Altium Designer MCP README
The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the Altium Designer MCP listing page.
altium-designer-mcp
Let an AI build your Altium libraries — it does the engineering, this tool writes the files.
An MCP server that gives AI assistants (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity, VS Code Copilot — any MCP client) file I/O
and primitive-placement tools for Altium Designer .PcbLib (footprint) and .SchLib (symbol)
libraries — so the AI can create and maintain any component, not just pre-programmed packages.
The Problem
Building Altium component libraries by hand is slow and repetitive — every footprint means
looking up IPC-7351B pad sizes, courtyards, and silkscreen, then placing each primitive by
hand. AI assistants are excellent at exactly that reasoning, but they cannot write Altium's
binary .PcbLib/.SchLib files — an undocumented OLE compound format that is easy to
corrupt, and Altium silently refuses to open a malformed file.
| Approach | Problem |
|---|---|
| Draw every footprint by hand in Altium | Slow and repetitive; the AI can't touch the file |
| Ask an AI to emit the binary file directly | It produces a corrupt file Altium won't open |
| Pre-programmed footprint generators | Only the package types someone coded in advance |
The Core Idea
The AI handles the intelligence. The tool handles file I/O.
| Responsibility | Owner |
|---|---|
| IPC-7351B calculations | AI |
| Package layout decisions | AI |
| Style choices | AI |
| Datasheet interpretation | AI |
| Reading/writing Altium files | This tool |
| Primitive placement | This tool |
| STEP model attachment | This tool |
This means the AI can create any footprint — not just pre-programmed package types. See docs/VISION.md for the full architectural rationale.
Who Is This For?
Anyone who builds or maintains Altium component libraries and uses an MCP-capable AI
assistant. The AI does the engineering (datasheet → dimensions → style); this server lets it
read and write the actual .PcbLib / .SchLib files.
| If you… | Then… |
|---|---|
| Use Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity, VS Code + Copilot — any MCP client — and design in Altium | ✅ This is for you |
| Want pre-baked generators for a fixed set of packages | ❌ Not this — the point is any component |
| Don't use Altium | ❌ Not applicable |
Quick Start
Client Setup — verified configuration for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Google Antigravity, Cursor, VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, Windsurf, Cline, Roo Code, Kiro, JetBrains, Zed, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Continue, Goose, OpenCode and any other stdio MCP client, plus troubleshooting — on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Using the server — what to ask for once it is connected: example workflows, prompts and tips, identical for every client.
How It Works
MCP Tools
The server exposes 34 tools, working on both .PcbLib (footprints) and
.SchLib (symbols). Every tool's full parameters and examples live in
docs/TOOLS.md — this is the categorised overview.
Read & write
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
read_pcblib | Read footprints from a .PcbLib. |
write_pcblib | Write footprints to a .PcbLib. |
read_schlib | Read symbols from a .SchLib. |
write_schlib | Write symbols to a .SchLib. |
Inspect & visualise
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
list_components | List component names (paginated). |
get_component | Get one component's full data. |
search_components | Search across libraries by regex/glob. |
component_exists | Check whether components exist. |
render_footprint | ASCII-art preview of a footprint. |
render_symbol | ASCII-art preview of a symbol. |
extract_style | Extract styling from an existing library. |
Compare
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
diff_libraries | Compare two library files. |
compare_components | Diff two specific components. |
Edit in place
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
update_component | Update a component, preserving its position. |
update_pad | Update one pad's properties. |
update_primitive | Update one primitive (track/arc/text/fill/region). |
batch_update | Batch updates across all components. |
reorder_components | Reorder components in a library. |
manage_schlib_parameters | List/get/set/remove SchLib parameters. |
manage_schlib_footprints | Manage footprint links in SchLib symbols. |
Manage components
