Multiple JetBrains instances configuration

This article walks you through the process of configuring Coder to support the use of multiple instances of the same JetBrains IDE using the JetBrains Projector CLI.

You will:

Create and build the custom image
Write the configure script
Write the config.yaml file needed to utilize Coder's [workspace applications] feature to surface additional JetBrains IDE instances in your browser

This article shows you how to configure multiple instances of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, but you can use this process for any JetBrains IDEs.

Using additional JetBrains IDEs consumes extra workspace compute resources, so ensure that you've allocated enough resources to your workspace to support all of your IDE instances.

Build a custom image that installs the primary JetBrains IDE and copies the configure script, .profile script, and config.yaml file to the image:

FROM codercom/enterprise-java:ubuntu

USER root

# Install IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate
RUN mkdir -p /opt/idea
RUN curl -L \
"https://download.jetbrains.com/product?code=IU&latest&distribution=linux" \
| tar -C /opt/idea --strip-components 1 -xzvf -

# Create a symbolic link in PATH that points to the Intellij startup script.
RUN ln -s /opt/idea/bin/idea.sh /usr/bin/intellij-idea-ultimate

# Packages required for JetBrains-in-a-browser support
RUN apt-get update && \
    DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" apt-get install -y \
    libxtst6 \
    libxrender1 \
    libfontconfig1 \
    libxi6 \
    libgtk-3-0

# bash .profile so projector can be added to the path
COPY [".profile", "/coder/.profile"]

# configure script
COPY ["configure", "/coder/configure"]
RUN chmod +x /coder/configure

# copy custom apps info (config.yaml)
COPY ["./coder", "/coder"]

# Set back to coder user
USER coder

Create the configure script that installs the Projector CLI into /home/coder and uses the CLI to create additional JetBrains IDE config folders. Each IDE configuration has a different directory in /home/coder/.projector/configs.

In this example, the configure script is in the directory that contains the image's Dockerfile:

Each additional IDE requires a unique port number.

# install projector into /home/coder/ pvc
pip3 install projector-installer --user

# autoinstall intellij version specifying config name and port
$HOME/.local/bin/projector --accept-license

PROJECTOR_CONFIG_PATH=$HOME/.projector/configs/IntelliJ_2

if [ -d $PROJECTOR_CONFIG_PATH ]; then
    echo 'projector has already been configured - skip step'
else
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector ide autoinstall --config-name IntelliJ_2 \
    --ide-name "IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2021.3.2" --port 8997 \
    --use-separate-config
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector ide autoinstall --config-name IntelliJ_3 \
    --ide-name "IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2021.3.2" --port 8998 \
    --use-separate-config
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector ide autoinstall --config-name IntelliJ_4 \
    --ide-name "IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2021.3.2" --port 8999 \
     --use-separate-config
fi

Create the config.yaml file used by workspace applications to surface icons for each additional JetBrains IDE in the workspace. The configuration uses the JetBrains icon included with the initial JetBrains IDE installed.

In this example, config.yaml is located in a coder/apps directory within the directory that contains the image Dockerfile.

Each workspace application name must be unique so that Projector can point to the correct config directory.

