kicad-studio-kit
VS Code extension for KiCad EDA workflows with schematic/PCB viewers, DRC/ERC, BOM and export tooling, plus MCP discovery and AI-assisted developer workflows.
What it does and how it connects
KiCad Studio Kit is the VS Code extension repository for KiCad Studio workflows. It owns only the extension-side MCP discovery, configuration, compatibility metadata and user experience. The extension itself is oaslananka.kicadstudiokit, at version 2.2.0, and it is the only released product in this repo.
The MCP server is developed and released separately as KiCad MCP Pro, which lives in its own repository with its own Python source, npm launcher, container image and MCP Registry listing. The extension discovers and configures that server rather than embedding it. Open KiCad Studio PCB and schematic previews can refresh automatically when external tools save the underlying design files, without relying on MCP.
The extension treats KiCad 10.0.x as the primary tested line, keeps KiCad 9.x as deprecated best-effort compatibility after upstream end of life, and keeps KiCad 8.x as deprecated file-level compatibility, with the canonical matrix in docs/support-matrix.md and compatibility.yaml. The README states current project-authored source is MIT-licensed following the November 2026 restoration of MIT terms, and that past PolyForm-licensed releases retain their original grant.
Alternatives
Compare side by side- kicad-mcp-pro
The MCP server itself, exposing KiCad schematic, PCB, ERC/DRC, DFM, BOM and export workflows, while this repo owns only the extension-side discovery and configuration.
- kicad-mcp (blwfish)
A community MCP server letting agents drive KiCad PCB workflows, rather than a VS Code extension for KiCad EDA workflows.
- KiCad Copilot
An MCP server that lets agents generate and modify KiCad schematics, place PCBs and route locally, rather than a VS Code extension for KiCad workflows.
- dsh-kicad
A DeepSeek Harness plugin for AI-driven PCB design in KiCad, rather than a VS Code extension for KiCad EDA workflows.
Recurring errors it addresses
Error Index entries this tool is built to reduce or work around.
- 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
- An engineer running Claude Code against KiCad found the agent kept repeating a stale claim of 19 DRC violations that lived on in prose docs. MCP tool summaries cannot be treated as live numbers; only DRC message text and actual exports are authoritative.Error Index
- KiCAD-MCP-Server's export_gerber returns success: true and lists all 24 layers as exported, but writes no .gbr files: PlotLayer draws into a plot file that was never opened with OpenPlotfile, returns False unchecked, and only the drill files (from a separate kicad-cli call) land in the folder. An agent reading the response would report the fab package ready when the folder is empty.Error Index
Sources
Not verified
- Pricing: none stated on the repo; the extension is free open source.
- No independent user voice found: recent activity is maintainer and Renovate pull requests only.
- License history: MIT terms were restored in November 2026; past PolyForm-licensed releases retain their original grant per the README.
Last verified November 6, 2026. Listings are informational. The evidence score measures public, verifiable evidence and is not an endorsement or a compatibility claim.