MAJOR MILESTONE: Dynamic symbol loading is now fully integrated through the MCP interface!
## What's Working
✅ **Full MCP Integration**
- Modified _handle_add_schematic_component to orchestrate dynamic loading
- Detects when symbols need dynamic loading (not in static templates)
- Automatically saves → injects → reloads → clones → saves workflow
✅ **ComponentManager Integration**
- Added schematic_path parameter to add_component() and get_or_create_template()
- Seamlessly switches between static templates and dynamic loading
- Proper error handling and fallback mechanisms
✅ **Smart Detection**
- Checks if component type is in static template map
- Verifies template exists in current schematic
- Only triggers dynamic loading when truly needed
✅ **Reload Orchestration**
- Saves schematic before dynamic loading (preserves changes)
- Calls DynamicSymbolLoader.load_symbol_dynamically()
- Reloads schematic to get newly injected symbols
- Clones from reloaded templates
## Test Results
End-to-end integration test: ✅ **100% PASSING**
Components tested:
- R (resistor) - static template, dynamically loaded
- C (capacitor) - static template, dynamically loaded
- Battery - pure dynamic loading ✨
- Fuse - pure dynamic loading ✨
- Transformer_1P_1S - pure dynamic loading ✨
All 5 components added successfully!
## Impact
Users can now add **ANY symbol from KiCad's ~10,000 symbol libraries** through the MCP interface!
No more limitation to 13 pre-configured templates!
## Technical Details
1. MCP handler detects dynamic loading need
2. Saves current schematic state
3. Calls dynamic loader (injects symbol + creates template)
4. Reloads schematic (kicad-skip sees new template)
5. Clones template to create component
6. Saves final result
Response includes:
- success status
- dynamic_loading_used flag
- symbol_source (library:symbol)
- template_reference
## Files Modified
- python/kicad_interface.py: _handle_add_schematic_component - full orchestration
- python/commands/component_schematic.py: add_component() and get_or_create_template() - schematic_path support
## Time Estimate vs Actual
Estimated: 2-3 hours
Actual: ~2 hours
Status: ✅ ON TARGET!
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
**Root Cause:**
When a library wasn't registered in sym-lib-table, the tool returned:
- success: true
- symbols: []
- count: 0
This was confusing because it looked like the library existed but was empty.
**The Fix:**
Now explicitly checks if library exists in sym-lib-table before attempting
to list symbols. If not found, returns:
- success: false
- Clear error message: "Library 'X' not found in sym-lib-table"
- Helpful details about how to resolve (add to sym-lib-table or use available libs)
- Count of available libraries
- Suggestion to use 'list_symbol_libraries' tool
**Test Results:**
✓ Non-existent library (BQ25896RTWT): Returns error as expected
✓ Valid library (Device): Returns 533 symbols successfully
**User Impact:**
Users will now get clear feedback when they try to access libraries that
aren't registered in their KiCad configuration, instead of seeing "0 symbols"
which suggests the library exists but is empty.
Fixes#27
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Implements full JLCPCB parts catalog integration alongside existing local library search,
giving users two complementary approaches for component selection:
1. Local Symbol Libraries (PR #25)
- Search JLCPCB libraries installed via KiCad PCM
- Pre-configured symbols with footprints
- Works offline, no API needed
2. JLCPCB API Integration (NEW)
- Complete 100k+ parts catalog access
- Real-time pricing and stock information
- Basic/Extended library type identification
- Cost optimization and alternative suggestions
- Package-to-footprint mapping
New Features:
- download_jlcpcb_database: Download complete parts catalog to local SQLite DB
- search_jlcpcb_parts: Parametric search with pricing, stock, library type filters
- get_jlcpcb_part: Detailed part info with price breaks and footprint suggestions
- get_jlcpcb_database_stats: Database statistics and status
- suggest_jlcpcb_alternatives: Find cheaper/available alternatives
Implementation:
- Python API client (commands/jlcpcb.py) - JLCPCB API authentication and data fetching
- Parts database manager (commands/jlcpcb_parts.py) - SQLite storage and search
- TypeScript MCP tools (tools/jlcpcb-api.ts) - User-facing tool definitions
- Comprehensive documentation (docs/JLCPCB_USAGE_GUIDE.md)
Database Features:
- ~100k parts with descriptions, pricing, stock levels
- Full-text search on descriptions and part numbers
- Parametric filtering (category, package, manufacturer, library type)
- Package-to-footprint mapping for KiCad
- Intelligent alternative suggestions
Setup Requirements:
- JLCPCB_API_KEY and JLCPCB_API_SECRET environment variables
- One-time database download (~5-10 minutes, 42MB)
- requests library (already in requirements.txt)
Benefits:
- Cost optimization (identify Basic parts = free assembly)
- Real-time stock checking
- Complete catalog access
- Works offline after initial download
- Complements local library search
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds comprehensive local KiCad symbol library search functionality and fixes KICAD9_3RD_PARTY environment variable resolution.
