Three-phase MCP server startup: wait for Python READY handshake, send
_warmup command (pcbnew.BOARD() triggers wxApp init on macOS), connect
to MCP transport only after warm-up completes.
Also pre-populate symbol library cache during SymbolLibraryManager
init so the first search_symbols call doesn't parse 241 .kicad_sym
files from disk (30-120s). Both warm-up and cache population happen
before tools are registered with the MCP client.
Fixes#195
The dehydration recovery test (test_auto_save_recovers_when_save_leaves_
board_dehydrated) builds a KiCADInterface via __new__, skipping __init__.
After #173 was rebased onto the #151/#172 auto-save guard, _auto_save_board
reads self._board_disk_signature (the content-hash conflict guard), which
__init__ normally sets to None. The fixture didn't, so the test tripped an
AttributeError before reaching the recovery logic it exercises.
Initialise _board_disk_signature = None in the _make_iface helper, matching
the pattern already used in test_auto_save_guard.py. Test-only change.
Co-authored-by: mixelpixx <11727006+mixelpixx@users.noreply.github.com>
KiCAD nightly builds occasionally return a SwigPyObject from
pcbnew.LoadBoard, and SaveBoard can leave self.board with no method
dispatch as a side-effect of certain sequences (delete_trace + auto-save
is the one users have hit in the wild). Before this fix, open_project
would keep reporting "Opened project: foo.kicad_pcb" while every
subsequent board operation failed with AttributeError on
GetDesignSettings / GetBoardEdgesBoundingBox / GetCurrentViaSize, with
no path to recovery short of restarting the MCP server.
Add two helpers in KiCADInterface:
* _is_board_healthy(board=None) probes for stable BOARD methods
(GetDesignSettings, GetBoardEdgesBoundingBox, GetFileName) — these
are missing on a dehydrated SwigPyObject, so hasattr() catches the
state without segfaulting.
* _safe_load_board(path) wraps pcbnew.LoadBoard, checks health, and
on dehydration reloads the pcbnew module via importlib.reload and
retries once. Returns None when recovery is impossible so callers
surface real failure rather than fake success.
Wire the helpers in:
* handle_command's open_project / create_project path validates the
loaded board and either recovers (with a warnings[] entry) or
returns success=False with an explicit "restart the MCP server"
errorDetails — never claims success when the board is unusable.
* _auto_save_board now detects dehydration introduced by SaveBoard
itself and reloads from disk so the next command sees a usable
proxy. This is the post-delete_trace failure mode users hit.
* _handle_place_component, _handle_sync_schematic_to_board,
_handle_import_svg_logo and _handle_refill_zones all go through
_safe_load_board instead of bare LoadBoard, surfacing real errors
consistently.
Also fix two adjacent issues observed in the same incident:
* _handle_check_kicad_ui used to call manager.is_running() and
manager.get_process_info() separately, with different detection
methods. They could disagree, producing the confusing
running=True, processes=[] state users hit after manually
quitting KiCAD. processes is now the single source of truth and
running is derived from len().
* run_drc accepts a timeoutSec param (default 600s, clamped to
[10, 1800]) so callers with smaller MCP transport budgets can
bound the kicad-cli subprocess. Same timeout is applied to the
optional report-generation subprocess. Error message names the
actual timeout that fired.
Tests: tests/test_swig_dehydration.py adds 17 unit tests covering
detection, recovery, the open_project surfacing path, the auto-save
post-recovery path, the check_kicad_ui consistency, and the run_drc
timeout clamping. Full suite: same 12 pre-existing failures both
before and after this change, +17 new tests passing.
Note: the SWIG dehydration is fundamentally a pcbnew memory bug
exposed by repeated LoadBoard calls in a single Python process;
this PR is a defensive recovery layer, not a fix to the underlying
binding. Complementary to PR #151 (auto-save-guard), which expands
the LoadBoard call rate by refusing saves on external file change
and forcing re-open_project cycles.
* feat(units): add mil unit support across all position/coordinate commands
KiCad natively supports mils, so the MCP server should too. Added "mil"
as a valid unit option in tool schemas and updated all unit-to-nanometer
scale conversions across component, routing, outline, view, and IPC
handler code paths. 1 mil = 25400 nm (0.0254 mm).
Also fixes a pre-existing mypy overload error in pin_locator.py (str cast
on dict.get key) that was blocking pre-commit on any Python file change.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* feat(units): add mil to TypeScript tool schemas
The Python-side mil support was added but the actual input validation
happens in the TypeScript/Zod schemas. Updated all z.enum(["mm", "inch"])
to include "mil" across board, component, routing, design-rules, and
export tool definitions.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix(tools): replace CP-1252 mojibake with correct Unicode in board.ts
Replace U+00C3 U+00D7 (×) with U+00D7 (×) in add_logo size output string.
Character was mangled when file was saved as CP-1252 instead of UTF-8.
* fix: restore em-dash and fix pre-commit mypy in component/routing
component.py: replace CP-1252 mojibake (â€") with correct Unicode
em-dash (—) in the 'Add to board first' comment. Addresses
maintainer review on PR #162.
routing.py: annotate ex/ey as float at first assignment site in
_point_to_segment_distance_nm so mypy pre-commit hook passes
cleanly on this branch.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Drop GND stitching vias across the board with collision checking
against every non-GND segment, via, and pad on every copper layer.
