LibreCAD v2.2.0 - User Manual

This is an interim release of the of the LibreCAD User Manual and is subject to change.

The manual is based on LibreCAD v2.2.0-rc1 with a few additions. If you are using another version of LibreCAD, your mileage may vary.

Download and Install

LibreCAD is available as two variants; as a stable version (i.e. general release), or as a unstable (also referred to as “daily” or “nightly” depending on the repository) release. The stable version is recommended for most users. The unstable build represents the cutting edge of LibreCAD development and might contain bugs or new, incomplete features under development. Those new features may or may not be included in next general release version. LibreCAD can also be built from the source code so users can compile the most current code base for their OS / platform.

Windows

Links to the MS Windows installers can be found in the Resources section of the appendix. Download the desired version, stable or a “NightlyBuild” of the installer from the build directory and run the installer (exe file).

Mac OS/X

Links to the installers for OS/X 10.9 can be found in the Resources section. Download the desired version of the installer from the build directory and run the installer (dmg file).

For other versions of OS/X, please follow build instructions in the appendix.

Note

If you are an OS/X developer, please help us improve the DMG installers and MacPorts LibreCAD package.

Linux

LibreCAD is available in the software repository of many Linux distributions, however the versions in the repositories may not be the most recent release of LibreCAD. Some distributions may have community supported builds that may be more recent than what is available in the official software repository.

Packages are available for the following Linux distributions through their respective repositories:

  • Debian (Stable and Unstable)
  • Ubuntu (Stable and Daily PPAs)
  • Arch Linux
  • Fedora
  • Gentoo
  • OpenSUSE

Links to the repository can be found in the Resources.

Ubuntu

Official Ubuntu Repository

LibreCAD can be found in Ubuntu’s “Software Center” for Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) and later. Search for “librecad” in the software manager and then download and install it for your system, or to install it from the command line type:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install librecad

Daily and Stable Builds in Ubuntu PPA

For those users who want a more current version of LibreCAD you can use the Stable or Daily Build PPAs, available for Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick) and later.

For those that want to be more up to date than the distribution packages can install the stable build. First add the “stable” repository via the command line:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:librecad-dev/librecad-stable

And then update the software sources and install LibreCAD:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install librecad

For those that want to live on the bleeding edge and try out the newest features as they are made available from the GitHub repository, use a same method with the “daily” repository:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:librecad-dev/librecad-daily
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install librecad

Debian

LibreCAD is available in the main repository of Debian 7.0 (Wheezy) and later. Use your favorite package manager (e.g. aptitude, synaptic, etc.) and search for “librecad” to install and configure it, or simply from the command line type:

$ sudo apt install librecad

Debian Unstable

If you are not running unstable (i.e. Sid), and still want to upgrade LibreCAD to a newer version unstable package, download the LibreCAD debs from “Debian unstable” (Resources), and manually install them in your system by “dpkg -i”:

$ sudo dpkg -i /path/to/librecad_1.0.0~rc3+nolibs-1_i386.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i /path/to/librecad-data_1.0.0~rc3+nolibs-1_i386.deb

Other

FreeBSD

LibreCAD is available from [ports], and can be installed as a binary package:

# pkg install librecad

Build from Source Code

For the most current up-to-date version of LibreCAD with the latest enhancements and fixes, it can be built for source. the instructions are in the Build from Source section of the appendix.