Install: Running from source - meerk40t/meerk40t GitHub Wiki

If you want to use MeerK40t to drive your K40 Laser on one of the standard supported platforms (Windows, MacOS, OSX, Linux, Raspberry Pi) we recommend that you use the executable versions.

If you want to run MeerK40t on a different platform or you want to develop a plugin or you want to assist with the development of MeerK40t itself, then you will need to run MeerK40t from source, and will need to:

  1. Install prerequisite software
  2. Download the MeerK40t source
  3. Set up a shortcut to run it.

If you use these instructions to run MeerK40t from source and find that they are incomplete or wrong, please help the next person who will try to use them by updating them (using the Edit Button top right) using your own experiences, or raise an issue describing your difficulties so someone else can fix it

Essential Prerequisites

  • Python: MeerK40t will (apparently) run using Python2 however the latest version of Python3 is recommended. If you are running on a 64-bit operating system, you can use 32-bit or 64-bit Python, and 32-bit is recommended.
  • Python's pip: pip is the Python package manager and will be used to install other packages you need. pip is generally installed with newer versions of Python.
  • Python's setuptools: A pre-requisite for installing pyusb. setuptools is generally installed with newer versions of Python.
  • Python's virtualenv: We recommend that you create a Python virtual environment to run MeerK40t, in which case you will need this.
  • wxPython: MeerK40t uses wxPython to provide the GUI environment. If you only wish to use the command line interface using the --no_gui flag, then you do not require wxPython, however we expect only a very small number of expert users will want to do this. For full functionality, wxPython version >= 4.1 should be installed.
  • pyusb: MeerK40t can use either of two sets of USB drivers. If you are running MeerK40t on Windows and have already installed the CH341 drivers (which come with the software provided with your K40), then you don't need pyusb. Otherwise pyusb is used on all platforms to provide the USB connectivity to your K40. If you want to run MeerK40t on a platform which does not have either CH341 or pyusb, then you are out of luck. If using the Windows CH341 driver, pyusb is optional - the LibUSB driver will be used if pyusb is installed, otherwise CH341 will be used.
  • Pillow: Pillow is a package that provide image loading, saving and manipulation. If you do not install Pillow, MeerK40t will not have access to any image functions and will only be able to handle SVG paths.

Even if you do not intend to use the functionality of the above packages, we still recommend that you install them. The majority of users will run MeerK40t with these packages installed, and if you omit them then (in our opinion) you may be more likely to hit a bug.

Optional Prerequisites

  • OpenCV: OpenCV is required for the CameraInterface. Install it after the essential prerequisites using pip install opencv-python-headless

MeerK40t has a modular API, and modules can be added that require additional external dependencies to provide functionality that may be useful in specific circumstances but not broadly applicable. These modules and their optional requirements will not be included in the executable images, but can be added as needed.

If you are writing a module for MeerK40t you should feel free to include external requirements that you need to provide the functionality you are aiming for, however these will be Optional Prerequisites.

Installing Essential Prerequisites

  1. Download the version of Python for your O/S from the Python web site and run the executable to install.

    • Windows - At the time of writing there is no preinstalled wheel for wxPython (see below), so the most recent version you may want to use Python 3.9

  2. PIP should come pre-installed with Python 2.7.9+ and Python 3.4+. Check whether it is installed by running pip help. If it is not installed, then install PIP as follows:

    • Windows - Download get-pip.py from pypa.io and run it from an administrator command prompt with python getpip.py.
    • Linux - Debian, Ubuntu and related distributions which use apt - sudo apt install python3-pip

    Make sure that you have the latest version of pip by running pip3 install --upgrade pip from an administrator command prompt.

  3. If you need to (setuptools is installed by default in newer versions of Python), install Python's setup tools with:

    • Windows - pip install setuptools
    • Linux - Debian, Ubuntu and related distributions which use apt - sudo apt install python3-setuptools

  4. Install VirtualEnv using pip install virtualenv. Then Set up a virtual environment for MeerK40t by changing to the directory into which you want to put your MeerK40t directory and running virtualenv MeerK40t. Then change to the MeerK40t directory and type scripts\activate to activate the Meerk40t virtual environment.

  5. Install wxpython with pip install wxPython from an administrator/sudo command prompt.

  6. Install pysub with pip install pyusb from an administrator/sudo command prompt.

  7. Install pillow with pip install pillow from an administrator/sudo command prompt.

  8. Download the source for the MeerK40t release you want to run from Github. For normal usage we recommend that you use the latest production version, but you can run a beta release if you want to try that. Alternatively, you can download one of the Github repo branches (e.g. master) for a snapshot of the latest unreleased source code. Unpack this compressed source file into a subdirectory of your virtual environment.

    Note: If you are a developer you can also use Git to create a clone that can be used to switch code dynamically between branches.

  9. Create a shortcut to run MeerK40t from source using the python executable in the Scripts directory and the meerk40t.py file in the root directory of the unpacked source code.

    • Windows - Create a shortcut as follows: Start-in: the Scripts directory of your virtual environment. Target: pythonw.exe followed by the full path/name of the meerk40t.py file in the root directory of the source you downloaded. Change icon: the meerk40t.ico file in the root directory of the source you downloaded.
    • Linux - TODO
    • macOS - Create a shortcut using pyshortcuts.

Troubleshooting Install

Windows:

  • ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'wx' means you need wxPython.
    • Type: pip install wxPython
  • ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'usb' means you need pyusb.
    • Type: pip install pyusb
  • ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'PIL' means you need Pillow.
    • Type: pip install Pillow

Windows may not tell you pyusb is a requirement. But, if you are running it along side Whisperer it would be a requirement. Having pyusb and running the stock driver is not an issue.

Linux:

  • ImportError: libpng12.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory . libpng is not installed.
    • Type: sudo apt-get install libpng