Installing Kotlin locally

Learn how to install Kotlin locally to solve Exercism's exercises on your own machine

In addition to the exercism CLI and your favorite text editor, practicing with Exercism exercises in Kotlin requires

  • the Java Development Kit (JDK) — Kotlin compiles to Java bytecodes; you need to install the JDK which includes both a Java Runtime and development tools (most notably, the Java compiler); and
  • Gradle — a build tool specifically for JVM-based projects and supports Kotlin.

Choose your operating system:

... or ...

Optionally, you can also use a Java IDE.

Windows

Open an administrative command prompt. (If you need assistance opening an administrative prompt, see open an elevated prompt in Windows 8+ (or Windows 7).

  1. If you have not installed Chocolatey, do so now:

      C:\Windows\system32> @powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy unrestricted -Command "iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))" && SET PATH=%PATH%;%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\chocolatey\bin

  2. Install the JDK:

     C:\Windows\system32> choco install openjdk11
 ...
 C:\Windows\system32> refreshenv
 ...

We recommend closing the administrative command prompt and opening a new command prompt -- you do not require administrator privileges to practice Exercism exercises.

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

macOS

Below are instructions for install using the most common method - using Homebrew. If you'd rather, you can also install on macOS without Homebrew.

Installing

  1. If you haven't installed Homebrew, yet, do so now:

      $ /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

  2. Tap the Homebrew Cask — this allows us to install pre-built binaries like the JDK.

      $ brew tap adoptopenjdk/openjdk

  3. Install the JDK:

     $ brew install --cask adoptopenjdk11

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Linux

Below are instructions for install using the package manager of your distro. If you'd rather, you can also install on Linux without a package manager.

Debian

If you are using Debian or its derivatives (like Ubuntu or Linux Mint), use APT:

(verified on: Ubuntu 14, 16 and 18)

  1. Install the JDK:

      $ sudo apt-get update
  $ sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
  $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa
  $ sudo apt-get update
  $ sudo apt-get install openjdk-11-jdk

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Other Linux distributions

There are a lot of ways to install Jdk 11, but one of the easiest ways is to use SDKMAN, which lets you install OpenJdk11 with ease. Use the following steps:

  1. Install SDKMAN: 
    $ curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash
    (if that doesn't work, take a look at the instructions found here: https://sdkman.io/install )
  2. Install openjdk11: 
    $ sdk install java 11.0.2-open

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Install Manually

Installing on Windows manually

NOTE: these instructions are intended for experienced Windows users. If you don't already know how to set environment variables or feel comfortable managing the directory structure, we highly recommend you use the Chocolatey-based install, above.

  1. Install the JDK:
    1. Download "OpenJDK 11 (LTS)" from AdoptOpenJDK (choose "Install JDK").
    • Run the installer, using all the defaults.

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Installing on macOS without Homebrew

NOTE: these instructions are intended for experienced macOS users. Unless you specifically do not want to use a package manager, we highly recommend using the Homebrew-based installation instructions, above.

  1. Install the JDK:
    1. Download "OpenJDK 11 (LTS)" from AdoptOpenJDK (choose "Install JDK").
    2. Run the installer, using all the defaults.

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Installing on Linux without a package manager

NOTE: these instructions are intended for experienced Linux users. Unless you specifically do not want to use a package manager, we highly recommend using the the installation instructions, above.

  1. Install the JDK:
    1. Choose your distribution and download "OpenJDK 11 (LTS)" from AdoptOpenJDK (choose "Install JDK").
    2. Run the installer, using all the defaults.

You now are ready to get started with the Kotlin track of Exercism!

To get started, see "Running the Tests".

Java IDEs

There are many Java IDEs available. The three most popular are:

  • IntelliJ IDEA (download the "Community" edition)
    • from the authors of Kotlin, this IDE provides the best support for the language.

and there are others.