Libraries Don't Work after installing KiCAD 6.0

[JacobChristApium]

After reading somewhere that it was really easy to upgrade from 5.x to 6.x I decided to give it a try. I installed 6 picked the (recommended) options when installing libraries then tried to open the symbol library. The libraries all show up but there is no parts in them. Also if I go to to “Manage Symbol Libraries” when I close the window it tells a library is missing. If I try to remove the library it just tells me the next library in the list is missing.

I tried to update my paths and I think I made things worse:

Application: KiCad Symbol Editor

Version: 6.0.5-a6ca702e91~116~ubuntu20.04.1, release build

Libraries:
wxWidgets 3.0.4
libcurl/7.68.0 OpenSSL/1.1.1f zlib/1.2.11 brotli/1.0.7 libidn2/2.2.0 libpsl/0.21.0 (+libidn2/2.2.0) libssh/0.9.3/openssl/zlib nghttp2/1.40.0 librtmp/2.3

Platform: Linux 5.4.0-110-generic x86_64, 64 bit, Little endian, wxGTK, ubuntu, x11

Build Info:
Date: May 4 2022 07:55:51
wxWidgets: 3.0.4 (wchar_t,wx containers,compatible with 2.8) GTK+ 3.24
Boost: 1.71.0
OCC: 7.5.2
Curl: 7.83.0
ngspice: 36
Compiler: GCC 9.4.0 with C++ ABI 1013

Build settings:
KICAD_USE_OCC=ON
KICAD_SPICE=ON

[paulvdh]

Here is a screenshot of my path names:

Your Footprint and Symbol dir path names end in “library”, while mine end in “footprints” and “symbols”.
Before you change anything though, have a look with a file browser what the actual path names are.

[ML9104]

I had this issue a while back.
Your libraries are mostly local. This thread might help:

6.0 How to set path for User Libraries?

(Lubuntu 20.04 LTS) I have my (5.1) user libraries for eeschema stored in $HOME/.local/share/kicad/library To do a full change to KiCAD 6.0, I’d like to store the new .kicad_sym files in $HOME/.local/share/kicad/6.0/symbols or $HOME/.local/share/kicad/symbols instead. However, 6.0 does not offer an environment variable for this, and the “Configure Paths” option also brings no joy. Any suggestions? Or does 6.0 have a completely different philosophy?

[ML9104]

Wow! The ugliest link to another thread I’ve ever seen. This forum really has its quirks!
Entertaining

[JacobChristApium]

Yeah, the weird thing is the footprints and symbols directories do not exist after install:

[retiredfeline]

When you installed the main KiCad package did you also install the recommended additional packages? The libraries are in the additional packages.

From the sizes of the directories, they appear to hold or have held something, but the modificaiton date is old so looks like you have not installed the contents from the recommended packages.

[ML9104]

@retiredfeline

When you installed the main KiCad package did you also install the recommended additional packages?

^ This. I made the same mistake myself. The KiCAD 6 installer is somewhat cryptic and not very helpful.

[paulvdh]

What Linux distribution are you using?
If it has apt, what’s the output of:

apt search kicad

If it has not installed packages with “libraries”, “footprints” or “symbols”, then install them manually.

[JacobChristApium]

@paulvdh

apt search kicad

Manage Symbol Libraries… (looks just like KiCAD 5.x)

Manage Footprint Libraries… (looks just like KiCAD 5.x)

Then:

[JacobChristApium]

Output from apt search kicad:

jacob@cumin:~/apium/kicad$ apt search kicad
Sorting… Done
Full Text Search… Done
horizon-eda/focal 1.0.0-1build1 amd64
EDA layout and schematic application

kicad/focal,now 6.0.5-0-202205040755+a6ca702e91~116~ubuntu20.04.1 amd64 [installed]
Electronic schematic and PCB design software

kicad-common/focal,focal 5.1.5+dfsg1-2build2 all
Old common files used by kicad - Transitional Package

kicad-dbg/focal 6.0.5-0-202205040755+a6ca702e91~116~ubuntu20.04.1 amd64
Debug symbols for kicad

kicad-demos/focal,focal 6.0.5-0-202205040755+a6ca702e91~116~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202011232349+a382d34a8~88~ubuntu18.04.1]
Common files used by kicad

kicad-doc-ca/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Catalan)

kicad-doc-de/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (German)

kicad-doc-en/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202009280723+1685~27~ubuntu18.04.1]
Kicad help files (English)

kicad-doc-es/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Spanish)

kicad-doc-fr/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (French)

kicad-doc-id/focal,focal 5.1.5+dfsg1-2build2 all
Kicad help files (Indonesian)

kicad-doc-it/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Italian)

kicad-doc-ja/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Japanese)

kicad-doc-pl/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Polish)

kicad-doc-ru/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Russian)

kicad-doc-zh/focal,focal 6.0.0-1-202112240915+1826~29~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Kicad help files (Chinese)

kicad-footprints/focal,focal 6.0.5-0-202205030836+35e3d08f1~11~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202009280724+302ac78b~10~ubuntu18.04.1]
Kicad footprints (modules)

kicad-its-files/focal,focal 0.1-1~202101261600~ubuntu20.04.1 all
Its file used to build KiCad on old distros

