By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses the ( gradlew ). This small script checks your project's gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file for a distributionUrl . If that specific version isn't found in your local Gradle cache (typically ~/.gradle/wrapper/dists ), IntelliJ triggers a fresh download. How to Stop the Automatic Download
To bypass the automatic download and use a version you already have, you can manually override the settings: : intellij trying to download gradle
If you want to keep using the Wrapper but avoid the download, open your gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file. By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses the ( gradlew )