# Kicad Pcb

Workflow skill for KiCAD PCB layout and routing via MCP tools.

- Repository: https://github.com/mixelpixx/Konnect (1441 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add mixelpixx/Konnect --skill kicad-pcb -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add mixelpixx/Konnect --skill kicad-pcb -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add mixelpixx/Konnect --skill kicad-pcb -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add mixelpixx/Konnect --skill kicad-pcb -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Workflow skill for KiCAD PCB layout and routing via MCP tools. Triggers on: "layout the board", "route traces", "PCB", "place footprints", "copper pour", "board outline", "differential pair", "board setup", "track width", "via", "zone", "design rules", "stackup", "silkscreen".

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# KiCAD PCB Layout Workflow

This skill guides Claude to perform PCB layout using Konnect MCP tools.
ALL modifications go through MCP tools, never edit .kicad_pcb files directly.

---

## Prerequisites

Most PCB layout operations require KiCAD to be running with the board file open. The IPC
connection communicates with the running KiCAD instance in real-time.

Some board-construction and component tools have guarded closed-board paths. IPC-first
tools fall back to the file only when the transport is unreachable and the target board
has not been observed live during this server session. These paths use revision-aware
atomic writes: placement preserves pads, graphics, attributes, and models; moves
preserve the existing angle; rotations update the footprint and its child angles; the
closed-board flip fallback mirrors supported geometry and swaps front/back layers,
refusing any 3D model whose offset/rotation it cannot transform. On KiCad 10.0.6+,
`flip_component` prefers KiCad's own native FlipItems IPC command instead, which
handles that 3D-model transform correctly, the file fallback only applies when no
live KiCad holds the board. A reachable KiCad that predates 10.0.6 returns
the structured error **unsupported_capability**; every reachable rejection stays closed instead of racing
the editor with a file edit.

The rest: https://github.com/mixelpixx/Konnect/blob/HEAD/crates/konnect/assets/skills/kicad-pcb/SKILL.md