Renaming X to PWR_X when a PWR_* pattern exists silently puts the net in that class. Python's fnmatch reads [..] as a character class where KiCad's wildcard does not. The board keeps old names until someone runs the update from schematic.
Recurring agent failure issue in boardproof (TotallyNotAHackerTrustMeIAmADolphin)
What engineers report
A recurring agent failure problem in boardproof (TotallyNotAHackerTrustMeIAmADolphin) that mostly hits the electrical engineer.
Failure pattern: validation / silent failure
Analyst note
From the Grok pain-radar digests, Nov 10-11 2026 (Nov 10 8:41 AM ET through Nov 11 7:41 AM ET digests plus the Haitch editions). Verified live 2026-11-11: issue/PR read; title and state confirmed.
What it costs a team
Modeled annual cost
$30,000
For a team of 5
Prototype delay
3 days
Modeled schedule slip per occurrence
Time lost
240 min
Per engineer per month, about 1 incidents
How the cost is modeled
240 min/month × 5 engineers × 12 months = 240 hours × $125/hour = $30,000
A modeled estimate with medium confidence. Swap in your own team size and loaded rate to size it for your team.
Engineering tools that address it
No engineering tool profile lists this error yet. Browse tools that connect to boardproof (TotallyNotAHackerTrustMeIAmADolphin).
Evidence
More recurring errors in boardproof (TotallyNotAHackerTrustMeIAmADolphin)
- Neither check_connectivity nor ERC reports empty Footprint, missing LCSC or a Datasheet of '~' on placed symbols, so a schematic can look finished and still produce an incomplete BOM. A read-only, hierarchy-wide check would list every symbol missing a footprint, an LCSC number or a datasheet, by reference and uuid. The checks that exist all look at wiring, while the ordering data lives in fields nobody verifies until assembly.ECAD · impact 74
- The maintainer of a KiCad agent toolkit is collecting the questions a downstream hardware project's agent had to ask because it could not find the answer. JLCPCB fab limits exist as a Python profile but no tool writes them into the board's .kicad_dru rules, the JLC part tier lookup says 'unknown' for Extended parts, LCSC search fails behind a bot wall with no written fallback, and a reported KiCad 10.0.7 behaviour drops creepage paths whose midpoint falls outside Edge.Cuts.ECAD · impact 74
- A peer project asked for one call that checks every part in a project against LCSC: Basic or Extended, stock, and whether the footprint fits the package. Today it is one part at a time, and once it suggested a 0402 part for a 0603 footprint. They want a package and footprint mismatch reported as an error. Same failure as finding 1, seen from the sourcing side.ECAD · impact 66
Sourced from public community reports. Costs and delays are modeled estimates, not measurements. Know a better source or a fix? Tell us at hello@productflo.io.