heypcb-mcp
MCP server that gives coding agents real PCB design capability: parts, placement, routing, DRC and ERC, and fab checks on KiCad boards, triggered from a plain-language board description.
What it does and how it connects
heypcb-mcp is the MCP server for HeyPCB, the AI PCB service: add it to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Claude Desktop and design real KiCad boards from an agent. HeyPCB's server does the engineering through Inky, its design agent, with parts, placement, routing, DRC and ERC and fab checks, while the agent calls high-level tools such as build_board, get_board, check_board and export.
An agent can also design the board itself with HeyPCB's parts library, proven circuit blocks and checks: search_parts, get_part, add_parts, add_block and connect for the circuit, then set_board_outline, set_board_rules, move_part and add_ground_pour for layout, and check_board until the board is fab-ready, with every finding naming the call that fixes it. The local server adds tools that work on a KiCad project in its own folder, including open_kicad_project, upload_kicad_project, save_export, and check_local and export_local through kicad-cli.
The remote server runs at api.heypcb.ai over Streamable HTTP with OAuth sign-in and nothing to install; the local server needs Node.js 18 or newer. Seven tools run paid engine work at what the same work costs on heypcb.ai, priced first with estimate, while the local tools are free. The repository is MIT licensed and releases are mirrored there from HeyPCB's own repository.
Alternatives
Compare side by side- pcb-claude-plugin
A Claude Code plugin that produces a manufacturable KiCad 9 project from a plain-English description, rather than an MCP server to HeyPCB's design service.
- kicad-mcp-pro
An MCP server that drives KiCad directly, rather than a server that reaches HeyPCB's hosted design engine.
- kicad-mcp (blwfish)
An MCP server for KiCad, rather than a server that reaches HeyPCB's hosted design engine.
- kicad-claude-mcp
An MCP server that connects Claude to KiCad, rather than a server that reaches HeyPCB's hosted design engine.
- HeyPCB
The HeyPCB AI PCB design service itself, rather than the MCP server that reaches it.
Recurring errors it addresses
Error Index entries this tool is built to reduce or work around.
- Interactive routing creates unwanted micro-segments and awkward paths that take time to clean up.Error Index
- Grid snap and move commands can disconnect items or reposition them in unwanted ways.Error Index
- GUI lag, occasional freezes, and sluggish editor switching interrupt concentration.Error Index
- Wayland/NVIDIA users report graphical glitches, flicker, or instability.Error Index
- A KiCad MCP bridge normalizes DRC, connectivity, and geometry into its own output format, and that normalized output can silently disagree with the native KiCad engine. The maintainer had to build seeded false-PASS and false-FAIL tests because the bridge layer cannot be trusted as engineering truth on its own.Error Index
Sources
Not verified
- Pricing: seven tools run paid engine work at heypcb.ai prices; the site states Starter $20/mo, Pro $60/mo and Ultra $500/mo, each including that amount of AI work per month, refilled weekly, so pricing is recorded from the site, read 2026-11-06.
- Real user voices: no real linked post read for this page; the repo has no public issues, only pull requests.
Last verified November 6, 2026. Listings are informational. The evidence score measures public, verifiable evidence and is not an endorsement or a compatibility claim.