Axidraw Software Installation

AxiDraw is designed to work well on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. To use it, you'll need to install certain software on your computer. Please read below for specific instructions for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

The current software version is v. 3.9.5, released in December 2023, and requires Inkscape 1.0 or newer. Inkscape 1.2 or newer is recommended. The AxiDraw software installers (and manual installation bundles) include the AxiDraw, EggBot, and WaterColorBot software for Inkscape.

Mac

For recent macOS, 10.15, up through macOS 13 Ventura

Our primary release of the AxiDraw software is available for Inkscape 1.3, and works under macOS 10.15 through macOS 13 Ventura, and both Intel and Apple Silicon architectures.

1. Download and run the AxiDraw installer (32 MB).

2. Download and install Inkscape for Mac. (Versions for Intel and Apple Silicon processors are available. If you have an older computer and aren't sure which you have, pick Intel.)

For older macOS, 10.13 - 10.14

Download and run the same AxiDraw software installer as above, but install Inkscape 1.2 for Mac.

For older macOS, 10.11 - 10.12

Download and run the same AxiDraw software installer as above, but install Inkscape 1.1 for Mac.

Legacy install for older macOS 10.7 - 10.10

An older release of the software is based on Inkscape 0.92, and works under macOS 10.7-10.10.

1. Download and open the AxiDraw Mac bundle DMG

2. Run the XQuartz installer included in that DMG (disk image) file.

3. Drag the included copy of Inkscape to your "Applications" folder.

4. Eject the disk image (DMG).

Alternative (Manual) install for Mac

If you already have Inkscape 1.0 or newer installed on your computer, you can also manually install the AxiDraw extensions.

1. Download the software in this ZIP archive (31 MB), and unzip it. (Your computer may unzip the archive automatically for you.)

2. Locate and open your Inkscape user extensions directory. You can find this location as follows:

A. Open Inkscape

B. From the menu, select Inkscape > Preferences

C. Select System from the list on the left panel of the preferences window.

D. On the right-hand panel is a list of directory locations. Click the "Open" button to the right of the "User extensions" folder location.

3. Copy the contents of the ZIP archive that you downloaded (35 items total; 32 files and 3 subfolders) into your Inkscape extensions directory, overwriting any files and directories with the same names.

4. Launch Inkscape, or quit and re-launch it if it is open.

Troubleshooting

• If you are using macOS Ventura and have trouble connecting, check to see if your computer has blocked access to USB accessories.
• If you encounter difficulty installing or using the software, please request assistance through our contact form or through our Discord chat.
• If there is any chance that a problem you encounter is specific to AxiDraw software or hardware, it is important that you do not directly seek assistance through Inkscape's support resources. You're much more likely to get your problem solved by asking people who know about AxiDraw. And, we'd like the Inkscape team to be ready to help us when we do encounter Inkscape-specific issues.

Windows

Installation

1. Download and run the AxiDraw software installer for Windows: Download link (24 MB ZIP archive)

• The installer is an executable, named "AxiDraw Install.exe"; Unzip, open, and run it.

2. Download and install Inkscape from the download page at Inkscape.org. (Most users will want the 64-bit version and the "MSI" installer.)

• If you need additional assistance for installing Inkscape, you may be able to find good advice at the the Inkscape wiki and/or the Inkscape Forums. Please do not use Inkscape support resources for AxiDraw-specific issues-- see note below about troubleshooting.

Alternative (Manual) install for Windows

If you already have Inkscape 1.0 or newer installed on your computer, you also manually install the AxiDraw extensions. For Windows 8 and older versions, please use the installer above for the first time that you install AxiDraw software, as the installer also includes a necessary USB driver. (You can use the manual method for subsequent installs and upgrades, and for Windows 10, which does not require the USB driver.)

1. Download the software in this ZIP archive (27 MB), and unzip it. (Your computer may unzip the archive automatically for you.)

2. Locate and open your Inkscape user extensions directory. You can find this location as follows:

A. Open Inkscape

B. From the menu, select Edit > Preferences

C. Select System from the list on the left panel of the preferences window.

D. On the right-hand panel is a list of directory locations. Click the "Open" button to the right of the "User extensions" folder location.

