Installing kicad nightly-build on Debian 11
Last updated: Dec 8, 2023
The problem
I needed the latest nightly build version of the Kicad PCB design software to open some design files sent to me. I run Debian 11.
How to install kicad nightly-build on Debian
I got started with the information on this site
Create a .list file in the folder /etc/apt/sources.list.d. e.g. /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kicad-nightly.list.
Contents:
deb [arch=amd64] https://debian.sur5r.net/kicad-nightly bullseye main
If you are not running Debian bullseye, change the ‘bullseye’ to whichever version of Debian that you are running.
sudo aptitude update
There will be an error, complaining of an unsigned key with a name like e.g. E3CA1A89941C42E6.
Fix this by:
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys [missing key name]
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude search kicad
You should find kicad-nightly in the list of available files.
sudo aptitude install kicad-nightly
To run:
kicad-nightly
Where I went wrong
I tried to install from an Ubuntu PPA site here.
I ended up with unresolved dependencies, which had other dependencies in a never-ending pit of dependencies.