Install KiCad 5.1 on xubuntu (no-brainer since the packages are somehow broken)

Big mess. The easiest is to get rid of everything and not rely entirely on the Debian packages. I had to gather some info around and I ended up with the following.

Beware, all existing kicad executable and configuration will be wiped out, as I think that 5.1 does not play well with former versions. Especially, libraries and footprints do not show up after installation. This also makes it annoying to import a former KiCad project in 5.1. I had none so I "simply" started from blank projects, as KiCad is much easier to design new packages and footprint than Eagle CAD I was using so far.





''
#
# How to install KiCad v5.1 on Xubuntu
#

ME=$USER

sudo su -

apt remove --purge kicad
rm -r /usr/share/kicad
rm -r /home/$ME/.config/kicad

# Here is the official way
add-apt-repository --yes ppa:js-reynaud/kicad-5.1
apt update
apt install --install-recommends kicad

# If you want the demos in /usr/share/kicad/demos/
apt install kicad-demo  # NOT "kicad-demos" which is empty (WTH?)

# Then you need the following for the symbols and footprints to be seen
mkdir -p /home/$ME/.config/kicad

cd /usr/share/kicad/
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/KiCad/kicad-symbols.git
cp /usr/share/kicad/kicad-symbols/sym-lib-table /home/$ME/.config/kicad
mv kicad-symbols library

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/KiCad/kicad-footprints.git
cp /usr/share/kicad/kicad-footprints/fp-lib-table /home/$ME/.config/kicad
mv kicad-footprints modules

chown -R $ME:$ME /home/$ME/.config/kicad

''