3. Copy the contents of the ZIP archive (approximately 35 items including 3 subdirectories) into your Inkscape User extensions directory. Make sure that you copy all of these files, not just some of the files, and not just a folder containing these files.

4. Launch Inkscape, or quit and re-launch it if it is open.

Troubleshooting

Your software should now be set up to work correctly.

• If you encounter difficulty installing or using the software, please request assistance through our contact form or through our Discord chat.
• If there is any chance that a problem you encounter is specific to AxiDraw software or hardware, it is important that you do not directly seek assistance through Inkscape's support resources. You're much more likely to get your problem solved by asking people who know about AxiDraw. And, we'd like the Inkscape team to be ready to help us when we do encounter Inkscape-specific issues.

Linux

The AxiDraw extensions for Inkscape have been developed and tested extensively under Ubuntu. We expect them to work equally well in most Ubuntu derivatives and other distributions where Inkscape is known to work. However, we do not have the capability to test every distribution. If you are unsure if your distribution will work, try to install Inkscape, and see if it appears to launch and run correctly. (We do also have python-based command-line tools available to run the AxiDraw, even on systems where Inkscape is not supported.) We are currently producing separate builds for linux on x86 and ARM (e.g., Linux on Apple Silicon).

Working with Inkscape

• Install Inkscape 1.0 or newer on your computer. Where possible, we recommend to install via the appimage version available here. For some Linux distributions, installing Inkscape may require looking up distribution-specific information. See here for additional information.
• Launch Inkscape, and select Edit > Preferences from the menu, and then select the System entry. That should list the location of your User extensions directory.
• For x86, download the software in this ZIP archive (39 MB).
• For ARM, download the software in this ZIP archive (41 MB).
• Unzip the archive and copy its contents (approximately 35 items including 3 subdirectories) into your Inkscape User extensions directory and relaunch Inkscape. Make sure that you copy all of these items, not just some of them, and not just a folder containing these files.

About adding your user account to the "dialout" group

In modern Linux releases, it is often necessary to change your user permissions, to explicitly grant access to the USB port where the AxiDraw is located. This can be done by adding your user group to the "dialout" user group on your system.

• Open up a terminal window
• For most distributions (including Fedora and Ubuntu), enter the command sudo usermod -a -G dialout <myUserName> <return>, replacing the <myUserName> part with the user that is running Inkscape (and without the angle brackets!).

• If you are unsure of your user name, enter the command "whoami" <return>, and the computer will remind you.
• If you are unsure whether you are already in the "dialout" group, enter the command groups <return>, and the computer will list the groups that you are in.

• After changing groups, you need to fully log out and log back in for the change to take effect.

Troubleshooting

If your permissions are not correct (your user is not in the dialout group), you may get consistent "Unable to connect to AxiDraw" type error messages.

Some linux distributions use a different group name than dialout, which could possibly be one of the following: "uucp", "serial", "tty", "plugdev", or something else entirely. If dialout doesn't seem to be working, try ls -l /dev/ttyACM*. The result will usually look something like "crw-rw---- 1 root dialout [...]". If something other than "dialout" is listed there, that is the name of the group that has permission ownership of the serial ports.

If nothing appears under ls -l /dev/ttyACM*, then one of the following is likely the case:

• The USB cable is not connected
• The USB cable or adapter is not functional, or does not have the right internal wiring.
• Your linux kernel was compiled without the necessary support for USB devices, typically "CDC ACM", which is disabled by default on some distributions.

If you encounter difficulty installing or using the software, please request assistance through our contact form or through our Discord chat.

Firmware Update

We encourage all AxiDraw users to update the latest firmware version, if you are not already using it. Once your AxiDraw software is up and running, you can check which version of the firmware you have by selecting the "Config" tab of AxiDraw Control and clicking Apply.

EBB Firmware versions 2.4.6 and newer contain performance improvements and bug fixes that can prevent certain types of errors.

To update your firmware, please follow the directions here.

AxiDraw APIs

In addition to the Inkscape-based software discussed on this page, the AxiDraw software is also available in a full featured CLI version (command-line interface) and Python library, both of which are suitable for use when you don't need a graphical interface, or for working with scripting and automation.