The JRebel technology can be integrated in many IDEs, like Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans. We'll see how to install and activate the JRebel plugin on each platform.
In Eclipse, go to the menu toolbar and navigate to Help | Eclipse Marketplace. If you are lucky, you should already see the JRebel plugin listed in the Eclipse Marketplace window. Otherwise, simply search for JRebel and install it.
Eclipse will ask you what components to install. Choose them all and validate.
Accept the JRebel license and validate again. Eclipse will now download the JRebel plugin.
Once downloaded, please restart Eclipse in order to complete the JRebel plugin installation.
To check the JRebel installation, go into the Eclipse preferences and type JRebel
in the search box; you will see a JRebel section.
To finish, we need to activate the JRebel license, or simply check its status. To proceed, return to the Eclipse preferences, go to the JRebel section, and accept to open JRebel Config Center.
If you have already registered a license (as described in the How to do it... section of the Registering a JRebel account (Must know) recipe), you should see an activated license in the Licensing panel.
Otherwise, use the Activate / Update License link, paste your license key and validate; your Eclipse JRebel plugin is now correctly installed and activated.
Also, please note this screen is useful to renew your license.
In IntelliJ IDEA, navigate to the File | Settings menu, and go to the Plugins section. Use the Browse repositories… button and search for JRebel. The full name of the plugin is JRebel Plugin Tools Integration. Download it.
Once downloaded, please restart IntelliJ IDEA in order to complete the JRebel plugin installation.
To check the JRebel installation, return into IntelliJ IDEA Settings and type jrebel
in the search box; you will see a JRebel section.
To finish, use this screen to check your JRebel license activation. If needed, use the Activation panel to paste and register your license key.
Your IntelliJ IDEA JRebel plugin is now correctly installed and activated.
Also, please note that this screen is useful to renew your license.
In NetBeans, navigate to Tools | Plugins | Available Plugins, and search for JRebel.
Download the plugin, accept the license, accept the JRebel self-signed certificate, and install the plugin. Once done, restart NetBeans.
To check the JRebel installation, navigate to Tools | Options, and open the JRebel panel.
In the General tab of the JRebel panel, you can check the License info field. If your license is not activated, you can open the Activation tab to register your license key.
Your NetBeans JRebel plugin is now correctly installed and activated.
Also, please note that this screen is useful to renew your license.
Now, let's talk about NetBeans special case.
We will now see how to download and install the JRebel plugin manually. There is one reason to proceed this way; every NetBeans plugin displayed in the Plugins manager has been validated by a verification team. If a plugin validation fails (for quality reasons), it may temporarily disappear from the Plugins manager. That's why you should know how to download the plugin manually.
To proceed, go to http://plugins.netbeans.org/plugin/22254/. This is the download page of the JRebel plugin for NetBeans. Choose the plugin version corresponding to your NetBeans version and download it—this is an NBM (NetBeans Module) file.
The UC badges indicate the plugin that has been validated and is available in the NetBeans integrated Plugins manager.
Now, return to NetBeans and navigate to Tools | Plugins | Downloaded, and use the Add Plugins… button to select the NBM file you have just downloaded. You can now install the plugin into NetBeans from this file.
This method is also a good way to install a new version of the JRebel plugin that has not been validated yet (plugins are usually validated after one week).