In informatics, Arduino has been such a revolution. It is an open-source, cross-platform, and widely used application for creating devices that interact with the environment, utilizing actuators and sensors. You can install Arduino Software IDE on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux and start writing and uploading code to Arduino-compatible boards.
The Arduino (IDE) Software comes in a package that does not require any complicated process. The only requirement needed is for you to select from a 32-bit or 64-bit version, depending on your operating system. At the time of this writing, the latest version is 1.8.19.
Although it is not available from official Linux repositories, it is relatively easy to obtain a copy. The latest version of Arduino IDE is always available for free download from their official website. But of course, you are welcome to provide donations and help with its development.
Prerequisite
To install Arduino IDE on Linux, all you need is a system running a Linux OS, and a browser capable of downloading software from Arduino’s official website. You can also use a command line utility like wget for downloading, and a command line utility like tar for extraction.
Lastly, some basic knowledge in software installation via GUI or via Terminal and a sudo privileged user account is also required.
How to Install Arduino IDE on Linux
Download the Arduino IDE Package
There are two ways to download the Arduino Software (IDE) package. The first way is to download using a web browser. The second is through the Terminal using a command line utility like wget or something similar.
Download from a browser
Open your browser, go to Arduino’s download page, and pick the latest version of Arduino Software (IDE) for your operating system. For Linux, the available options are 32 bits, 64 bits, ARM 32 bits, and ARM 64 bits.
Just click on your selected version, and it should download automatically. I suggest you use google chrome for ease of use. Once the download is complete, your file should be in the downloads folder.
Download from the Terminal
Open a Terminal and run the wget command followed by the needed command-line option. You will also need to include the URL and the Arduino IDE package’s filename. Below is the syntax that you will need.
Syntax:
$ wget [URL]Example:
$ wget https://downloads.arduino.cc/arduino-1.8.19-linux64.tar.xz
This is what you will see for confirmation that the download has been completed successfully. In this example, since we did not change directories, the downloaded package should be in the home folder.
Extract the Arduino IDE Package
Now that you have the package, you must extract it to a folder. Take note of the location of this folder since this is where you will need to execute the installation from.
You can extract the package via GUI. Using a utility like Ark would allow you to do just that, but this is not the only way. Utilizing the Terminal would also let you extract your package. Using a command-line utility like tar is one way to do it.
Extract from the Terminal
Syntax:
$ tar [OPTIONS] [FILENAME]Example:
$ tar -xvf arduino-1.8.19-linux64.tar.xz
As you can see, running this command will right away extract your package, and the extracted package will be located in the same folder. In this example, the folder is the user account’s Home folder.
Extract from the GUI
To extract your package via the GUI (Graphical User Interface), open a file explorer by clicking on the Computer icon. It is similar to the Windows Explorer in Windows or Finder in MacOS.
Locate the package; in this example, the filename of the package is “arduino-1.8.19-linux64.tar.xz”. It should be in the Downloads folder if not in the Home folder.
Right-click on the file, hover your mouse over to the ‘Extract’ option, then click on ‘Extract Archive Here’. This will then create a new folder called ‘arduino-1.8.19’. If you would like to use a different folder, you can click on ‘Extract Archive To…’.
In this screenshot, you can see the new folder named ‘arduino-1.8.19’, created during the extraction process, which we have already done earlier.
Also, if you wish, you can choose the ‘Open with Ark’ option. This will open the package and immediately show you what’s in it. The screenshot below is what you would see if you chose to do so.
By opening the package with Ark, you can browse the package’s contents without extracting, and it would also show you more information about the individual files as well.
Now, this is what it would look like if you opened the folder ‘arduino-1.8.19’’ created by the extraction process. You will see here the file needed for the installation, and that is the install.sh file.
Run the Install File
To run the install script, you will need a sudo privileged user account.
Open a Terminal, drag and drop the install.sh file to your Terminal, and add the command sudo at the beginning. If you cannot drag and drop the file to the Terminal, you can manually type in the directory for your file. Upon entering the command, you will be prompted for your sudo privileged user-account’s password.
Syntax:
$ sudo /directory/filenameExample:
$ sudo /home/Dregs/Downloads/arduino-1.8.19/install.sh
As you can see in the screenshot, the script was executed successfully. You may or may not get a message like the one above. If you did, don’t worry; your application should have been installed just fine.
Now, you should see a new icon on your desktop. If not, to make sure the Arduino IDE has been installed successfully. You can check in your recently installed applications and try running it.
Here is what the Arduino IDE icon should look like in your Recently Installed Applications menu. Click on it to launch your Arduino IDE application. You can even check the version in the help menu once the application has opened if you are still in doubt.
Here is what the application should look like. Well, at least for the 1.8.19 version, that is.
Uninstall Arduino IDE on Linux
To remove Arduino IDE from your system, you will need to run the uninstall script. It is in the same folder where the install script is located. You will also need a sudo privileged user account for this. The same steps from the ‘Run Install File’ will apply, you just need to replace the filename to uninstall.sh.
Syntax:
$ sud o /directory/filename.shExample:
$ sudo /home/Dregs/Downloads/arduino-1.8.19/uninstall.sh
Here you can see that the uninstall script has executed successfully and the Arduino Software (IDE) should now have been removed from your system. The Arduino icon should no longer be present in your desktop and applications menu.
And that marks the end of this tutorial. Now you know how to install the Arduino IDE on Linux. We also introduced you to the different ways to download and extract files on Linux, and how to uninstall the Arduino Software (IDE) on Linux.
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