Correct way to add external jars (lib/*.jar) to an IntelliJ IDEA project

Question

When creating a new Java project in IntelliJ IDEA, the following directories and files are created:

./projectname.iml
./projectname.ipr
./projectname.iws
./s         


        

Answer 1

You add them as libraries to your module.

I usually have a /lib directory in my source. I put all the JARs I need there, add /lib as a library, and make it part of my module dependencies.

2018 update: I'm using IntelliJ 2017/2018 now.

I'm fully committed to Maven and Nexus for dependency management.

This is the way the world has gone. Every open source Java project that I know of uses Maven or Gradle. You should, too.