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
delete_component | Delete one or more components. |
copy_component | Duplicate a component within a library. |
rename_component | Rename a component (atomic). |
copy_component_cross_library | Copy a component to another library. |
bulk_rename | Pattern-based multi-rename. |
Library operations
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
merge_libraries | Merge multiple libraries into one. |
write_libpkg | Write a .LibPkg project grouping libraries for IntLib compilation. |
export_library | Export to JSON/CSV. |
import_library | Import from JSON (inverse of export). |
validate_library | Validate for common issues. |
repair_library | Remove orphaned data. |
extract_step_model | Extract embedded STEP 3D models. |
Backups & safety
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
list_backups | List automatic backups. |
restore_backup | Restore from a backup. |
Primitive Types
Footprint Primitives (PcbLib)
| Primitive | Description |
|---|---|
| Pad | SMD or through-hole pad with designator, position, size, shape, layer (see Pad Shapes below) |
| Via | Vertical interconnect with layer span, hole size, and thermal relief |
| Track | Line segment on any layer (silkscreen, assembly, etc.) |
| Arc | Arc or circle on any layer |
| Region | Filled polygon (courtyard, copper pour) |
| Text | Text string with font, size, position, layer |
| Fill | Filled rectangle on any layer |
| ComponentBody | 3D model reference (embedded STEP models) |
Pad Shapes and Pin 1 Indicator
The shape property on pads controls the copper shape. Use this to indicate pin 1:
| Shape | Value | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle | "rectangle" | Pin 1 indicator — use for the first pad to distinguish it visually |
| Rounded Rectangle | "rounded_rectangle" | Default for SMD pads (most common) |
| Round | "round" or "circle" | Circular pads, default for through-hole (both values are equivalent) |
| Oval | "oval" | Oblong pads for constrained spaces |
| Octagonal | "octagonal" | Eight-sided pads (chamfered corners) |
Example — marking pin 1 with a rectangular pad:
This follows the IPC-7351 convention where pin 1 has a distinct shape (typically rectangular or square corners) while other pads use rounded corners.
Symbol Primitives (SchLib)
| Primitive | Description |
|---|---|
| Pin | Component pin with name, designator, electrical type, orientation |
| Rectangle | Filled or unfilled rectangle (component body) |
| RoundRect | Rounded rectangle with corner radii |
| Line | Single line segment |
| Polyline | Multiple connected line segments |
| Polygon | Filled polygon with border and fill colours |
| Arc | Arc or circle |
| Pie | Filled circular sector (arc geometry plus fill) |
| Image | Embedded or linked raster picture with a bounding box |
| Ellipse | Ellipse or circle (filled or unfilled) |
| EllipticalArc | Elliptical arc segment with fractional radii |
| Bezier | Cubic Bezier curve (4 control points) |
| Label | Text string (RECORD=4) — the only free text on a symbol |
| IeeeSymbol | IEEE symbol glyph (RECORD=3): a dot, a clock, an active-low input, … |
| TextFrame | Bordered multi-line text box (word-wrap, alignment) |
| Parameter | Component parameter (Value, Part Number, etc.) |
| FootprintModel | Reference to a footprint in a PcbLib |
Standard Altium Layers
Common layers for footprints (each has a Bottom equivalent):
| Layer | Usage |
|---|---|
| Top Layer | Copper pads (SMD) |
| Bottom Layer | Bottom copper pads |
| Multi-Layer | Through-hole pads (all copper layers) |
| Top Overlay | Silkscreen |
| Top Paste | Solder paste stencil |
| Top Solder | Solder mask openings |
| Top Assembly | Assembly outline (documentation) |
| Top Courtyard | Courtyard boundary (IPC-7351) |
| Top 3D Body | 3D model outline |
Additional layers supported:
| Layer | Usage |
|---|---|
| Mid-Layer 1–30 | Internal copper layers |
| Internal Plane 1–16 | Power/ground planes |
| Mechanical 1–32 | User-defined mechanical layers |
| Drill Guide | Drill hole markers |
| Drill Drawing | Drill chart/table |
| Keep-Out Layer | Routing exclusion zones |
A layer may be named as Altium spells it (Top Overlay, Mechanical 13) or in camel
case (TopOverlay, Mechanical13), in any case; every tool accepts the same spellings.
Installation
Prebuilt binaries for Linux (x86_64), macOS (aarch64) and Windows (x86_64) are on the
Releases page — each
archive bundles a setup README plus docs/CLIENT_SETUP.md, which
wires the server into every MCP client we know of.
