kicad-tools
Agent skill for automating KiCad schematic and PCB review, repair, and manufacturing export through the kct command line.
What it does and how it connects
kicad-tools is an agent skill that automates KiCad project workflows through the kct command line, built on the open Agent Skills standard. It works with GitHub Copilot, Google Antigravity, Claude Code, and other tools that support the standard, and it needs no MCP server.
The skill covers schematic analysis, PCB analysis, DRC and ERC validation with pure Python DRC and manufacturer rule sets for JLCPCB, OSHPark, PCBWay, and Seeed, schematic and PCB repair, autorouting with strategy escalation from 2 layers to 4 and 6 layers, placement optimization, and manufacturing export including Gerber generation, BOM, CPL, and PDF reports.
It wraps the separate kicad-tools CLI (kct) by rjwalters, which the skill auto-installs from PyPI into a virtual environment when it is not already available. The reference lists about 50 kct commands.
Alternatives
Compare side by side- kicad-happy
A set of agent skills that reviews existing KiCad projects for schematic, PCB, EMC, BOM, and fab readiness instead of generating designs.
- KiStack
Human-written agent skills that guide KiCad schematic, layout, BOM, export, and Gerber review, rather than a server with a fixed tool list.
- kicad-mcp (blwfish)
An MCP server that runs a full KiCad workflow from a plain language description to manufacturing files, with LCSC and JLCPCB part search.
- kicad-mcp-pro
An MCP server with profile-gated access to KiCad schematic, PCB, validation, DFM, and manufacturing export tools.
- KiCad Copilot
An MCP server that generates and modifies KiCad schematics and PCBs from natural language, with local routing and recoverable checkpoints.
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
- 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
Sources
Not verified
- No independent user voice found: the repository has no public issues.
- Pricing: none stated on the repo.
- A named individual builder beyond the repository owner handle michpro
Last verified November 6, 2026. Listings are informational. The evidence score measures public, verifiable evidence and is not an endorsement or a compatibility claim.