Linux

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Linux

How to install Ground Control from the source

Note, this method does not work well for Raspberry Pi. See the Raspberry Pi instructions here.

Step 0: Check for OpenGL 2

Kivy is the python library that handles the GUI of the Ground Control program. Kivy requires OpenGL 2 or higher or on Linux the mesa emulator. Check your version with the command glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version". You should get an output string like OpenGL version string: 3.0 Mesa 18.0.5 or instructions for installing mesa. If not, you can update mesa with the command sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install mesa-utils.

Step 1: Install Kivy

Install Kivy using by folowing the instructions found at https://kivy.org/docs/installation/installation-linux.html

NOTE: at this time Ground Control does not support Python3, so use Python2 instead

Step 2: Install PySerial

Install the PySerial package by running the command pip install pyserial

On Debian/Ubuntu distros you may be able to install pySerial using sudo apt-get install python-serial

Step 3: Download the Source Code

Download a copy of the Ground Control source code from https://github.com/MaslowCNC/GroundControl using the "clone or download" button on the right side.

Step 4: Make Sure Your Linux User Account is a Member of the dialout and tty Groups

Launch a terminal window (ctrl-alt-T is a handy shortcut in some Linux distros) and type the following commands:

sudo usermod -a -G tty $USER
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

Note that the "sudo" in this command means that you will need to type your password and your account has to have permission to act as root. If this is not the case, you may need to ask your system administrator to run those commands, but substituting your user name for "$USER".

Step 5: Launch Ground Control

Launch Ground Control by using the command python main.py from within the folder

Optional: Make a desktop shortcut to launch GC (tested on Lubuntu)

1. Create a new file on the desktop (or wherever you want the shortcut)

2. Copy/Paste the following into the file:

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=GC Shortcut
   Exec=python /home/username/Documents/GroundControl-master/main.py
   Type=Application
   Terminal=true
   Path=me/username/Documents/GroundControl-master/
   StartupNotify=false
   X-KeepTerminal=false

3. Change "Name=" to whatever name you want for the shortcut

4. Make sure the paths for "Exec=" and "Path=" are correct (including changing "username" to your username)

5. Save file. You should now be able to open/double-click it to launch GC!