Setup and install IntelliJ with JDK

Installing JDK

To install JDK, you can refer to help.ubuntu.com/community/Java.

If you want to install openJDK,

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk 

If you want to install Oracle JDK, you can use PPA from webup8 team.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer

Installing IntelliJ IDEA

[Updated Answer]

Download IntelliJ IDEA CE from www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/.

1. Extract ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz using

   tar -zxvf ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz
   

2. Run idea.sh in bin directory inside the extracted folder.

3. To create command-line runner, Tools > Create Command-line Launcher
4. To create a desktop entry, Tools > Create Desktop Entry

That's it. Now, you can launch IntelliJ from Ubuntu dash.

[Old Answer]

Download IntelliJ IDEA CE from www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/.

1. Extract ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz using

   tar -zxvf ideaIC-XX.Y.Z.tar.gz
   

2. Become root.

   sudo -i
   

3. Move the extracted folder to /opt/idea

   mv ideaIC-XX.Y.Z /opt/idea
   

4. Create a desktop file and install it:

   gedit idea.desktop
   

   and copy the following to the idea.desktop file.

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=IntelliJ IDEA 
   Type=Application
   Exec=idea.sh
   Terminal=false
   Icon=idea
   Comment=Integrated Development Environment
   NoDisplay=false
   Categories=Development;IDE;
   Name[en]=IntelliJ IDEA
   

   then execute the following command to automatically install it in the unity:

   desktop-file-install idea.desktop
   

5. Create a symlink in /usr/local/bin using

   cd /usr/local/bin
   ln -s /opt/idea/bin/idea.sh
   

6. For idea icon to be displayed in dash, idea icon can be added as

   cp /opt/idea/bin/idea.png /usr/share/pixmaps/idea.png
   

That's it. Now, you can launch IntelliJ from Ubuntu dash.

This should get you started:

#!/bin/sh

add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java &&
apt-get update &&
apt-get install oracle-java7-installer &&
echo oracle-java7-installer shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 select true | sudo /usr/bin/debconf-set-selections &&
update-java-alternatives -s java-7-oracle &&

wget -O /tmp/intellij.tar.gz http://download.jetbrains.com/idea/ideaIC-12.0.4.tar.gz &&
tar xfz /tmp/intellij.tar.gz &&
cd idea-IC-123.169/bin &&
./idea.sh

Some things you should consider:

• I'm not sure at which part the echo oracle-java7-installer shared/accepted-oracle-license-v1-1 select true | sudo /usr/bin/debconf-set-selections has to be. Might be a line earlier.
• The line cd idea-IC-123.169/bin is dependend on the IntelliJ version, as the extracted folder is named in that way. It only works with the version available while I'm writing this.
• Same goes for the download link. It might change with a newer version.
• I'm not sure what happens if you try to add a ppa that already exists again. This could lead to problems.
• You have to execute the script as root

New way: you can use Ubuntu Make. To install on 16.04 (Xenial) [and later]

sudo apt install ubuntu-make

If your Ubuntu version if before 16.04 (codename Xenial), you can install from the Ubuntu Make PPA. First, add the PPA to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make  
sudo apt-get update

Then, installing Ubuntu Make:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-make

After installing Ubuntu Make, do a

umake ide idea