I've been using JetBrains products for many years. Recently, there's been a lot of buzz around AI, and often the conversation pushes developers toward other IDEs like VS Code. Honestly, it made me a bit sad. I love my PhpStorm, PyCharm, and WebStorm — I didn't want to switch, but I also didn't want to fall behind.Good news: I've been using Codex inside JetBrains IDEs for months now — a clean, native chat window, not some Spartan CLI through a third-party plugin. And yesterday I saw even more updates: Junie now supports Agent Skills — task-oriented, reusable extensions that allow the agent to perform specialized workflows
More efficient edits for non-OpenAI LLMs — all models can now edit multiple locations in one step
Support for guideline directories — multiple `.md` files instead of a single guidelines file
New models supported: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, GPT 5.3 Codex Junie now supports Agent Skills — task-oriented, reusable extensions that allow the agent to perform specialized workflows Junie now supports Agent Skills More efficient edits for non-OpenAI LLMs — all models can now edit multiple locations in one step More efficient edits for non-OpenAI LLMs Support for guideline directories — multiple `.md` files instead of a single guidelines file Support for guideline directories New models supported: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, GPT 5.3 Codex New models supported Skills are exactly what I wanted, and now they're available in my favorite IDEs. Plus, I needed to work with GoLand and CLion, too. Until today, I installed separate IDEs on my Kubuntu 24.04 (and work Fedora 43) via snap. But today I decided to do it the recommended way, with JetBrains Toolbox.The Toolbox for Linux comes as an archive. Here's how to install it properly, step by step — filling a documentation gap that might stop Linux newcomers. Step-by-Step Installation Guide Step 1: Download and Extract Download JetBrains Toolbox from the official website
Extract the archive to your Downloads folder (or wherever you prefer) Download JetBrains Toolbox from the official website official website Extract the archive to your Downloads folder (or wherever you prefer) You should see a bindirectory with contents like:jetbrains-toolbox  jre/  lib/  jetbrains-toolbox.desktop  ... bin jetbrains-toolbox  jre/  lib/  jetbrains-toolbox.desktop  ... Step 2: Move to /opt (Standard Location for 3rd Party Apps) # Create the target directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/jetbrains-toolbox
# Copy all files (preserving structure)
sudo cp -r ~/Downloads/jetbrains-toolbox-*/bin/* /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/ # Create the target directory
sudo mkdir -p /opt/jetbrains-toolbox
# Copy all files (preserving structure)
sudo cp -r ~/Downloads/jetbrains-toolbox-*/bin/* /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/ Verify: ls -la /opt/jetbrains-toolbox
# Should show all program files ls -la /opt/jetbrains-toolbox
# Should show all program files Step 3: Create Symbolic Link for Terminal Launch sudo ln -s /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/jetbrains-toolbox /usr/local/bin/jetbrains-toolbox sudo ln -s /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/jetbrains-toolbox /usr/local/bin/jetbrains-toolbox Verify: which jetbrains-toolbox
# Should output: /usr/local/bin/jetbrains-toolbox
# Test launch (will start the tray icon)
jetbrains-toolbox which jetbrains-toolbox
# Should output: /usr/local/bin/jetbrains-toolbox
# Test launch (will start the tray icon)
jetbrains-toolbox Step 4: Install Application Icon sudo cp /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/toolbox-tray-color.png /usr/share/pixmaps/jetbrains-toolbox.png sudo cp /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/toolbox-tray-color.png /usr/share/pixmaps/jetbrains-toolbox.png Step 5: Create Menu Entry cp /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/jetbrains-toolbox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/ cp /opt/jetbrains-toolbox/jetbrains-toolbox.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/ Step 6: Ensure Proper Categories (for Development menu) Check and edit the desktop file if needed: nano ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-toolbox.desktop nano ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-toolbox.desktop Step 7: Update Menu Cache update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/ update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications/ Step 8: Toolbox can't update itself After  following the installation steps above, you might encounter this issue:  JetBrains Toolbox starts fine, but when it finds an update, it fails to install it with a "permission denied" error. This happens because  Toolbox tries to modify its own files in /opt/jetbrains-toolbox, but the parent directory /opt is owned by root with read-only permissions for other users. /opt/jetbrains-toolbox /opt root The fix is simple — give yourself ownership of the Toolbox folder: The fix is simple — give yourself ownership of the Toolbox folder: # Give your user write permission to /opt (needed for creating/renaming during updates)
sudo setfacl -m u:$USER:rwx /opt
# Take ownership of the Toolbox folder itself
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /opt/jetbrains-toolbox # Give your user write permission to /opt (needed for creating/renaming during updates)
sudo setfacl -m u:$USER:rwx /opt
# Take ownership of the Toolbox folder itself
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /opt/jetbrains-toolbox The first command gives your user write access to the /opt directory using ACL (Access Control List) — this allows Toolbox to create temporary folders during the update process. The second command ensures all Toolbox files belong to you. /opt Note: The first command does grant your user write access to the entire /opt directory, not just the Toolbox folder. This is necessary for updates to work correctly. If you prefer an even more isolated approach, consider moving Toolbox to your home directory (~/Applications or ~/.local/opt) instead. Note: The first command does grant your user write access to the entire /opt directory, not just the Toolbox folder. This is necessary for updates to work correctly. If you prefer an even more isolated approach, consider moving Toolbox to your home directory (~/Applications or ~/.local/opt) instead. /opt ~/Applications ~/.local/opt Step 9: Reboot Log out and log back in for the group changes to take effect. Log out and log back in Results After these steps, you'll have: JetBrains Toolbox in /opt— clean, standard location
Command-line access — just type jetbrains-toolboxanywhere
Menu entry— appears in "Development" category (or search "JetBrains Toolbox")
Autostart— Toolbox will automatically launch at login and live in your system tray (near the clock)
Easy management— install/update all JetBrains IDEs from one place JetBrains Toolbox in /opt— clean, standard location JetBrains Toolbox in /opt Command-line access — just type jetbrains-toolboxanywhere Command-line access jetbrains-toolbox Menu entry— appears in "Development" category (or search "JetBrains Toolbox") Menu entry Autostart— Toolbox will automatically launch at login and live in your system tray (near the clock) Autostart Easy management— install/update all JetBrains IDEs from one place Easy management Now you can install PhpStorm, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, CLion, or any other JetBrains IDE with one click — and keep them all updated automatically. Why This Guide is Useful If you're coming from Windows or macOS, you might expect a .deb package or an installer. Linux often gives you an archive and trusts you to place it correctly. This method is the recommended way— it keeps your system clean, follows Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, and integrates perfectly with your desktop environment.No more snap. Just pure, native JetBrains experience on Linux.Have you made the switch to JetBrains Toolbox on Linux? What's your favorite IDE? Share in the comments! .deb recommended way

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How to Properly Install JetBrains Toolbox on Linux (Kubuntu/Ubuntu)

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