Using Arduino in Eagle schematics with Ubuntu Linux

In electronics projects it is a common task to draw schematic of a circuit that you have designed. For simple circuits, it may be tempting to draw them on paper with a pencil. However, CAD programs are definetely worth learning! One of the best tools is Eagle, which runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. There is even a freeware Light version available for hobby projects. This article briefly explains how you can use Eagle on Ubuntu Linux for drawing schematics especially for your own Arduino projects.

Installing Eagle on Ubuntu Linux

Obviously the first step is to install Eagle on your Ubuntu Linux computer.

The easiest way to install Eagle in Ubuntu is via Applications->Add/Remove…, where you can simply type “Eagle” in the search box to find Eagle from Ubuntu software repository. In Ubuntu 8.04, Eagle is located in the multiverse repository, which must be enabled before installation.

Unfortunately, the version in Ubuntu repository is rather old: 4.16r2-1. You probably want to install the latest version, which can be downloaded with a web browser directly from Cadsoft: http://www.cadsoft.de/download.htm. You should choose the Linux version, right click the download link, and select “Save Link As…”. After downloading is finished, you can install the package (the file you downloaded, e.g. “eagle-lin-5.6.0.run”) by opening a console and running the installation script as follows:

sh eagle-lin-5.6.0.run

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