Konnect
Native KiCad 10 plugin exposing schematic, layout, routing, and manufacturing tools to AI agents over MCP through KiCad's official IPC API.
What it does and how it connects
Konnect is a native KiCad 10 plugin, a single Rust binary, that exposes schematic, layout, routing, placement, design-review, and manufacturing tools to Claude and other AI assistants over MCP through KiCad's official IPC API. The README states 228 tools across 21 on-demand toolsets, with bundled skills and agents that teach the assistant KiCad conventions.
It is the successor to the KiCAD MCP Server by the same author: where the original routed each tool call through TypeScript, a Python subprocess, and SWIG bindings, Konnect runs as one process in one language. Coverage stated in the README includes schematic capture, PCB layout and routing, ERC and DRC, design-review audits, JLCPCB part search, reference circuits, and a full manufacturing export pipeline.
This repository is archived and read-only. Development continues at Konnect-EDA from Orchis.ai LLC, which the README describes as commercial and closed source, with free use until version 1.0 and free license keys for personal, hobby, student, and open-hardware work after 1.0. The code and releases in this repository stay available under AGPL-3.0.
What engineers report
export_netlist runs 'sch export netlist' for PCB paths, so IPC-D-356 fails with 'Invalid format'.
2026-10-24Read the original
Alternatives
Compare side by side- KiCAD MCP Server (mixelpixx)
An MCP server for PCB design automation in KiCad, with JLCPCB parts and Freerouting integration; the predecessor project that Konnect was built to replace.
- kicad-mcp-pro
An MCP server with profile-gated access to KiCad schematic, PCB, validation, DFM, and manufacturing export tools.
- kicad-mcp (draganito)
A compact Rust MCP server that drives a running KiCad 10 PCB editor over the official IPC API, aimed at JLCPCB orders.
- KiCad AI Assistant
A KiCad action plugin that embeds an LLM chat panel inside KiCad 10 with a built-in MCP server.
- 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.
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
- The Konnect-EDA successor (a separate repository, not researched as its own page).
- A named individual builder beyond the repository owner handle mixelpixx
Last verified November 6, 2026. Listings are informational. The evidence score measures public, verifiable evidence and is not an endorsement or a compatibility claim.