How to handle "Consider switching to a native launcher" notification

Problem

When IDE is launched, the following notification pops up:

Windows	Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Amazon Linux)

What does it mean? What to do with it?

Quick answer

The recommended way for recent IDE versions is to always use the OS native launcher (= binary = executable) to start it - not script/wrapper.

To solve the issue, either switch to using a native launcher or dismiss the warning if you know what you are doing (e.g., if you are developing a plugin or intentionally using the script).

Reason for switching

Each JetBrains IDE installation distribution package comes with two launchers in its bin directory:

⚠️ Note that the file names correspond to the IDE name. For example, for WebStorm, PyCharm, and Android Studio, the files are named webstorm, pycharm, and studio, respectively.

Script launchers are considered legacy. They are used mainly for compatibility purposes, without breaking other tools that previously relied on them, as well as for troubleshooting, running on older systems, or debugging startup issues. Native launchers were rewritten later and created specifically to provide a smoother overall experience, including:

• Faster startup (esp. when launching additional instances)
• Better integration with system features like Wayland or native menus
• Improved diagnostics
• Better command-line experience (supports IJ_LAUNCHER_DEBUG env to print additional logs. See here for details)

How to switch to a native launcher

From the command line

If the IDE was started from the command line, simply use idea instead of idea.sh, or idea64.exe instead of idea.bat.

In the Toolbox app

Starting with build 242.9518, the notification is suppressed when the IDE is launched from Toolbox or Snap (tools users have no control over).

By changing the Windows shortcut

1. Open the Start Menu
2. Locate your IDE shortcut → right-click → Open file location
3. In the Explorer window, right-click the actual shortcut file → Properties
4. In the Shortcut tab, change Target from ...\bin\idea.bat to ...\bin\idea64.exe
5. Click Apply and OK

By changing the Linux desktop entry

On builds before 2026.2, Tools | Create Desktop Entry writes the Exec= line for whichever launcher the IDE is currently running under. Running the action from an IDE that was started via bin/idea.sh therefore produces another .sh-based entry, and the warning keeps appearing. The fix is to launch from the native binary before running the action.

If the desktop entry was created from within the IDE via Tools | Create Desktop Entry:

1. Start the IDE using the native launcher: e.g., bin/idea
2. Re-run Create Desktop Entry from the Tools menu

Starting with IDE 2026.2 (builds 262.3668, 262.4852.74), Tools | Create Desktop Entry writes a binary-launcher Exec= line regardless of how the IDE was started ("Create Desktop Entry" uses .sh launcher instead of native one). The two-step workaround above is therefore only needed for entries created with 2026.1 or earlier; existing entries are not auto-migrated.

If the desktop entry was created manually:

1. Locate the .desktop file (usually found in ~/.local/share/applications/ or /usr/share/applications/)
2. Open it with a text editor
3. Update the Exec= line to point to the binary file instead of .sh, like this: Exec=/path/to/bin/idea

⚠️ If you have problems following some of the steps or any questions, ask our Support Team to help.

⚠️ Linux instructions are only valid for the official installations (Toolbox, tarball and snap). If you installed the IDE using Flatpak or any other unofficial distributive, you may not find bin/idea in the installation folder.

Related tickets

• Use cross-platform launcher on Linux Use cross-platform launcher on Linux (Fixed in 2024.2)
• Install-Linux-tar.txt missing crucial info (ALL products!) Install-Linux-tar.txt missing crucial info (Fixed in 2025.3)
• "Create Desktop Entry" uses .sh launcher instead of native one "Create Desktop Entry" uses .sh launcher instead of native one (Fixed in 2026.2)