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!

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)

Install the following development packages:

$ sudo apt-get install ant gcc git make

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

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

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

Double click on the Arduino IDE shortcut on the desktop.

Congratulations! Arduino mainline is now installed!