Getting set up for CorDapp development

There are four pieces of required software for CorDapp development: the Java 8 JDK, IntelliJ IDEA, Git, and Gradle.

Installing the Java 8 JDK

Install the Java 8 JDK. Corda requires at least version 8u171, but do not currently support Java 9 or higher for this version of Corda.

Corda has been tested against the following Java builds:

• Oracle JDK
• Amazon Corretto
• Red Hat’s OpenJDK
• Zulu’s OpenJDK

If you are using Windows, you must also add Java to the PATH environment variable by following the instructions in the Oracle documentation.

Installing the IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ is an IDE that offers strong support for Kotlin and Java development.

Install the IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. Corda supports IntelliJ IDEA versions 2017.x, 2018.x, 2019.x, and 2020.x; and Kotlin plugin version 1.2.71.

To install IntelliJ IDEA in a Ubuntu environment, navigate to the Jetbrains IntelliJ snap package.

Installing Git

We use Git to host our sample CorDapp and provide version control.

To install Git, navigate to Git and install your preferred version, depending on your OS.

Installing Gradle

If you intend to proceed directly to run a sample CorDapp, as described in Running a sample CorDapp, the included gradlew script should install Gradle automatically when you open the sample CorDapp in IntelliJ.

If you’d prefer to install Gradle manually, navigate to Gradle then locate and install Gradle version 5.6.4. Corda requires a Gradle version between 5.1 and 5.6.4, and does not support Gradle 6.x.

Run a sample CorDapp (optional)

We recommend running a sample CorDapp to see Corda in action before you start developing.

Resources

• Sample CorDapps, templates, and community projects.
• Corda API documentation.
• Flow cookbook.
• CorDapp Java and Kotlin sample repositories - contain multiple sample CorDapps, from those to get you started, to those which demonstrate specific features and advanced usage.
• CorDapp Java and Kotlin templates - a stubbed-out CorDapp that you can use to bootstrap your own CorDapps.

For more developer resources, open-source projects, and CorDapp templates, check out R3’s Developer Portal.