level.

3. Open Modules → Sources and mark the src folder as Sources and resources as Resources. Skip this and IDEA treats your .java files as plain text: no code completion, no compilation.

4. On the Paths tab select Use module compile output path and set the output to the project's out folder — that is where the compiled .class files will go.

Publish your own project on GitHub

The reverse task is pushing a local project to a remote repository. IntelliJ IDEA can do it without creating the repository on the website first.

1. Open the project and choose Git → GitHub → Share Project on GitHub (in older builds: VCS → Import into Version Control → Share Project on GitHub).
2. Enter a repository name, tick Private if needed, and add a description.
3. In the Add Files For Initial Commit dialog clear the checkboxes for out, target, build and .idea — compiled output and local IDE settings do not belong in a repository.
4. Click Add. IDEA creates the repository on GitHub, makes the first commit and pushes it.

From then on the routine is two shortcuts: Commit (Ctrl+K) and Push (Ctrl+Shift+K).

When something goes wrong

Four messages account for most of the trouble beginners run into:

Conclusion

You now have a GitHub account, Git installed on your machine, and IntelliJ IDEA connected to that account. You can download somebody else's project as a real clone with full history instead of a ZIP snapshot, configure it after cloning, and publish code of your own. That is the baseline for team work — commits, branches, pull requests and merge conflicts build on exactly these steps.