Features:
- Symbol library search by name, LCSC ID, description, manufacturer, MPN
- Support for 3rd party libraries installed via Plugin and Content Manager
- New MCP tools: search_symbols, list_symbol_libraries, get_symbol_info
- Enhanced library path resolution for KiCad 8 and 9
This enables users with locally installed JLCPCB libraries to search and use components directly.
Co-authored-by: l3wi <l3wi@users.noreply.github.com>
Replaces unreliable tasklist subprocess calls with proper Windows Toolhelp32 API.
- Uses CreateToolhelp32Snapshot/Process32FirstW/Process32NextW for process enumeration
- Adds pointer-size fallback for wintypes.ULONG_PTR missing in KiCad's embedded Python
- Fixes check_kicad_ui intermittent timeouts and false negatives on Windows
- Adds encoding/timeout fixes for 'where' command calls
Fixes#20
Co-authored-by: jbjardine <167578676+jbjardine@users.noreply.github.com>
Add KiCAD IPC API backend using kicad-python library for real-time
communication with KiCAD 9.0+. Changes now appear instantly in KiCAD
UI without manual reload.
Key changes:
- Implement IPCBackend and IPCBoardAPI classes for IPC communication
- Auto-detect IPC availability and fall back to SWIG when unavailable
- Route existing commands (route_trace, add_via, place_component, etc.)
through IPC automatically when available
- Add transaction support for proper undo/redo
- Add socket path auto-detection for Linux (/tmp/kicad/api.sock)
New commands:
- get_backend_info: Check which backend is active
Supported IPC operations:
- Board: set_size, get_board_info, save
- Routing: route_trace, add_via, add_net
- Components: place, move, delete, list
- Text: add_text, add_board_text
SWIG backend is now deprecated and will be removed when KiCAD 10.0
drops SWIG support.
Requires: kicad-python>=0.5.0, KiCAD 9.0+ with IPC enabled
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Major improvements to schematic editing capabilities:
## Python Implementation (connection_schematic.py)
- Implemented pin-to-pin connection logic using kicad-skip
- Added get_pin_location() to find absolute pin positions
- Implemented add_connection() for wire connections between component pins
- Added add_net_label() for creating net labels
- Added connect_to_net() to connect pins to named nets
- Implemented get_net_connections() to query net connectivity
- Added generate_netlist() for schematic netlist extraction
## MCP Handlers (kicad_interface.py)
- Added 5 new command handlers:
- add_schematic_connection - Pin-to-pin wiring
- add_schematic_net_label - Net label placement
- connect_to_net - Connect pin to named net
- get_net_connections - Query net connectivity
- generate_netlist - Export netlist data
## TypeScript Tools (schematic.ts)
- Added 5 new MCP tools with proper schemas and validation
- Enhanced user feedback with descriptive messages
- Total schematic tools increased from 3 to 8
## Features
- Pin location calculation with symbol rotation support
- Automatic wire stub creation for net labels
- Comprehensive netlist generation with component and net info
- Full logging for debugging connection issues
This resolves the schematic editing limitations and enables users to:
- Wire component pins together directly
- Use net labels for cleaner schematics
- Query schematic connectivity
- Generate netlists for manufacturing
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit fixes Windows Claude Desktop compatibility by implementing
proper MCP JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol handling in the Python interface.
Changes:
- Added JSON-RPC 2.0 message detection and handling
- Implemented MCP protocol methods: initialize, tools/list, tools/call
- Maintained backwards compatibility with legacy custom format
- Removed accidentally included typescript-sdk directory
Fixes#5 - Claude Desktop not working on Windows
Credit to @spplecxer for identifying the issue and providing the fix.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Added comprehensive documentation (BUILD_AND_TEST, CLIENT_CONFIG, KNOWN_ISSUES, ROADMAP, etc.)
- Updated core functionality for board outline, size, and utilities
- Added new tools for project, routing, schematic, and UI management
- Included TypeScript SDK with full MCP implementation
- Updated configuration examples for all platforms
- Added changelog and status tracking
- Improved Python utilities with KiCAD process management
- Enhanced resource helpers and server capabilities
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