Claude Desktop users need no archive at all: install the one-click extension
altium-designer-mcp.mcpb from the same page (older builds: the identical
altium-designer-mcp.dxt) via Settings → Extensions → Advanced settings →
Install Extension… — see CLIENT_SETUP.md § Claude Desktop.
In a container — for a Linux box, a NAS or a CI job that generates libraries into a
mounted folder (Altium itself never needs to be inside): the repository's Dockerfile
produces the same --locked release build as the published binaries.
The mounted /libraries folder is the container's whole allow-list. In a client's
configuration that is "command": "docker" with
"args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-v", "/path/to/libraries:/libraries", "altium-designer-mcp"].
To build from source instead, see
CONTRIBUTING.md § Development Setup; an optimised
binary comes from cargo build --release and lands at target/release/altium-designer-mcp.
Verifying a downloaded release
Released archives are built by GitHub Actions and carry a signed SLSA build provenance attestation, so a download can be traced back to the workflow run and commit that produced it:
The binaries are not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen and macOS Gatekeeper warn on first run (on macOS, right-click → Open). The attestation is the stronger check. See docs/RELEASING.md for how releases are produced.
Command-Line Usage
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
CONFIG_FILE | Path to configuration file (optional, uses default location if omitted) |
--allow <DIR>... | Grant access to library folders directly (repeatable). Adds to the config file's allowed_paths, and works with no config file at all — the other settings then take their defaults |
-v, --verbose | Increase logging verbosity (-v info, -vv debug, -vvv trace) |
-q, --quiet | Decrease logging verbosity (only show errors) |
-h, --help | Print help information |
-V, --version | Print version information |
Connecting an AI client
Every MCP client needs the same two absolute paths — the binary and your config file — and differs only in where they are written. The standard block most clients read:
Where that goes for Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline, Zed, JetBrains,
Gemini CLI, Codex CLI and the rest — and what to do when a client cannot see the server —
is in docs/CLIENT_SETUP.md. Use absolute paths: clients do not
search PATH or expand ~ for you.
Configuration
The server reads one JSON file — or none: altium-designer-mcp --allow <DIR> grants
folders on the command line and runs on defaults for everything else, which is how the
Claude Desktop extension starts it. Configuration file location:
- Linux/macOS:
~/.altium-designer-mcp/config.json - Windows:
%USERPROFILE%\.altium-designer-mcp\config.json
Configuration Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
allowed_paths | Array of directory paths where library files can be accessed; --allow adds to it (default when neither grants anything: the current working directory) |
logging.level | Log level: trace, debug, info, warn, error (default: warn) |
logging.audit_log_path | Path to an append-only JSON-lines audit log of destructive operations (default: null — no audit log is written) |
rate_limit.max_burst | Maximum burst of mutating operations before throttling; read-only tools are never rate limited (default: 120) |
rate_limit.refill_per_sec | Token-bucket refill rate for mutating operations, in tokens per second (default: 30.0) |
STEP Model Integration
STEP models are attached, not generated. The tool links existing STEP files to footprints.
Embedded vs External Models
Altium supports two ways to reference 3D models:
| Type | Storage | Portability |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded | STEP data stored inside the .PcbLib file | Fully portable — the model travels with the library |
| External | File path reference to a .step file on disk | Not portable — requires the file to exist at the referenced path |
When copying or merging components between libraries:
- Embedded models travel with the component —
copy_component_cross_libraryandmerge_librariesboth copy the referenced model streams into the target (a model shared by several footprints is copied once), so the bodies still resolve after the move. - External model references:
copy_component_cross_libraryremoves them with a warning by default, since a path relative to the source library rarely resolves elsewhere — passpreserve_external_paths=trueto keep them.merge_librariescarries them unchanged.
Embedding a model in the source library is the reliable way to keep 3D data through any copy.
Extracting Embedded Models
Use extract_step_model to extract embedded STEP data from a library:
For parametric 3D model generation, a dedicated mechanical MCP server is planned as a future project.
Automatic Backups
Before any destructive operation (delete, update, merge, batch update), the server automatically creates a timestamped backup of the target file. Backups use the format:
Backup retention: Only the 5 most recent backups per file are kept. Older backups are automatically removed to prevent unbounded disk usage.
