WARNING!!! If you use sudo apt-get install arduino you will probably get an extremely outdated and possibly non-standard version of the Arduino IDE. Official Linux 32 bit, 64 bit, and ARM builds are available for download here:
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
You can find official Linux installation instructions here: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Linux
Some of the information you will find in the following page may be outdated:
Arduino installation on Linux Mint is a very simple process, because the Arduino toolkit is in the official Mint software repositories. On a DSL/ISDN connection, you should be ready in no time.
Execute the following command in the terminal (Ctrl Alt T):
sudo apt-get install arduino
This will install the Arduino IDE. You will need to be logged on as an administrator to complete this process. Enter your password when prompted and accept the installation.
This allows you to communicate via a serial port (which should follow the format /dev/ttyACMx, where x is a number arbitrarily assigned by the system). Type:
sudo usermod -aG dialout <username>
where <username> is your username, or
sudo usermod -aG dialout $(whoami)
This is optional, but quite simple. Type:
groups
and you should see something like
<username> dialout
If not, repeat the previous step. Or try logging off and then back on, so that the usermod command can take effect.
Plug in your Arduino board. Open the Arduino IDE in the GUI and click Tools -> Serial Ports -> /dev/ttyACMx. Unless you have more than one serial device plugged in, there will only be one entry in the list to choose from.
Congratulations! You're ready to go!
The commands above must be executed with administrative privileges; the sudo command allows you to do just that. An alternative way to execute an elevated command is with su -c ' command ' root, but that requires you to have a root password set, which is a very bad idea.
This does mean that you will need to be an administrator to install Arduino, but this is true of most any program. If you are not an administrator on your computer, contact your administrator and request that Arduino be installed using the instructions on this page.
wchargin February 11, 2013, at 9:16 PM solcintra_jack February 05, 2013, at 02:49 PM
In some cases, Linux Mint has incompatibility with Braille application (BRLTTY). If everything is set up, but communication between the card and the computer is not occurring, consider uninstall BRLTTY. Execute the following command in the terminal (Ctrl Alt T):
sudo apt-get remove brltty
After that close and open the IDE Arduino and make sure communication goes smoothly