How To Install kicad on Debian 9

In this tutorial we learn how to install kicad on Debian 9. kicad is Electronic schematic and PCB design software

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install kicad on Debian 9.

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 Debian 9. 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 Debian. 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 Debian 9

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 Debian 9, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove kicad

Remove kicad Configurations and Data

To remove kicad configuration and data from Debian 9 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 Debian 9 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.