The Arduino IDE software is an integrated development environment for Arduino that includes a text editor for writing code and a compiler for compiling the code for uploading to your Arduino. The Arduino IDE is supported on many operating systems, and the Linux system is no exception. Many Linux users worldwide can use this tutorial to use the Arduino IDE environment for their embedded experiments. It is available for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. In this tutorial, we will use Linux Mint 20 to install Arduino. Even if you do not have this latest version of Linux Mint, you can still apply these steps to your systems.
Installing Arduino IDE
We will be discussing two methods to install Arduino IDE in Linux Mint 20.
Method 1: Downloading Arduino Software
At first, download the Arduino IDE package for Arduino from their website. Click on this link for downloading the software from their official page. Once, users have selected the correct Arduino, then they can further proceed with downloading the software.
When you select the version to be downloaded, the system will prompt. Select the Save File option to save the setup into the system.
Once downloaded, you need to install the Arduino IDE in the system. For that, go to your Downloads directory. There will be a zipped file, you need to uncompress this downloaded Arduino file. First, we will launch the Terminal by using the Ctrl Alt T shortcut from the keyboard, then access the downloads directory using:
$ cd Downloads
Once done, try to uncompress the file using the following command:
$ tar –xf [Compressed-filename]
Now, you need to access the uncompressed file using the cd command:
$ cd [Uncompressed-foldername]
Once you are in the correct directory, list all of the files inside the Arduino folder, use the following command:
$ ls -l
You need to find out the install.sh installation file. This is the file that is to be installed. The next step is to install Arduino. Use the following command to do so:
$ sudo ./install.sh
Provide the password in the allocated space. The installation will begin. Wait for the completion of the process.
The installation process will be completed.
Method 2: Using Software Manager
Access the Software Manager from the Applications of Linux Mint 20 system, and then search for Arduino IDE in the search bar.
Click on the Install button against the Arduino IDE name in the Software Manager.
As soon users click on the Install button, the system will ask for the password of the user. Authenticate it to move forward.
The system might prompt and ask for relevant packages. Select the Continue button to proceed. The installation process will begin similar to the one displayed:
Accessing the application
To access the application, simply go to the main menu and then search Arduino IDE. The applications will appear in the suggestions listed below.
Double click on it to access the editor.
Users can edit the codes and connect to the hardware directly using this IDE editor.
Uninstalling Arduino IDE
To uninstall Arduino IDE, directly go to the Applications of the system and click on the application. Go to the dropdown menu, it has an Uninstall option. Click on it.
Provide the password before proceeding with the uninstallation process.
Conclusion
Arduino is one most useful kits used by embedded engineers across the world. The ease of access and communication to the hardware directly by means of the software setup for Arduino IDE. It is supported on many operating systems including Linux. Therefore, in this tutorial, we saw the methods for its installation in Linux Mint 20 system.