Java doesn't require any config files, and the only generated files are .class files that are equivalent to .o files in C.

There are all kinds of things that you can pile on top of it, usually for managing big projects. Those can seem arduous when you're at the Hello World level. If you got introduced to those it will seem daunting and unnecessary (and for many projects, it is).

But basic Java is no more onerous than Python or JavaScript. About the only difference at that scale is that Java requires type notation, but no more so than C.

And I wrote Java for over a decade with vi. IDEs make it better, but they are not necessary. (And good ones are free anyway.)