Ubuntu 18 — cannot install KiCAD 7

Short version: sudo apt install kicad installs version 4.0.7 even though I have the PPA for KC7. Any suggestions?

Long version:
I first added the ppa:kicad/kicad-7.0-releases repository (following the download instructions)

I then uninstalled KiCAD 6 (sudo apt remove kicad kicad-libraries kicad-.....), unchecked the KC6 PPA (through the GUI Software & Updates app), and in that same window I see that KiCAD 7 is checked.

I ran sudo apt update just in case.

When I run sudo apt install kicad, it installs KiCAD 4.0.7 (the “native version” that comes with Ubuntu 18). This certainly didn’t happen back when I installed KC6 on this machine.

Ubuntu 18.04 is no longer supported in KiCad 7 due to dependency bumps. The minimum supported Ubuntu version is 20.04.

That’s unfortunate, but thanks Jon for letting me know!

You can try the FlatPak to see if that works (I don’t have an 18.04 system to test with)

18.04 hits end of life April 30th this year. Once that happens you shouldn’t be connected to the Internet

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Absolutely — I am keeping that in mind. For that matter, I transitioned to a new PC a while ago, which has Ubuntu 22.04, and I still have the old one (with Ubuntu 18.04) connected as backup (in case I missed something while transferring documents and settings). That’s precisely why I’m trying to give KC7 a try by installing it on that secondary machine.

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