PTH vias penetrate the full stackup, so an F.Cu-only check (the most
common shortcut) silently creates shorts on inner / B.Cu copper —
this implementation explicitly walks all layers.
grid Regular grid across the board interior. Default
spacing 5mm.
around_refs Densify around specified footprints (e.g. MCUs,
switching regulators, RF parts). Configurable
density via densifyRadius.
in_zones Restrict placements to candidates inside the filled
polygons of GND copper zones, so each new via lands
on copper that's already a GND equipotential.
Recommended on boards where the GND zone is fragmented:
these vias actually stitch real polygons rather than
floating on silkscreen.
All three strategies use the same collision check + intra-call
clump-prevention, so passing `["grid", "around_refs", "in_zones"]`
is a safe kitchen-sink configuration.
- Auto-detect GND net (tries GND / GROUND / VSS / /GND in order)
OR explicit `gndNet` parameter.
- Per-via geometry control: viaSize, viaDrill, clearance.
- edgeMargin: keep-out distance from board edge.
- maxVias: cap on total placements (useful for incremental work).
- dryRun: return placements without modifying the board — for
previewing before committing.
- Validates viaDrill < viaSize, rejects unknown strategy names,
surfaces clear errors when GND net can't be resolved or the
board outline is missing.
Approach ported from morningfire-pcb-automation
(https://github.com/NiNjA-CodE/morningfire-pcb-automation,
scripts/ground/add_gnd_vias.py). The original parses the PCB text
with regex and writes vias by string concatenation; this port reads
obstacles via the pcbnew API (handles rotated footprints, integrates
with the live in-memory board so two sequential calls see each
other's placements, picks up net codes from the loaded board) and
adds the in_zones strategy, the maxVias cap, and dry-run mode.
Credit is in the docstring, the TypeScript wrapper comment, the MCP
tool description (visible to clients), and the CHANGELOG entry.
tests/test_add_gnd_stitching_vias.py — 18 cases, all passing.
Uses mocked pcbnew objects so the suite runs under both the conftest
stub and a real pcbnew install.
- grid strategy fills empty board with correct count
- collision blocks via near a signal track (with extent assertion)
- GND-net obstacles are correctly ignored
- around_refs densifies near footprints with bounded extent
- in_zones rejects candidates outside HitTestFilledArea
- dryRun does NOT call board.Add
- actual run calls board.Add per placement
- maxVias caps total placements
- intra-call clump prevention (asserts pairwise distance)
- viaDrill >= viaSize is rejected
- unknown strategy name is rejected
- missing GND net returns clear error payload
- no board loaded returns clear error
- named GND net (e.g. VSS) is honoured even when GND also exists
- direct unit tests for _point_to_segment_distance_nm helper
Real-board smoke test on TuneForge_TF001 (4-layer, 44 footprints):
- GND net auto-detected
- grid spacing 4mm: 141 placements, 129 blocked by collision
- grid + in_zones: 140 placed, 15 rejected by zone membership,
115 blocked by collision
python/commands/routing.py (+impl, ~370 LOC)
python/kicad_interface.py (+handler registration)
python/schemas/tool_schemas.py (+MCP schema)
src/tools/routing.ts (+TypeScript surface, builds clean)
tests/test_add_gnd_stitching_vias.py (+18 tests)
CHANGELOG.md (+Unreleased -> New MCP Tools)
Components now include boundingBox (min/max X/Y, width, height) in
get_component_list and get_component_properties responses. The SWIG
get_component_properties also includes courtyard dimensions when the
footprint defines a courtyard layer.
SWIG backend uses GetBoundingBox() and GetCourtyard(). IPC backend
tries get_item_bounding_box(), then pad-extent fallback, then falls
back to SWIG backend data when available. This ensures bounding box
data is present regardless of which backend handles the query.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Import-LIB-KiCad-Plugin documentation registers third-party libraries
using `${KICAD_3RD_PARTY}` (without a KiCad-version prefix). KiCad accepts
both unprefixed and version-prefixed forms in lib-tables, and the analogous
`KICAD_SYMBOL_DIR` was already handled in `library_symbol.py`'s env-var
dictionary.
`KICAD_3RD_PARTY` was missing from both `_resolve_uri` env-var dictionaries
(in `python/commands/library.py` and `python/commands/library_symbol.py`),
so lib-table rows authored as `${KICAD_3RD_PARTY}/Foo.kicad_sym` or
`${KICAD_3RD_PARTY}/Foo.pretty` failed to substitute, were treated as
non-existent paths, and disappeared from `list_symbol_libraries` /
`list_libraries` results — even though KiCad's GUI showed them correctly.
Changes:
- Add `KICAD_3RD_PARTY` to both `_resolve_uri` env-var dictionaries.
- Add `KICAD_3RD_PARTY` fallback in
`SymbolLibraryManager._find_3rd_party_dir`.
- Refactor `LibraryManager._find_kicad_3rdparty_dir` to check all four
env-var forms (KICAD10/9/8_3RD_PARTY + KICAD_3RD_PARTY) consistently.
- Add regression tests in `tests/test_kicad_3rd_party_env_resolution.py`.
Reproduces with:
- Set `KICAD_3RD_PARTY` env var in the MCP server's environment.
- