MCP Server

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MIT

KiCad MCP Pro MCP Server

io.github.oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro

Production-grade MCP server for KiCad EDA—PCB design, DRC, simulation, BOM, DFM, and manufacturing automation.

What is the KiCad MCP Pro MCP server?

KiCad MCP Pro is a Model Context Protocol server that exposes tools for KiCad EDA workflows including schematic, PCB, validation, DFM, and manufacturing export automation. It provides read-only review tools by default with progressive disclosure profiles (default, build, release, expert) for controlled access to design editing and manufacturing handoff. The server drives KiCad's own ERC/DRC engines and provides first-order closed-form estimates for signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal analysis.

KiCad MCP Pro enables AI agents like Claude and Cursor to drive KiCad design workflows end-to-end. It automates schematic review, PCB validation, design-rule checking, design-for-manufacturability analysis, and fabrication export. The server is designed as a professional first-pass design assistant with progressive disclosure profiles that balance capability with safety—starting with 24 read-only review tools and unlocking write access and manufacturing modes only when explicitly configured.

How to install KiCad MCP Pro

Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.

transport: stdio

Config generated by PluginBench — verify against the source before use.

Environment / auth

KICAD_MCP_LOG_LEVEL
Logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)
KICAD_MCP_PRO_PYPI_VERSION
Override the Python package version pinned by the npm wrapper

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kicad-mcp-pro": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "kicad-mcp-pro",
        "-y"
      ],
      "env": {
        "KICAD_MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<YOUR_KICAD_MCP_LOG_LEVEL>",
        "KICAD_MCP_PRO_PYPI_VERSION": "<YOUR_KICAD_MCP_PRO_PYPI_VERSION>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools & capabilities

Tools this server exposes to the agent.

kicad_get_server_info — Retrieve server version, profile, and capability information
kicad_get_project_info — Get active KiCad project metadata and file paths
kicad_capability_parity — Report what fraction of KiCad's programmatic surface the server can drive (currently 76.6%)
ERC/DRC execution and triage — Run electrical and design rule checks, review violations, and manage waivers
Schematic inspection tools — Review schematic connectivity, power distribution, symbol usage, and readability
PCB layout inspection — Analyze board placement, routing, stackup, and design quality
DFM analysis — First-order design-for-manufacturability review and closed-form estimates
Manufacturing export — Generate fabrication packages, BOM, and manufacturing documentation
Component sourcing — Live component catalog lookup via JLCPCB (default) or Nexar/DigiKey/Mouser (when configured)
Signal/power/thermal estimates — Closed-form first-pass analysis for signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal behavior

Use cases

Automated schematic review and ERC validation before PCB layout
Design-rule checking and violation triage with waiver management
PCB layout inspection for placement, routing, and stackup quality
Design-for-manufacturability analysis and first-pass design optimization
Fabrication package generation with BOM, Gerbers, and manufacturing documentation
Component sourcing and availability checking against live catalogs

KiCad MCP Pro MCP server FAQ

What is KiCad MCP Pro?

KiCad MCP Pro is an MCP server that lets AI agents like Claude automate KiCad EDA workflows—schematic review, PCB validation, DRC/ERC, DFM analysis, and manufacturing export. It drives KiCad's own engines and provides first-order closed-form estimates for signal/power/thermal analysis.

Is it free?

Yes, KiCad MCP Pro is open-source under the MIT License. It is available via PyPI (kicad-mcp-pro), npm (kicad-mcp-pro), and as a container (ghcr.io/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro).

How do I install it in Cursor or Claude?

Install via `uvx kicad-mcp-pro` or `npx kicad-mcp-pro`, then configure your MCP client (Cursor, Claude, VS Code) to connect over stdio or Streamable HTTP. See docs/client-configuration.md for agent-specific setup.

Does it require authentication?

No authentication is required for the default profile. Component sourcing uses JLCPCB's public catalog by default; Nexar, DigiKey, and Mouser APIs are optional and require their credentials to be configured.

What are the progressive disclosure profiles?

The server starts with the 'default' profile (24 read-only review tools). Use 'build' for controlled edits, 'release' for manufacturing handoff, or 'expert'/'full' for advanced trusted clients. This balances capability with safety.

Is this a substitute for formal sign-off?

No. KiCad MCP Pro is a professional first-pass design and review assistant. Signal-integrity, power-integrity, EMC, and thermal tools provide ~5–10% accuracy estimates, not formal sign-off. All outputs require qualified human review before fabrication.

README (reference)

Source of truth, from the repository.

<div align="center"> <h1>KiCad MCP Pro</h1> <p> <strong>Drive KiCad schematic, PCB, DRC/ERC, DFM, and manufacturing review from any MCP-capable AI agent.</strong> </p> <p> <a href="https://oaslananka.github.io/kicad-mcp-pro/">Documentation</a> · <a href="docs/installation.md">Installation</a> · <a href="#quick-start">Quick Start</a> · <a href="docs/tools-reference.generated.md">Tool Reference</a> · <a href="https://oaslananka.github.io/kicad-mcp-pro/agents/">AI Agent Setup</a> · <a href="docs/llms.txt">AI discovery</a> </p> <p> <a href="https://pypi.org/project/kicad-mcp-pro/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/kicad-mcp-pro?label=pypi" alt="PyPI Version" /></a> <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/kicad-mcp-pro"><img src="https://img.shields.io/npm/v/kicad-mcp-pro?label=npm" alt="npm Version" /></a> <a href="https://pypi.org/project/kicad-mcp-pro/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/kicad-mcp-pro?label=python" alt="Python Version" /></a> <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-yellow.svg" alt="MIT License" /></a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21283791"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/1255527274.svg" alt="DOI" /></a> </p> <p> <a href="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg?branch=main" alt="CI" /></a> <a href="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/gui-ci.yml"><img src="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/gui-ci.yml/badge.svg?branch=main" alt="GUI CI" /></a> <a href="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/codeql.yml"><img src="https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/actions/workflows/codeql.yml/badge.svg?branch=main" alt="CodeQL" /></a> <a href="https://securityscorecards.dev/viewer/?uri=github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro"><img src="https://api.scorecard.dev/projects/github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro/badge" alt="OpenSSF Scorecard" /></a> <a href="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/13377"><img src="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/13377/badge" alt="OpenSSF Best Practices: Silver" /></a> </p> <p> <a href="https://pepy.tech/project/kicad-mcp-pro"><img src="https://static.pepy.tech/badge/kicad-mcp-pro" alt="PyPI total downloads" /></a> <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/kicad-mcp-pro"><img src="https://img.shields.io/npm/dt/kicad-mcp-pro?label=npm%20downloads" alt="npm total downloads" /></a> </p>

<p> <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oaslananka"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/sponsor-Buy%20me%20a%20coffee-ffdd00?logo=buymeacoffee&logoColor=black" alt="Buy me a coffee" /></a> </p> </div>

KiCad MCP Pro is a Model Context Protocol server for KiCad EDA workflows. It exposes tools, resources, and prompts for schematic, PCB, validation, DFM, and manufacturing export automation.

The server now starts with the bounded default profile: 24 read-only review tools instead of the complete expert catalog. Use build with write mode for controlled edits, release with manufacturing mode for human-gated handoff, or expert/full only for advanced trusted clients. Current catalog counts and context-size estimates come from docs/evidence/progressive-disclosure-profile-snapshot.json; see docs/agents/progressive-disclosure.md.

Telemetry and error reporting are disabled by default. Opt-in OpenTelemetry configuration is documented in docs/configuration.md, and privacy rules are documented in docs/privacy.md.

Scope and honesty

KiCad MCP Pro is a professional first-pass design and review assistant, not an automated sign-off authority. ERC/DRC and the export pipeline drive KiCad's own engines. The signal-integrity, power-integrity, EMC, and thermal tools are first-order, closed-form estimates (typically ~5–10% accuracy) — fast first-pass review, not a substitute for a 2D/3D field solver, EM/FEA simulation, or formal sign-off. Live component sourcing uses the JLCPCB public catalog by default; Nexar, DigiKey, and Mouser are available only when their API credentials are configured. What fraction of KiCad's programmatic surface the server drives is tracked openly in the capability-parity matrix. Raw tool count and capability coverage are inventory metrics, not the headline product-quality measure. End-to-end task outcome, mutation recovery, corruption, required DRC execution, and manufacturing reproducibility are the outcome KPIs. The committed native-live example evidence intentionally reports insufficient_evidence; representative-corpus target attainment remains separate until the qualification work in #730 is complete.

Project identity

Field	Value
Canonical repository	`oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro`
PyPI package	`kicad-mcp-pro`
npm wrapper	`kicad-mcp-pro`
MCP Registry name	`io.github.oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro`
Version	`3.35.2`
OSS maturity report	`docs/repo-maturity-report.md`
OpenSSF evidence	`docs/openssf-evidence.md`

Quick Start

Desktop App

Download the latest installer from the GitHub releases page. The Tauri desktop app starts the Python dashboard server automatically and opens the GUI at http://127.0.0.1:3334/ui. Desktop releases launch the matching exact backend version and verify its desktop compatibility handshake before use; see Installation.

CLI

uvx kicad-mcp-pro init
uvx kicad-mcp-pro tray
uvx kicad-mcp-pro dashboard --open
uvx kicad-mcp-pro --transport streamable-http --port 3334

Web Dashboard

uvx kicad-mcp-pro dashboard --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3334 --open
# http://127.0.0.1:3334/ui

Documentation

The documentation is organized from setup to operation:

Installation
Client configuration
Runtime configuration
Tool reference
Workflows
Release process
Security and privacy
KiCad capability parity — how much of KiCad's programmatic surface this server drives
Error code catalog — stable error codes, retry classes, and recovery
Work-order audit — current status of the hardening work order

The kicad_capability_parity() tool reports, per workflow domain, what fraction of KiCad's programmatically reachable surface this server can drive (currently 76.6%), keeping genuine gaps distinct from gui-only-no-api items that KiCad exposes no headless API for.

The published documentation site is available at https://oaslananka.github.io/kicad-mcp-pro/.

Transports

KiCad MCP Pro supports stdio and Streamable HTTP. Streamable HTTP is served at /mcp by default and can be moved with KICAD_MCP_MOUNT_PATH.

uvx kicad-mcp-pro --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3334

Streamable HTTP clients must send:

Accept: application/json, text/event-stream
Content-Type: application/json
MCP-Protocol-Version: 2025-11-25 after initialization
MCP-Session-Id on follow-up requests when KICAD_MCP_STATEFUL_HTTP=1

By default Streamable HTTP is stateless, so ChatGPT-style connectors can initialize and call tools/list without a session-header injection proxy. Set KICAD_MCP_STATEFUL_HTTP=1 to require session IDs after initialize.

The deprecated HTTP+SSE fallback routes are disabled by default. Set KICAD_MCP_LEGACY_SSE=1 only for older clients that cannot use Streamable HTTP.

Install

Published packages:

uvx kicad-mcp-pro --help
npx kicad-mcp-pro --help

Fresh source checkout on supported Linux hosts:

./scripts/bootstrap-dev.sh
source .dev-env.sh
pnpm run dev:doctor -- --ci

The repository bootstrap installs checksum-pinned Python, uv/uvx, Node.js, pnpm, Task, and Rust tooling into ignored checkout-local roots and performs frozen dependency installation. It does not modify global tool directories. See the reproducible bootstrap guide for --core-only, --check, cleanup, upgrade, and KiCad capability modes.

Package metadata

The canonical metadata inputs are pyproject.toml for package version and repository identity, and compatibility.yaml for KiCad and MCP support policy. server.json is the generated registry manifest. pnpm run metadata:sync renders the public surfaces, and pnpm run metadata:check verifies them in CI and release validation.

