How To Install kicad on Ubuntu
Posted on April 1, 2023 (Last modified on May 20, 2023 )
3 minutes • 452 words
Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install kicad on Ubuntu.
What is kicad
kicad is:
Kicad is a suite of programs for the creation of printed circuit boards. It includes a schematic editor, a PCB layout tool, support tools and a 3D viewer to display a finished & fully populated PCB.
Kicad is made up of 5 main components:
- kicad - project manager
- eeschema - schematic editor
- pcbnew - PCB editor
- gerbview - GERBER viewer
- cvpcb - footprint selector for components
Libraries:
- Both eeschema and pcbnew have library managers and editors for their components and footprints
- You can easily create, edit, delete and exchange library items
- Documentation files can be associated with components, footprints and key words, allowing a fast search by function
- Very large libraries are available for schematic components and footprints
- Most components have corresponding 3D models
There are three methods to install kicad on Ubuntu. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install kicad Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install kicad using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install kicad
Install kicad Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install kicad using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install kicad
Install kicad Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install kicad using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install kicad
How To Uninstall kicad on Ubuntu
To uninstall only the kicad package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove kicad
Uninstall kicad And Its Dependencies
To uninstall kicad and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove kicad
Remove kicad Configurations and Data
To remove kicad configuration and data from Ubuntu we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge kicad
Remove kicad configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove kicad configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge kicad
Dependencies
kicad have the following dependencies:
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install kicad package on Ubuntu using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.