KiCad MCP Pro

What KiCad MCP Pro does

KiCad MCP Pro exposes KiCad EDA workflows through the Model Context Protocol. Its coverage spans schematic inspection, PCB review, electrical and design-rule checks, design-for-manufacturing analysis, component verification, BOM pricing, and project readiness checks. Agents can configure an active project, inspect its files and structure, run validation, and follow a staged design workflow.

The server starts with a bounded default profile containing read-only review tools. Other operating profiles support controlled build work, manufacturing-oriented release work, or broader expert access. The project workflow models five phases: Planner, Builder, Verifier, Fixer, and Release. It reports the current phase, required gates, next action, and whether human approval is needed.

How it works

Project paths are set through MCP tools before project-level operations are run. Once configured, the agent can retrieve project information, KiCad version and connection status, board summaries, stackup data, design rules, schematic symbols, estimated symbol bounds, and a textual connectivity graph.

Many checks operate directly on local KiCad project files. PCB visual QA examines board geometry for off-board footprints, silk or body collisions, and overlapping footprint bodies without requiring a live KiCad session. Schematic visual QA checks sheet geometry for overlapping labels, off-sheet objects, dense label fanout, and title-block gaps. These checks produce structured findings with statuses and positions for follow-up.

The server supports both stdio and Streamable HTTP transports. Streamable HTTP serves the MCP endpoint at /mcp by default and can use a different mount path. A command-line launch can start the server locally, while the desktop distribution starts its backend and provides a local dashboard.

Setup and configuration

The package can be launched with uvx kicad-mcp-pro, including commands for initialization, the tray process, the dashboard, and Streamable HTTP. The dashboard can bind to a local host and open its web interface on port 3334. Desktop releases bundle a matching backend and check compatibility before use.

For Streamable HTTP, launch with an explicit transport, host, and port. Clients must send the MCP JSON and event-stream accept types, the JSON content type, and the protocol metadata required by the supported MCP contract. The KICAD_MCP_MOUNT_PATH setting changes the default HTTP mount path.

Telemetry and error reporting are disabled by default. OpenTelemetry is opt-in.

Tools and capabilities

• Configure and inspect the active KiCad project.
• Discover tool categories and filter tools by maturity.
• Inspect boards, stackups, design rules, schematic symbols, bounds, and connectivity.
• Run PCB visual QA and schematic readability QA without rendering.
• Check component symbol, footprint, pin, courtyard, fabrication, silk, model, and datasheet evidence.
• Run DRC, ERC, combined design validation, project quality gates, and footprint-reference parity checks.
• Generate BOM summaries with unit and extended pricing.
• Run manufacturer-aware DFM checks using the active bundled profile.
• Advance a typed Planner-to-Release workflow and retrieve its next action.

Limitations and notes

KiCad MCP Pro is intended as a first-pass design and review assistant, not an automated sign-off authority. DRC and ERC, together with the export pipeline, use KiCad's own engines and remain important for authoritative checks. Signal-integrity, power-integrity, EMC, and thermal analysis are first-order closed-form estimates, typically around 5–10% accuracy, and are not replacements for field solvers, electromagnetic or finite-element analysis, or formal approval.

The PCB visual checks complement rather than replace authoritative DRC, especially for courtyard and silk clipping decisions. The KiCad plugin companion is a development preview with read-only IPC behavior, and live desktop acceptance and release are pending. Manufacturing component sourcing uses the JLCPCB public catalog by default; Nexar, DigiKey, and Mouser require their API credentials.