JetBrains documentation explicitly mentions that changing IDE directory locations is intended for creating portable installations, among other use cases like slow disks or encrypted home directories.
Download the (a ZIP file matching your preferred version, such as Python 3.11 or 3.12).
Using $idea.home.path/../ ensures that no matter what drive letter ( D: , E: , F: ) the host computer assigns to your USB drive, PyCharm will always find its configuration directories relative to the executable file. Step 4: Launch and Test Go back to the bin folder. Double-click pycharm64.exe to launch the IDE.
PyCharm supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.9 through 3.15. Make sure your portable Python interpreter matches your project requirements. pycharm community edition portable
To run PyCharm from a USB drive or without administrative rights, follow these steps:
PyCharm will start up as a fresh installation, storing all future customizations directly on your drive. Making Python Truly Portable
Download the PyCharm Community Edition Portable package from a trusted repository like PortableApps.com. Step 4: Launch and Test Go back to the bin folder
By setting these to a folder within your portable drive (like ./config , which is relative to the IDE's location), you ensure all settings are saved on the USB drive, not the host PC.
Visit jetbrains.com/pycharm/download to obtain the installer. For a portable setup, download the .tar.gz archive version rather than the .exe installer.
USB drive performance directly impacts PyCharm responsiveness. Use a USB 3.1 or USB-C drive with at least 100 MB/s read speeds. For best results, JetBrains recommends an SSD drive with at least 5 GB of free space. The system cache in particular benefits from faster storage. Make sure your portable Python interpreter matches your
The most direct and user-friendly method is to use the package available on Portapps . Portapps is a project that packages various applications into portable versions. You can download the latest release from the official Portapps website or find the associated open-source project on GitHub (for example, a community repository titled jexjws/pycharm-community-portable ). This package solves the problem by setting the IDE's configuration directory to a relative path within the program folder, making the setup fully portable. The latest release, 2025.3.1.1 , is based on the stable 2025.3 update of PyCharm and requires no complex installation.
To create a simple batch script ( launch_pycharm.bat ), save the following in your main portable folder:
Always launch the application using pycharm64.exe located in the bin folder. Because of the changes made in step 2, it will ignore the host computer's settings and use your USB drive for everything.
Create a new folder on your USB drive named PythonEmbed (e.g., E:\PythonEmbed\ ). Extract the embedded Python ZIP file into this folder. 2. Connect Python to Portable PyCharm Open your portable PyCharm. Go to (or Ctrl+Alt+S ). Navigate to Project > Python Interpreter .