How to install OBD Amigos on Linux

1. open a Terminal window
   
   
2. create a directory for OBD Amigos and make it the current directory:
   

   mkdir ~/obd_amigos
   cd ~/obd_amigos
   

   
   
3. download all program files from http://obd-amigos.linuxtech.net/files/ into this directory:
   

   wget http://obd-amigos.linuxtech.net/files/OBD_Amigos.desktop
   wget http://obd-amigos.linuxtech.net/files/obd_amigos.ini
   wget http://obd-amigos.linuxtech.net/files/update
   wget http://obd-amigos.linuxtech.net/files/update-files.txt
   sh update
   

   
   
4. make the program executable:
   

   chmod 755 obd_amigos.pl
   

   
   
5. install the required dependencies:
   

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install perl-tk
   sudo apt install libdatetime-perl
   sudo apt install libconfig-simple-perl
   sudo apt install libdevice-serialport-perl
   sudo apt install imagemagick
   sudo apt install fonts-liberation
   sudo apt install gnome-accessibility-themes
   

   
   
6. edit the OBD_Amigos.desktop file and fix the following line:
   
   Path=/home/username/obd_amigos/
   
   by replacing 'username' with you actual Linux username.
   
   
   
7. move the desktop file to the Desktop:
   

   mv OBD_Amigos.desktop `xdg-user-dir DESKTOP`
   

   In the above command please make sure you use backticks (`), not normal single quotes.
   
   In the Ubuntu Gnome desktop environment you need to explicitly allow launching applications
   from the desktop icon. To do this right-click on the OBD_Amigos.desktop icon and
   select "Allow Launching" in the pop-up menu that appears (see screenshot).
   
   
   
8. edit the configuration file (obd_amigos.ini) to suit your car and OBD2 adapter
   
   The two most important configuration parameters that you need to edit are the serial device file and
   baud rate of your OBDII adapter ("port_details" parameter) and your vehicle type ("gen" parameter).
   All other configuration parameters are optional and can usually be left at default values.
   
   
   
9. add your username to the 'dialout' group to have permission to access the serial device:
   

   sudo adduser yourusername dialout
   

   (to apply this change you have to logout and then login again.
   You can check that this has worked by running the command 'id', check that the 'dialout' group is listed)
   
   
   
10. run obd_amigos.pl from the Terminal to see if it starts successfully:
    

    cd ~/obd_amigos
    ./obd_amigos.pl
    

    If it starts successfully from the Terminal then you should also be able to start it from the Desktop icon.