# /coder/apps/config.yaml
apps:
  # Name of application in launcher. Name may consist of alphanumeric
  # characters, dashes, underscores. Names must begin with an alphanumeric
  # character. Names must be unique per application. Required.
  - name: IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2
    # Application scheme - must be http or https. Required.
    scheme: http
    # Application port. Required.
    port: 8997
    # Host of the application to use when dialing. Defaults to localhost.
    # Optional.
    host: "localhost"
    # Working directory for the start command. Required.
    working-directory: /home/coder
    # File path to icon used in application launcher. Icons should be either
    # PNG, SVG, or JPG. Required.
    icon-path: /opt/idea/bin/idea.svg
    # Command to start the application. Required.
    command: /home/coder/.projector/configs/IntelliJ_2/run.sh
    # Array of arguments for command. Optional.
    args: [""]
    # Health checks to get running application status. Can use exec or http
    # health checks to localhost. Optional, but we recommend specifying a
    # health check. If you don't supply one, then an http request is sent to
    # the application root path "/".
    health-check:
      http:
        # Scheme must be "http" or "https". If not specified it inherits
        # the application scheme. Optional.
        scheme: "http"
        # The host to use when dialing the address. If not specified it
        # inherits the application host. Optional.
        host: "localhost"
        # Port to use when dialing the application. If not specified it
        # inherits the application port. Optional.
        port: 8997
  - name: IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 3
    # Application scheme - must be http or https. Required.
    scheme: http
    # Application port. Required.
    port: 8998
    # Host of the application to use when dialing. Defaults to localhost.
    # Optional.
    host: "localhost"
    # Working directory for the start command. Required.
    working-directory: /home/coder
    # File path to icon used in application launcher. Icons should be either
    # PNG, SVG, or JPG. Required.
    icon-path: /opt/idea/bin/idea.svg
    # Command to start the application. Required.
    command: /home/coder/.projector/configs/IntelliJ_3/run.sh
    # Array of arguments for command. Optional.
    args: [""]
    # Health checks to get running application status. Can use exec or http
    # health checks to localhost. Optional, but we recommend specifying a
    # health check. If you don't supply one, then an http request is sent to
    # the application root path "/".
    health-check:
      http:
        # Scheme must be "http" or "https". If not specified it inherits
        # the application scheme. Optional.
        scheme: "http"
        # The host to use when dialing the address. If not specified it
        # inherits the application host. Optional.
        host: "localhost"
        # Port to use when dialing the application. If not specified it
        # inherits the application port. Optional.
        port: 8998
  - name: IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 4
    # Application scheme - must be http or https. Required.
    scheme: http
    # Application port. Required.
    port: 8999
    # Host of the application to use when dialing. Defaults to localhost.
    # Optional.
    host: "localhost"
    # Working directory for the start command. Required.
    working-directory: /home/coder
    # File path to icon used in application launcher. Icons should be either
    # PNG, SVG, or JPG. Required.
    icon-path: /opt/idea/bin/idea.svg
    # Command to start the application. Required.
    command: /home/coder/.projector/configs/IntelliJ_4/run.sh
    # Array of arguments for command. Optional.
    args: [""]
    # Health checks to get running application status. Can use exec or http
    # health checks to localhost. Optional, but we recommend specifying a
    # health check. If you don't supply one, then an http request is sent to
    # the application root path "/".
    health-check:
      http:
        # Scheme must be "http" or "https". If not specified it inherits
        # the application scheme. Optional.
        scheme: "http"
        # The host to use when dialing the address. If not specified it
        # inherits the application host. Optional.
        host: "localhost"
        # Port to use when dialing the application. If not specified it
        # inherits the application port. Optional.
        port: 8999

The configure script example above auto-installs the JetBrains IDE into the /home/coder folder. If you have an air-gapped deployment or want to use the existing Coder-installed JetBrains IDE, replace the auto-install command with Projector's configure command:

INTELLIJ_PATH=$HOME/.projector/apps/idea

if [ -d $INTELLIJ_PATH ]; then
    echo 'intellij IDE has already been copied - skip step'
else
    echo 'copying Coder-installed JetBrains IntelliJ IDE into /home/coder'
    cp -R /opt/idea $HOME/.projector/apps
fi

PROJECTOR_CONFIG_PATH=$HOME/.projector/configs/IntelliJ_2

if [ -d $PROJECTOR_CONFIG_PATH ]; then
    echo 'projector has already been configured - skip step'
else
    echo 'creating projector config folders to support running multiple IntelliJ IDEs'
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector config add IntelliJ_2 $HOME/.projector/apps/idea --port 8997 --hostname=localhost --use-separate-config
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector config add IntelliJ_3 $HOME/.projector/apps/idea --port 8998 --hostname=localhost --use-separate-config
    $HOME/.local/bin/projector config add IntelliJ_4 $HOME/.projector/apps/idea --port 8999 --hostname=localhost --use-separate-config
fi

If you do not want to use workspace applications (i.e., the icons and config.yaml file), you can create dev URLs for each additional IntelliJ IDE and launch the run.sh script in .projector/configs/<your config name> on the appropriate port.

See Projector's CLI documentation for additional information on installation and the CLI commands it accepts.