Operations that create backups:
delete_componentupdate_componentupdate_padupdate_primitiverename_componentcopy_componentcopy_component_cross_library(target file)merge_libraries(target file)reorder_componentsbatch_updatebulk_renamerepair_librarymanage_schlib_parametersmanage_schlib_footprintswrite_pcblib/write_schlib(when overwriting)import_library(when overwriting)restore_backup(the current file, before the chosen backup replaces it)
Managing backups: Use list_backups to view available backups and restore_backup to
recover from a previous version.
Dry-run support: These operations support dry_run=true to preview changes
without modifying files:
delete_component— preview which components would be deletedupdate_component— preview component replacement changesupdate_pad/update_primitive— preview property changesbulk_rename— preview name changesrepair_library— preview orphaned references to removebatch_update— preview library-wide updatescopy_component/rename_component/merge_libraries
Notes
Long Component Names
Component names longer than 31 characters are supported. The OLE Compound File format limits storage names to 31 characters, so longer names are automatically truncated internally while the full name is preserved in component parameters. This is handled transparently — you can use any length component name and it will be preserved on read/write roundtrips.
Privacy Policy
altium-designer-mcp is a local tool and collects nothing.
- Data collection: none. The server has no network access, no telemetry and no analytics; it never contacts any service, including this project's.
- Usage and storage: it reads and writes only the library files inside the folders
you grant (
allowed_pathsor--allow), plus the timestamped.bakcopies it makes beside them before a change. The optional audit log (logging.audit_log_path) is a local file you choose, holding tool names, file names and outcomes — never library contents. - Third-party sharing: none. Nothing leaves your machine.
- Data retention: the files and backups stay until you delete them; backups are capped at the five most recent per library.
- Contact: matejg03@gmail.com, or a GitHub issue for anything that need not be private.
Documentation
| For… | Read |
|---|---|
| Wiring the server into your AI client | docs/CLIENT_SETUP.md — one section per client |
| What to ask for once it is connected | docs/USAGE.md — workflows, prompts, tips |
| Telling the AI how to use it well | docs/AGENT_GUIDE.md (paste into a project brief), docs/AI_WORKFLOW.md |
| Every tool, parameter and example | docs/TOOLS.md; error messages in docs/errors.md |
| Why it is built this way | docs/VISION.md, docs/ARCHITECTURE.md |
| The file formats, byte by byte | docs/PCBLIB_FORMAT.md, docs/SCHLIB_FORMAT.md |
| Security model and threat analysis | docs/SECURITY.md (reporting: SECURITY.md) |
| How releases are built and verified | docs/RELEASING.md |
Contributing
Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
- Follow the style guide in STYLE.md
- Security issues: see SECURITY.md
Development
Write-path tests generate their own data programmatically; reader tests parse the committed
Altium-authored golden fixtures (see Sample Files). Temporary files are
created in .tmp/ (git-ignored) and automatically cleaned up.
The full build, formatting, and lint commands are canonical in CONTRIBUTING.md § Development Setup.
Licence
Copyright (C) 2026 The Embedded Society https://github.com/embedded-society/altium-designer-mcp.
GNU General Public License v3.0 — see LICENCE.
Links
Sample Files
Altium-authored sample libraries are committed under scripts/samples/ as golden fixtures:
the reader tests (tests/samples_pcblib.rs, tests/samples_schlib.rs) parse them in CI as
ground truth. The PowerShell/DelphiScript tooling that (re)generates them needs a real Altium
installation and is manual-only.
See scripts/README.md for details on the sample files and the on-site tooling.
Prior Art & Acknowledgements
This project stands on the shoulders of several excellent open-source efforts, and we're grateful for each:
- AltiumSharp (MIT) — the most complete open Altium
reader/writer. Used as the authoritative reference (its DTOs, binary serialisation code, and golden
TestData) for verifying our binary format against ground truth. - pyAltiumLib — an independent Python reader, used
as our CI readability oracle (
tests/integration/) to check that generated files actually parse. - python-altium — early Altium format documentation.
- coffeenmusic/altium-mcp (MIT) — an MCP server
that drives the live Altium application. It's the complement to this project (we generate and
edit library files offline; it controls a running session). We adapted its RunScript launch +
file-based bridge pattern for our on-site Altium automation
(
scripts/altium/).