Installing software

Eggbot 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.

Optionally but suggested, you may also want to download the set of example files from the EggBot Releases page.

Mac

For recent macOS, 10.11 - 10.15 Catalina, and macOS 12 Monterey

Our primary release is available for Inkscape 1.2, and works under macOS 10.11 through macOS 12 Monterey, and both Intel and Apple Silicon architectures.

1. Download and run the AxiDraw installer (10 MB), which includes the EggBot software.

2. Download and install Inkscape 1.2 for Mac. (Versions for Intel and Apple Silicon processors are available. If you aren't sure which you have, pick Intel.)

Legacy install for older macOS 10.7 - 10.10

1. Download and open the EggBot 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).

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter difficulty installing the EggBot extensions for Inkscape (or with plotting, in the next stage), please request assistance through our contact form or through our Discord chat
• If there is a chance that a problem you encounter is specific to EggBot 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 EggBot. And, we'd like the Inkscape team to be ready to help us when we do encounter Inkscape-specific issues.
• If you are using the "Legacy" version with Inkscape 0.92 and XQuartz, there are two additional tips to note:

• Keyboard shortcuts use control (^) instead of Cmd (⌘) as modifier key. And,
• If copy and paste are not working correctly in Inkscape, open the X11 preferences dialog, and disable the "Update Pasteboard when CLIPBOARD changes" option.

Windows

Installation

1. Download and run the AxiDraw software installer for Windows, which includes the EggBot software: Download link (6.5 MB)

• The installer is an executable, named "AxiDraw_340.exe"; open and run it.

2. Download and install Inkscape version 1.2 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 EggBot-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 EggBot software. For Windows 8 and older versions, please use the installer above for the first time that you install the 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 (8 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 33 items including 2 subdirectories) into your Inkscape User extensions directory and relaunch Inkscape. 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 EggBot 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 EggBot. And, we'd like the Inkscape team to be ready to help us when we do encounter Inkscape-specific issues.

Linux

The EggBot 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.)

Working with Inkscape 1.2:

• Install Inkscape 1.2 on your computer. Where possible, we recommend to install via the appimage version. 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.
• Download and unzip the software in this ZIP archive. Copy its contents (approximately 33 items including 2 subdirectories) into your Inkscape User extensions directory and relaunch Inkscape. Make sure that you copy all of these files, not just some of the files, and not just a folder containing these files.

Adding dialout access

Adding your user account to the "dialout" group:

In recent Linux releases, it is also necessary to change your user permissions, to explicitly grant access to the USB port where the EggBot 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 quotation marks or angle brackets!).

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

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

sudo usermod -a -G dialout <myUserName>"

Troubleshooting

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

If the EggBot menu doesn't appear in Inkscape, verify that when you've extract the zip file, all the .py files are inside .config/inkscape/extensions/ folder (you might have extracted the entire EggBot folder, and .py files might be misplaced)

Firmware Update

We encourage EggBot users to update the latest firmware version. Once your EggBot software is up and running, you can check which version of the firmware you have by selecting the "Manual" tab of EggBot Control, picking "Check EBB Version" from the menu there, 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.