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GRBL-Plotter for Linux

Prerequisites

Installing Steam (Read Additional Information if you don't have a Steam account):

  • Please use the version of Steam available in your distribution's repositories. The flatpak version might cause some issues and may not work.

    • Ubuntu/Debian:

      sudo apt install steam

    • Arch Linux:

      sudo pacman -S steam

    • RHEL-based (Fedora):

      sudo dnf install steam

    Additional Information:

  • WARNING: You need a Steam account to use the software. If you prefer not to use Steam, you can utilize GitHub - GloriousEggroll/wine-ge-custom. However, this might be more complicated, and I highly recommend managing Windows software with Steam, even if you don't play video games. It significantly simplifies life. If you've already attempted it, please open a GitHub Issue with the setup guide for wine-ge-custom.

  • Why use Proton instead of Wine? Proton offers more features and fixes, and GRBL-Plotter runs without any problems using Proton, whereas it doesn't with Wine. I haven't been successful in getting it to work with Wine so far.

Installing Protontricks and Wine

Installing Microsoft Fonts

  • There might be a community package available for this:

    • Arch: AUR (en) - ttf-ms-win11-auto (don't forget to install p7zip and httpdirfs before the AUR package)

    • Debian (not tested): Debian -- ttf-mscorefonts-installer

    • Fedora (not tested):

      sudo dnf install curl cabextract xorg-x11-font-utils fontconfig
sudo rpm -i https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/mscorefonts2/rpms/msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpm

  • If some fonts do not work (GRBL-Plotter won't start), you have the option to obtain the fonts from the original Windows ISO. Here's how:

    • Download the Windows ISO: Download Windows 11

    • Install p7zip

      • Ubuntu/Debian:

        sudo apt install p7zip-full

      • Arch Linux:

        sudo pacman -S p7zip

      • RHEL-based (Fedora):

        sudo dnf install p7zip-full

    • Extract "install.wim" from ISO

      7z e "{ISONAME}.iso" sources/install.wim

    • Extract Fonts folder

      7z e install.wim 1/Windows/{Fonts/"*".{ttf,ttc},System32/Licenses/neutral/"*"/"*"/license.rtf} -o./WindowsFonts

    • Move WindowsFonts folder

      sudo mv ./WindowsFonts /usr/share/fonts/

    • Regenerate font cache

      sudo fc-cache -fv

Installing GRBL-Plotter

  1. Download the GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe from Releases · svenhb/GRBL-Plotter · GitHub

  2. Open Steam and click on "Add a Game" at the bottom left

  3. Select "Add non-Steam Game...", click on "Browse..." and select the GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe. Then click on "Add selected programs"

  4. Switch to the Library tab and scroll to GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe in the list on the left and select it. Then open the properties by clicking the cogwheel on the right.

  5. Open "Compatibility" and activate Steam Play. Then close the properties window and start the installer by pressing "Play". Steam downloads all necessary dependencies, and the installer opens.

  6. Install GRBL Plotter for all users and uncheck "Start GRBL-Plotter" at the end of the installation.

  7. Open Protontricks, search for "GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe" and save the 10-digit ID behind it in your notepad (in this guide: {GRBL-STEAM-ID}). We will need it later to identify the right folder, which has the same name as the ID. Then use this terminal command to install gdi+ for GRBL-Plotter:

    protontrick {GRBL-STEAM-ID} gdiplus

  8. We need to change the path of the Steam program. Open the properties of GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe again and change the paths. Replace {USERNAME} with your username. Don't forget the quotation marks.

    • TARGET:

      "/home/{USERNAME}/.steam/steamapps/compatdata/{GRBL-STEAM-ID}/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/GRBL-Plotter/GRBL-Plotter.exe""

    • START IN:

      "/home/{USERNAME}/.steam/steamapps/compatdata/{GRBL-STEAM-ID}/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/GRBL-Plotter/""

  9. Then close the properties window and click on "Play". GRBL-Plotter will start as it would on Windows. Of course, you can change the name of GRBL-Plotter_Setup.exe in the Properties window.

Setting up USB Port to connect to the CNC

  1. Connect your CNC via USB and check which USB port is used

    ls /dev/ttyUSB*

    You should see an output like /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyACM0

    Also, check if the drivers are working, in case you use a cheap ARDUINO with a CH340 Chip:

    lsusb

  2. Open regedit for the GRBL-Plotter Proton installation

    protontricks {GRBL-STEAM-ID} regedit

    Add a string entry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wine\Ports with a key of COM10 and a value of the USB port of the CNC like /dev/ttyUSB0 (or /dev/ttyACM0) to access the Arduino USB port from wine and then create the symlink for it.

  3. Now we have to create a new dosdevice to access the USB Port COM10 in GRBL-Plotter

    ln -s /dev/ttyUSB0 ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/{GRBL-PLOTTER-ID}/pfx/dosdevices/com10

  4. Add yourself to the dialout group so you can access the USB port

    • Debian/RHEL-based (Fedora):

      sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

    • Arch:

      sudo usermod -a -G uucp $USER

  5. Restart Linux to apply all changes and start GRBL-Plotter with steam. Select COM10 and the correct Baud rate in the COM-CNC Window and open it.

Updating GRBL-Plotter

To update GRBL-Plotter, you can launch the new installer with Wine and select the path to the Proton prefix:

/home/{USERNAME}/.steam/steamapps/compatdata/{GRBL-STEAM-ID}/pfx/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/GRBL-Plotter/