create_component_instance used line-based insertion which placed new
symbols BEFORE (kicad_sch ...) header when the file was written as
a single line by sexpdata.dumps(). Switch to rfind()-based string
insertion which is format-independent.
Also remove StreamHandler(sys.stdout) from logging — Python logs now
go only to file (~/.kicad-mcp/logs/kicad_interface.log) to avoid
polluting MCP stderr with INFO/DEBUG entries shown as [error].
KiCad 9 refuses to load any schematic whose lib_symbols section contains
an (extends ...) clause, because the extends mechanism is only valid
inside .kicad_sym library files - not inside schematics.
The previous implementation kept the (extends ...) clause and prepended
the parent symbol block with a qualified name, but left the child's
extends referring to the unqualified parent name, causing:
'Error loading schematic: No parent for extended symbol Q_NMOS_GSD'
Fix: add _iter_top_level_items() and _inline_extends_symbol() helpers.
When a library symbol uses extends, the parent's content (pins, graphics,
sub-symbols) is now merged directly into the child definition:
- Parent properties are overridden by child property values
- Sub-symbol names are renamed from ParentName_X_Y to ChildName_X_Y
- The (extends ...) clause is removed entirely
- Only the fully-resolved child symbol is injected into lib_symbols
Affected symbols include Transistor_FET:2N7002, Transistor_BJT:*,
Regulator_Linear:*, Regulator_Switching:* and many others (~30% of the
KiCad standard library uses extends).
Fixes#52
- fix: DynamicSymbolLoader reads project sym-lib-table before global dirs
add_schematic_component now finds symbols from project-local .kicad_sym files
project_path derived automatically from schematic file path
- fix: place_component reloads FootprintLibraryManager with project_path
new boardPath parameter passed to place_component tool (TypeScript + Python)
_handle_place_component wrapper recreates LibraryManager per project
- fix: copy_routing_pattern geometric fallback when pads have no nets
primary filter: net-based (when pads are assigned to nets)
fallback: bounding box of source footprint pads +5mm tolerance
filterMethod field in response indicates which mode was used
- feat: register copy_routing_pattern as MCP tool in routing.ts
sourceRefs, targetRefs, includeVias, traceWidth parameters
Live tested: ESP32 + 2x TMC2209 in Test3 project
13 traces U2 routed, copy_routing_pattern copied all 13 to U3
offset Y+30mm correct, 26 total traces verified
Bug 1 - add_schematic_component: footprint parameter silently ignored
The footprint value from MCP params was never passed through to
DynamicSymbolLoader.add_component() / create_component_instance().
Every placed symbol had an empty Footprint field regardless of input.
Fix: added footprint: str='' to both functions, passed through all
call sites, added footprint to schematic.ts tool schema.
Bug 2 - delete_schematic_component: only deleted first duplicate
When a reference appeared multiple times (e.g. after a failed
add attempt), only the first instance was removed due to break
after first match. Fix: collect all matching blocks first, then
delete back-to-front to preserve indices. Response now includes
deleted_count.
New tool - edit_schematic_component
Update footprint, value or reference of a placed symbol in-place.
More efficient than delete+re-add: preserves position and UUID.
Accepts: schematicPath, reference, footprint?, value?, newReference?
All 3 fixes verified by live tests on a real JLCPCB/KiCAD 9 project:
- R_TEST1: footprint Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric written correctly
- J1 duplicate: deleted_count=2 with single call
- J2 edit: PinSocket footprint assigned in-place, no delete+add needed
- PCB update (F8) confirmed: only components with footprint imported
Fixes Issue #26 - add_schematic_component corrupts .kicad_sch files
Complete rewrite of DynamicSymbolLoader to use text manipulation instead of sexpdata:
- Preserves KiCAD file formatting perfectly
- Correctly handles KiCAD 9 symbol naming conventions (library prefix for top-level, no prefix for sub-symbols)
- Resolves parent-child symbol dependencies with (extends)
- Adds symbol caching for performance
- Simplifies component addition workflow
Tested on KiCAD 9.0.7 with R, C, LED, ESP32, and transistor components.
Compatible with recent Windows fixes (UUID generation, IPC, JLCPCB).
Co-authored-by: FlowSync0 <249798311+FlowSync0@users.noreply.github.com>
