Installation

Ubuntu 16.04.x LTS

This project currently has no PPA. So, you need to manually build and install this driver.

1. Install the required packages:

   sudo apt install cmake libconfig++-dev libtinyxml2-dev libudev-dev
   

2. Download sidewinderd. You can either use a tested, stable release or go for the latest git code.

3. Extract the archive and create a new folder called build in the toplevel directory:

   unzip sidewinderd-master.zip
   cd sidewinderd-master
   mkdir build
   

Please note, that your file could also be named e.g. sidewinderd-0.4.0. Make adjustments, according to your specific case.

4. Run cmake from within build directory:

   cd build
   cmake ..
   

   You may see an error message about No CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER could be found.

   In that case, you need to install build-essential:

   sudo apt-get install -y build-essential
   

5. Compile and install:

   make
   sudo make install
   

6. Enable and start Sidewinder daemon:

   systemctl enable sidewinderd.service
   systemctl start sidewinderd.service
   

Configure /etc/sidewinderd.conf according to your needs. Please change the user, as the default user is root.

You can now use your gaming peripheral! Please note, that there is no graphical user interface. Some LEDs might light up, letting you know, that Sidewinder daemon has successfully recognized your keyboard.