Build Arduino IDE From GIT Sources on Ubuntu 16.04

The purpose of this Instructable is to build the Arduino IDE from GIT on a clean Ubuntu 16.04 computer. The development master branch (mainline) will be used.

A Windows Instructable is located here.

Prerequisites:

• A clean Ubuntu installation (Tested on Ubuntu 16.04 32 and 64 bit)
• At least 1GB disk space.
• Internet connection.

Let's start!

Step 1: Install Java

The first step is to install Java which is required to run the Arduino IDE.

1. Open a terminal. (CTRL+ALT+T)

Note: Copy and paste the commands below without the $ character into the terminal and press [Enter]):

2. Add the following PPA (Personal Package Archives) to install Oracle Java 8 which includes JDK8 and JRE8:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

Note: You should accept the license agreement by selecting: Yes:
[LEFT ARROW], [Enter]

3. Check the Java installation, for example:

$ java -version
java version "1.8.0_101"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_101-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.101-b13, mixed mode)

Step 2: Install Ubuntu Development Tools

Install the following development packages:

$ sudo apt-get install ant gcc git make

Step 3: GIT Clone Arduino Source

Download the latest Arduino sources from the GIT master branch with the git clone command:

$ cd ~/Downloads
$ git clone https://github.com/arduino/Arduino.git

Next time you can update to the latest sources with the git pull command and skip the git clone:

$ git pull

Step 4: Build Arduino Sources

Build the sources:

$ cd Arduino/build
$ ant dist
...
[input] Enter version number: [1.6.11] < Press [Enter]
...
# Be patient!
...
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 9 minutes 10 seconds

Step 5: Install Arduino

Create the following directory:

$ mkdir -p /home/$USER/.local/share/icons/hicolor/

Install Arduino:

$ cd linux/work/
$ ./install.sh

Optional:

Create a symbolic link for Arduino tools:

$ sudo ln -s /home/$USER/Downloads/Arduino/build/linux/work/arduino /usr/local/share/arduino-master
$ ls -la /usr/local/share/arduino-master 
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 54 aug 10 22:51 /usr/local/share/arduino-master -> /home/erwin/Downloads/Arduino/build/linux/work/arduino

Step 6: Run the Arduino IDE

Double click on the Arduino IDE shortcut on the desktop.

Congratulations! Arduino mainline is now installed!

Comments

[AmruthKumarSala]

I tried the process on CentOS 8, but couldn't install it successfully. Any suggestions to have it successfully installed on CentOS 8?

[Erriez]

I suggest you to check the Arduino Wiki:
https://github.com/arduino/Arduino/wiki/Building-Arduino

[AmruthKumarSala]

Okay. Noted.

[AmruthKumarSala]

No worries. I checked with other online resources and finally got the Arduino IDE installed on my CentOS 8 laptop.

[Madi-Kochi]

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

this is out of date

[dhotrum1]

ok, build failed!! what did I do wrong?

dave@David-pc:~/Downloads/Arduino/build$ ant dist
Unable to locate tools.jar. Expected to find it in /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/lib/tools.jar
Buildfile: /home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/build/build.xml

revision-check:
[echo] AVR Arduino core version in platform.txt is: 1.6.16
[echo] latest in package_index_bundled.json is: 1.6.16
[echo] Latest revision detected in shared/revision.txt is: 1.8.1
[echo] Revision in BaseNoGui.java is: 1.8.1

dist:
[input] Enter version number: [1.8.1]


build:

revision-check:
[echo] AVR Arduino core version in platform.txt is: 1.6.16
[echo] latest in package_index_bundled.json is: 1.6.16
[echo] Latest revision detected in shared/revision.txt is: 1.8.1
[echo] Revision in BaseNoGui.java is: 1.8.1

linux-checkos:

subprojects-build:

compile:
[mkdir] Created dir: /home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/arduino-core/bin

BUILD FAILED
/home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/build/build.xml:126: The following error occurred while executing this line:
/home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/build/build.xml:103: The following error occurred while executing this line:
/home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/build/build.xml:150: The following error occurred while executing this line:
/home/dave/Downloads/Arduino/arduino-core/build.xml:41: Unable to find a javac compiler;
com.sun.tools.javac.Main is not on the classpath.
Perhaps JAVA_HOME does not point to the JDK.
It is currently set to "/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre"

Total time: 1 minute 16 seconds
dave@David-pc:~/Downloads/Arduino/build$

[julyjim]

Can you elaborate on "git pull"? I have lost my code and just trying to rebuild it , so I tryied "git pull" and got this . I must be missing something here.

fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

[Erriez]

I suggest you to run the "git clone" command again, because your hidden .git directory is probably missing. Then you can run "git pull" again.

Success!