Windows 11

PyCharm on Windows 11 — install guide & performance fix

PyCharm 2026.1.1 is fully compatible with Windows 11. Install the .exe installer as on Windows 10. Windows 11 specific issues are usually SmartScreen warnings and Windows Defender slowing down indexing.
Install on Windows 11

Install PyCharm on Windows 11

  • 1

    Download and run the installer

    Get pycharm-community-2026.1.1.exe. Windows 11 SmartScreen may appear — click More info → Run anyway.

  • 2

    Add Defender exclusions

    Windows 11 Defender is aggressive about scanning JetBrains cache files. Add exclusions immediately after install to prevent slow indexing. See speed up guide.

Windows 11 issues

PyCharm issues specific to Windows 11

SmartScreen blocks installer
Windows 11 SmartScreen stricter
Click More info > Run anyway
PyCharm indexing very slow on Windows 11
Defender scans cache files more aggressively
Add %APPDATA%\JetBrains to Defender exclusions
PyCharm terminal shows wrong Python
Windows 11 PATH change after update
File > Settings > Python Interpreter > reselect interpreter
FAQ

Windows 11 questions

Does PyCharm work on Windows 11 ARM?

Yes. PyCharm 2024+ supports Windows 11 ARM64 natively. Download the ARM64 installer from jetbrains.com. Previous versions ran via x64 emulation which was slower.

PyCharm slow on Windows 11?

Add Defender exclusions to speed it up.

Speed up guide
Related guides
Speed up →
Defender exclusions
Install guide →
full walkthrough
Not opening →
startup fix