Run IntelliJ IDEA with actual Java version on OS X

OSX, Programming

With every update of IntelliJ IDEA, I stumble over this: IDEA wants to run on Java Version 6. As I don’t have this buggy outdated version on my Mac anymore, I always have to patch the config. To do this, locate the file named Info.plist in the Contents folder of the IntelliJ IDEA 14 CE.app directory. Open the file with TextEdit or any text editor of your choice and change the line

<key>JVMVersion</key>
<string>1.6*</string>

to

<key>JVMVersion</key>
<string>1.6+</string>

After that IJ will start using your default – hopefully actual – java version.

2015-06-21 Update: IntelliJ IDEA 15 EAP has its own custom Java8 built in, and also has the possibility to select the JDK to use when starting up. Cool.