corda/docs/source/getting-set-up.rst

Getting set up for CorDapp development

Software requirements

Corda uses industry-standard tools:

• Java 8 JVM - we require at least version , but do not currently support Java 9 or higher.

  We have tested with the following builds:

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

  Please note that OpenJDK builds usually exclude JavaFX, which our GUI tools require.

• IntelliJ IDEA - supported versions 2017.x, 2018.x and 2019.x (with Kotlin plugin version )

• Gradle - we use 4.10 and the gradlew script in the project / samples directories will download it for you.

Please note:

• Applications on Corda (CorDapps) can be written in any language targeting the JVM. However, Corda itself and most of the samples are written in Kotlin. Kotlin is an official Android language, and you can read more about why Kotlin is a strong successor to Java here. If you're unfamiliar with Kotlin, there is an official getting started guide, and a series of Kotlin Koans
• IntelliJ IDEA is recommended due to the strength of its Kotlin integration.

Following these software recommendations will minimize the number of errors you encounter, and make it easier for others to provide support. However, if you do use other tools, we'd be interested to hear about any issues that arise.

Set-up instructions

The instructions below will allow you to set up your development environment for running Corda and writing CorDapps. If you have any issues, please reach out on Stack Overflow or via our Slack channels.

The set-up instructions are available for the following platforms:

• windows-label (or in video form)
• mac-label (or in video form)
• deb-ubuntu-label
• fedora-label

Note

These setup instructions will guide you on how to install the Oracle JDK. Each JDK can be found on their respective sites:

• Oracle Downloads
• Amazon Corretto Downloads
• Red Hat OpenJDK
• Zulu OpenJDK

Note

These setup instructions will guide you on how to install the Oracle JDK. Each JDK can be found on their respective sites:

• Oracle
• Amazon Corretto
• Red Hat OpenJDK
• Zulu OpenJDK

Windows

Warning

If you are using a Mac, Debian/Ubuntu or Fedora machine, please follow the mac-label, deb-ubuntu-label or fedora-label instructions instead.

Java

1. Visit http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html
2. Click the download link for jdk-8uXXX-windows-x64.exe (where "XXX" is the latest minor version number)
3. Download and run the executable to install Java (use the default settings)
4. Add Java to the PATH environment variable by following the instructions in the Oracle documentation
5. Open a new command prompt and run java -version to test that Java is installed correctly

Git

1. Visit https://git-scm.com/download/win
2. Click the "64-bit Git for Windows Setup" download link.
3. Download and run the executable to install Git (use the default settings)
4. Open a new command prompt and type git --version to test that git is installed correctly

IntelliJ

1. Visit https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/download-thanks.html?code=IIC
2. Download and run the executable to install IntelliJ Community Edition (use the default settings)
3. Ensure the Kotlin plugin in Intellij is updated to version (new installs will contains this version)

Mac

Warning

If you are using a Windows, Debian/Ubuntu or Fedora machine, please follow the windows-label, deb-ubuntu-label or fedora-label instructions instead.

Java

1. Visit http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html
2. Click the download link for jdk-8uXXX-macosx-x64.dmg (where "XXX" is the latest minor version number)
3. Download and run the executable to install Java (use the default settings)
4. Open a new terminal window and run java -version to test that Java is installed correctly

IntelliJ

1. Visit https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/download-thanks.html?platform=mac&code=IIC
2. Download and run the executable to install IntelliJ Community Edition (use the default settings)
3. Ensure the Kotlin plugin in IntelliJ is updated to version (new installs will contains this version)

Debian/Ubuntu

Warning

If you are using a Mac, Windows or Fedora machine, please follow the mac-label, windows-label or fedora-label instructions instead.

These instructions were tested on Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 LTS.

Java

1. Go to https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/java-archive-javase8-2177648.html and download jdk-8u202-linux-x64.tar.gz. You will be redirected to an Oracle login page. Login or create an account to download the JDK.

2. Extract the archive with tar -xvf jdk-8u202-linux-x64.tar.gz jdk1.8.0_202/

3. Create a directory to place the JDK e.g. sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/jvm

4. Move the extracted archive in that folder with sudo mv ./jdk1.8.0_202 /usr/lib/jvm/

5. Add the most common java binaries to the list of alternatives to allow easy swap between Java versions in the future

   sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/java" "java" "/usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202/bin/java" 1
   sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/javac" "javac" "/usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202/bin/javac" 1
   sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/javaws" "javaws" "/usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202/bin/javaws" 1

6. Update permissions

   sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/java
   sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/javac
   sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/javaws
   sudo chown -R root:root /usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202

7. Set JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME to your ~/.bash_profile and/or ~/.bashrc

   export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202
   export JRE_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk1.8.0_202/jre

8. Verify that the JDK was installed correctly by running java -version

Git

1. From the terminal, Git can be installed using apt with the command sudo apt install git
2. Verify that git was installed correctly by typing git --version

IntelliJ

Jetbrains offers a pre-built snap package that allows for easy, one-step installation of IntelliJ onto Ubuntu.

1. To download the snap, navigate to https://snapcraft.io/intellij-idea-community
2. Click Install, then View in Desktop Store. Choose Ubuntu Software in the Launch Application window.
3. Ensure the Kotlin plugin in Intellij is updated to version (new installs will contains this version)

Fedora

Warning

If you are using a Mac, Windows or Debian/Ubuntu machine, please follow the mac-label, windows-label or deb-ubuntu-label instructions instead.

These instructions were tested on Fedora 28.

Java

1. Download the RPM installation file of Oracle JDK from https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html.
2. Install the package with rpm -ivh jdk-<version>-linux-<architecture>.rpm or use the default software manager.
3. Choose java version by using the following command alternatives --config java
4. Verify that the JDK was installed correctly by running java -version

Git

1. From the terminal, Git can be installed using dnf with the command sudo dnf install git
2. Verify that git was installed correctly by typing git --version

IntelliJ

1. Visit https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/download-thanks.html?platform=linux&code=IIC
2. Unpack the tar.gz file using the following command tar xfz ideaIC-<version>.tar.gz -C /opt
3. Run IntelliJ with /opt/ideaIC-<version>/bin/idea.sh
4. Ensure the Kotlin plugin in IntelliJ is updated to version (new installs will contains this version)

Next steps

First, run the example CorDapp <tutorial-cordapp>.

Next, read through the Corda Key Concepts <key-concepts> to understand how Corda works.

By then, you'll be ready to start writing your own CorDapps. Learn how to do this in the Hello, World tutorial <hello-world-introduction>. You may want to refer to the API documentation in the sidebar, the flow cookbook <flow-cookbook> and the samples along the way.

If you encounter any issues, please ask on Stack Overflow or via our Slack channels.