# Konnect [Health: Active]

**Category:** 📐 Architecture & Design  
**Repository:** https://github.com/mixelpixx/Konnect  
**GitHub Stars:** 1359  
**Views:** 1  
**Installs:** 0  
**Upvotes:** 0  
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/konnect

## Description
AI-assisted PCB design for KiCAD 10. Native KiCAD plugin — a single Rust binary exposing 217 schematic, layout, routing, placement, design-review, and manufacturing tools to Claude, or the LLM of your choosing

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
No confirmed install details yet, so no config is published. Follow the setup steps in the repository above.

## Documentation

## What Konnect MCP server does

The Konnect MCP server lets an MCP-compatible AI assistant work directly with KiCad 10 projects. Its toolsets cover schematic construction, PCB placement and routing, design validation, component research, reference circuits, and manufacturing output.

An assistant can add and connect schematic parts by pin name, place or rotate footprints, and make live board changes through KiCad. It can also run electrical and design checks, including ERC, DRC, connectivity validation, decoupling review, power-rail review, and BOM health checks. Production-oriented tools export Gerbers, drill files, bills of materials, pick-and-place data, 3D models, and PDFs.

Additional capabilities include searching a local JLCPCB catalog containing about 2.5 million parts, suggesting alternatives, and starting from reference designs for USB-C, LDO, buck converter, STM32, I2C, and LED circuits. A live schematic viewer can refresh as edits are made.

## How it works

Konnect is distributed as a Rust binary rather than a stack of Node.js, Python, and KiCad binding dependencies. Schematic edits use direct KiCad S-expression processing with atomic writes and UUID preservation; KiCad does not need to be running for that file operation. PCB editing uses KiCad 10’s IPC interface over NNG and protobuf, providing real-time updates and integration with KiCad undo/redo. Single-footprint placement has a headless fallback.

The Konnect MCP server exposes JSON-RPC through stdio by default. Streamable HTTP can be selected with the `transport` setting, including a mode that enables both transports. Its router starts with a smaller starter set and loads toolsets on demand, reducing the context required when the complete catalog is not needed. Built-in call history, server statistics, and JSONL logs provide information for diagnosing tool failures.

Specctra workflows use revision-bound DSN export and a controlled SES import process. A local Freerouting MCP route is supported, while KiCad’s native export bridge is optional, authenticated, loopback-only, and disabled by default.

## Setup and configuration

The recommended installation is the KiCad Plugin and Content Manager. Download the platform package from the project’s releases, install it through KiCad 10’s “Install from File” action, restart KiCad, and verify that Konnect appears under PCB Editor → Tools → External Plugins.

Source builds require Rust, `protoc`, and CMake. The documented release build uses `cargo build --release -p konnect`.

Konnect also includes shared guidance for Claude and Codex. Run `konnect init` explicitly to install that guidance, or use `konnect init --client codex` for Codex-specific placement. Starting the MCP server does not install or restore these files.

## Tools and capabilities

The Konnect MCP server provides on-demand toolsets for:

- Schematic capture and wiring
- PCB placement, layout, and routing
- ERC, DRC, connectivity, and design audits
- JLCPCB part search and alternatives
- Reference circuit generation
- Gerber, drill, BOM, pick-and-place, 3D, and PDF exports
- Specctra and Freerouting workflows
- Server statistics and recent-call diagnostics

The project describes the release as beta. The first supported Specctra profile preserves fixed straight tracks and through vias; unsupported geometry such as unlocked routing, arcs, and zones is rejected before mutation.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/konnect/readme_