Usage

Use kicad-mcp-pro --help to inspect CLI commands and docs/client-configuration.md to configure an MCP client. The generated tool catalog is available in docs/tools-reference.generated.md.

Agent plugin and skills

This repository owns the product-level agent plugin and KiCad-specific skills for KiCad MCP Pro. The central agent-tools repository should catalog this plugin, but the manifest and workflow instructions live here so they stay synchronized with the actual MCP server tools.

File	Purpose
`.claude-plugin/plugin.json`	Product-level plugin manifest for compatible agent runtimes and marketplace catalogs.
`.mcp.json`	Claude Code project-local MCP server configuration.
`.codex/config.example.toml`	Codex CLI MCP configuration example.
`.vscode/mcp.example.json`	VS Code / GitHub Copilot workspace MCP configuration example.
`opencode.example.jsonc`	OpenCode project MCP configuration example.
`.opencode/skills/`	OpenCode-native mirrored skill definitions.
`docs/agent-runtime-config.md`	Agent runtime setup and validation matrix.
`skills/kicad-design-review/SKILL.md`	Comprehensive KiCad design review skill.
`skills/pcb-design/SKILL.md`	PCB design, layout inspection, placement, routing, stackup, and board-quality workflow.
`skills/drc-check/SKILL.md`	ERC/DRC execution, triage, waiver review, and revalidation workflow.
`skills/fabrication-output/SKILL.md`	Manufacturing export, DFM, release evidence, and fabrication-package workflow.
`skills/schematic-review/SKILL.md`	Schematic inspection, ERC, connectivity, power, symbol, and readability workflow.

Agent setup

KiCad MCP Pro can be launched with the published Python package, npm wrapper, or the container metadata declared in server.json. Common local starts are:

uvx kicad-mcp-pro --transport stdio
uvx kicad-mcp-pro --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3334
npx kicad-mcp-pro --help

For source checkouts, run the normal repository validation path before publishing plugin changes:

corepack pnpm run metadata:check
python3 -m json.tool .claude-plugin/plugin.json >/dev/null

Validation workflow

Before listing this plugin as active from agent-tools, verify at least one compatible agent runtime can:

Discover .claude-plugin/plugin.json.
Launch or connect to kicad-mcp-pro over stdio or Streamable HTTP.
Call kicad_get_server_info or kicad_get_project_info.
Load a skill from skills/ and follow the workflow without referencing missing tools.
Report ERC, DRC, DFM, export artifacts, assumptions, and human-review requirements separately.

KiCad MCP Pro is an engineering assistant, not an autonomous manufacturing sign-off authority. Generated PCB and fabrication outputs require qualified human review before fabrication or assembly.

Development

New contributors should start with ARCHITECTURE.md, which maps the five layers (transport → MCP protocol → orchestration → KiCad adapter seam → pure domain) and shows exactly how to add a new tool. The runtime model and quality-gate stack are documented in docs/development/architecture.md.

The project uses a Taskfile.yml for common development commands. After cloning the repository:

task install     # Install all dependencies (pnpm + uv)
task verify      # Run the local quality gate: lint → format → typecheck → test → build
task test        # Run unit tests only
task lint        # Run lint and metadata checks
task format      # Auto-format the codebase
task typecheck   # Run strict static type checking
task build       # Build release artifacts
task ci          # Run the local equivalent of the full CI pipeline
task hooks       # Install local git hooks

All changes must pass task verify before opening a pull request.

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. All changes must pass the repository's format, lint, type-check, test, workflow, security, and package metadata gates.

Cite this software

If you use KiCad MCP Pro in research or a technical publication, cite the archived release via its DOI (see CITATION.cff for full metadata):

@software{aslan_kicad_mcp_pro,
  author  = {Aslan, Osman},
  title   = {KiCad MCP Pro},
  license = {MIT},
  url     = {https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-mcp-pro},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.21283791}
}

Every GitHub release is archived on Zenodo under this concept DOI, which always resolves to the most recent version.

License

KiCad MCP Pro is available under the MIT License.

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