KiCad Routing Tools
Rust accelerated A star autorouter for KiCad 9 and 10 as a KiCad plugin and CLI, with differential pairs, length matching, placement optimization and an AI tab plus Claude Code routing skills
What it does and how it connects
KiCad Routing Tools is a fast Rust-accelerated A star autorouter for KiCad PCB files, compatible with KiCad 9 and KiCad 10. It is available both as a KiCad plugin with a full GUI and as a command-line interface for scripting and automation.
The router covers differential pairs, length matching with trombone meanders and automatic DQ/DQS grouping, time matching by propagation delay, placement optimization, and signal integrity features including GND return-via placement. The plugin adds an AI Drive tab for routing and placement, and the README documents a Claude Code option that analyzes a PCB and generates a routing plan.
The project is free and MIT-licensed, with no paid tier and nothing paywalled, per the README. Donations cover about 500 dollars a month of cloud compute and AI-assisted development, and every router change is A/B tested by replaying a corpus of real open-source boards and grading each one for DRC violations and unconnected nets.
What engineers report
candidate_veto returns courtyard for a pair whose rects overlap while the parts' shapes do not: the rect is a bounding box over a round pad, over silk plus pads.
2026-11-06Read the original
Alternatives
Compare side by side- kicad-tools (rjwalters)
Standalone Python tools for AI agents to parse and manipulate KiCad files, with an autorouter and an MCP server, rather than a Rust-accelerated plugin and CLI.
- TraceMaker
Routes and places an existing KiCad .kicad_pcb file, rather than offering a full plugin with placement optimization and an AI tab.
- DeepPCB
A cloud routing service for an already placed board, rather than a local Rust-accelerated autorouter.
- kicad-mcp (blwfish)
An MCP server that drives a full KiCad workflow from a plain language description, with autorouting and LCSC part lookup, rather than a dedicated routing plugin.
- kicad-claude-mcp
An MCP server with 105 tools that edits KiCad schematic and PCB files directly, rather than a dedicated autorouter.
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
Sources
Not verified
- Real user voices beyond the single issue quoted above (recent issue activity is mostly maintainer and contributor reports)
- A named individual builder beyond the repository owner handle drandyhaas
Last verified November 6, 2026. Listings are informational. The evidence score measures public, verifiable evidence and is not an endorsement or a compatibility claim.