kicad-libraries/focal,focal 6.0.5-0-202205030838+9~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202009280727+7~ubuntu18.04.1]
meta-package for dep to all KiCad libraries (symbols, footprints, templates and 3D models)

kicad-packages3d/focal,focal 6.0.3-0-202203161428+7028c243~9~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202010201444+7abe02f3~7~ubuntu18.04.1]
Kicad packages3d (3d models for footprints)

kicad-symbols/focal,focal 6.0.5-0-202205030838+c7f82c94~7~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202009280732+bf475af9~6~ubuntu18.04.1]
Kicad symbols (schematic)

kicad-templates/focal,focal 6.0.5-0-202205030839+5ec65bf~9~ubuntu20.04.1 all [upgradable from: 5.1.7-202009280719+1ccbaf3~8~ubuntu18.04.1]
Kicad templates

libngspice-kicad/focal 0.1-36~202203241031+1a6a9e6bb~ubuntu20.04.1 amd64 [upgradable from: 0.1-2~201902271304+d6f5a32~ubuntu18.04.1]
Library (shared) for ngspice. Used by kicad

libngspice-kicad-doc/focal 0.1-36~202203241031+1a6a9e6bb~ubuntu20.04.1 amd64
Doc for library (shared) for ngspice. Used by kicad

pcb-rnd/focal 2.2.0-3 amd64
Standard installation of pcb-rnd

pcb-rnd-io-alien/focal 2.2.0-3 amd64
File format compatibility with other PCB layout designers.

jacob@cumin:~/apium/kicad$

[JacobChristApium]

@JacobChristApium

apt search kicad

So I got it working, here is how…

o. Uninstalled KiCAD 6.0, uninstalled KiCAD 5.x,
o. Made sure all the KiCAD 5 stuff was gone (had to delete some libraries manually).
o. Reinstalled KiCAD 6.0
o. Had to remove all the Symbol and Footprint library links then add them back.

At this point it seems like its working but I’m not sure. So much for easy migration, but I suspect the issues were due to people prior to my arrival setting up 5.x incorrectly.

Jacob

[retiredfeline]

If you look at the output from apt search KiCad you’ll see that the library packages are marked “Upgradable from 5.1.7”. So you simply had not instructed apt to install them as the documentation instructs.

I think the Ubuntu KiCad build should make the library packages required (3D excepted) rather than just recommended, so beginners don’t fall into this trap, even if it means that a small number of experienced users who don’t need the standard libraries use more download quota and disk space.

[JacobChristApium]

I agree, I feel like I was duped by the “Its easy to migrate from 5 to 6 thread” I’ve spent four hours on this so far. My old project open but there are a butt load of library reference errors now. I think I know how to fix them but I’m not sure yet.

[paulvdh]

@JacobChristApium

My old project open but there are a butt load of library reference errors now.

So what are those errors?

@retiredfeline

If you look at the output from apt search KiCad you’ll see that the library packages are marked “Upgradable from 5.1.7”.

… But that probably does not fix the path names in KiCad’s configuration.

@JacobChristApium

I’ve spent four hours on this so far.

I’m sorry to read that. I suspect you’re caught in a loop and keep on making the same error over and over again without realizing what it is.

Also, if you first post information with which we could have helped you, and then completely change your configuration, then that makes any info you posted before that irrelevant. One of your last steps:

@JacobChristApium

o. Had to remove all the Symbol and Footprint library links then add them back.

has a high likelihood of failure. Simple answer, If KiCad V6 has not created the library tables automatically, there is something wrong with the configuration.

If the environment variable for your symbol libraries is still pointing to $(KICAD_SYMBOL_DIR) instead of $(KICAD6_SYMBOL_DIR) then it’s still trying to work with the KiCad V5 libraries. So what is now after you did the uninstall and reinstall thing?

It might work if you simply rename the ~/.local/share/kicad/6.0/ directory to something KiCad does not understand. This should be enough of a trigger for KiCad to reconfigure the library tables, but at the moment I still do not know if you’ve even installed the right libraries.

[retiredfeline]

The problem is there are two traps. The first is not installing the library packages. Then the library tables are not populated when KiCad is first run (by each user). Even if you install the library packages at this point, you hit the next trap where to get out you have to delete the 6.0 config directory (or at least the library tbles) so that KiCad will create the tables properly. This is what you did laboriously another way, by “Had to remove all the Symbol and Footprint library links then add them back”.

Unfortunately beginners don’t know that the second trap is a different problem requiring a different fix and go back to the start.

[JacobChristApium]

The other issue that was causing me problems (that I have now resolved) is that when I added my library back to KiCAD, KiCAD used the filename as the “Nickname” and apparently case is important. When I made the case match the what is stored in the schematic the errors when away.

I’m kind of at a loss if I should migrate the library as there are probably 20 boards that use parts from this library. Should an old board need to be altered and there is little time to get the job done I don’t want to be fighting with migration issues.

Jacob

[ML9104]

@JacobChristApium

KiCAD used the filename as the “Nickname” and apparently case is important.

You’re on Linux and unaware that case is important in filenames? I find that hard to believe.

[JacobChristApium]

Was only going to reply with: but the message board demanded I expand my answer:

The Nickname is not the filename and who knows what lurks in other peoples code…

[retiredfeline]

Nickname means a short and platform independent name (which pathname is not) for the library and is used in library references in the schematic file so case matters.