These are instructions for getting the LeapMotion SDK 2.3.1 working on Linux, Windows, and MacOS. This is for use with applications that require it to interact with the LeapMotion controller.
Ultraleap (F.K.A LeapMotion) still works really well in Linux and Windows, despite not having received an update for several years. The documentation and installation process, however, have aged a bit. This repo is here to solve that in a coherent way and will be provided to upstream.
These instructions match SDK version 2.3.1, which is currently the newest version on Linux and Mac as at 2021-11-04 (Windows is currently on 5.3.1). It is also the latest version that is known to support Java, and is still downloadable.
- Install Ultraleap
- Reliably starting and stopping the service via systemd.
- Installation on other Linux distros.
Ultraleap are welcome to incorporate and/all of this into their instructions that they ship with the SDK.
NOTE that downloading the SDK requires an account, which at the time of this writing, is free.
- Go to Legacy releases. There are several packages on the same page.
- You need "TRACKING SOFTWARE ____ 2.3.1" (Replace ____ with Linux/Windows/MacOS).
- Follow on either Linux, Windows, or MacOS.
- Run
tar xzf Leap_Motion_SDK_Linux_2.3.1.tgz
- Run
cd LeapDeveloperKit_2.3.1+31549_linux
The packaged instructions should work as described.
sudo dpkg --install Leap-*-x64.deb
TODO I haven't tested this in several years. Test this.
Derived from the packaged instructions.
Tested on
- OpenSuSE Tumbleweed on 2021-11-04.
TODO Test others.
- Install alien if you haven't already. - This converts the debs to RPMs that you can install.
- OpenSuSE: Choose a package.
- Fedora:
sudo yum install alien
- Convert the debs by running
sudo alien -rv --scripts Leap-*-x64.deb
- Install the RPMs by running
sudo rpm -ivh --nodeps --force leap-*x86_64.rpm
- Run one of these two to get the systemd unit file and script to install it.
git clone git@github.com:ksandom/installUltraleap.git
git clone https://github.com/ksandom/installUltraleap.git
- Run
cd installUltraleap
to get into the repo directory. - Run
sudo ./scripts/setupSystemd
to set it up so that it will start at boot. - Run
sudo systemctl start leapd
to start it now. - Run
sudo systemctl start leapd-resume
to make it automatically restart when your computer resumes from suspend. This is to work-around the device not always coming back into a useable state after suspend. - [optional] Run
sudo journalctl -fu leapd
to see logs.
If running LeapControlPanel
is broken for you (This is explained well in the package README.); You can run LeapControlPanel --showsettings
From there, there are various things of interest. I want to highlight:
- "Diagnostic Visualizer" on the "Troubleshooting" tab, which shows you a realtime 3D visualisation of what the device is reporting. (Also great fun to play with.)
- "Show Software Log" on the "Troubleshooting" tab, which tells you why something is or is not working.
You can also run sudo journalctl -fu leapd
to see the log.
The files that you will need for java applications are located in:
- LeapSDK/lib:
- LeapJava.jar
- LeapSDK/lib/x64:
- libLeapJava.so
- libLeap.so
Copy these to the lib directory that the java application specifies.
- Unpack the .zip file.
- Run
Leap_Motion_Installer_release_public_win_x86_2.3.1+31549_ah1886.exe
.
The files that you will need for java applications are located in:
- LeapSDK\lib:
- LeapJava.jar
- LeapSDK\lib\x64:
- Leap.dll
- LeapJava.dll
- Leap.lib
Copy these to the lib directory that the java application specifies.
NOTE1: I have not tested this.
NOTE2: There is a note on the download page that reads:
Not compatible with macOS Monterey
- Unpack the .tgz file.
- Instructions from the README.txt:
- Open Leap_Motion_Installer_version.dmg
- Run Leap Motion.pkg
The files that you will need for java applications are located in:
- LeapSDK/lib:
- LeapJava.jar
- libLeap.dylib
- libLeapJava.dylib
Copy these to the lib directory that the java application specifies.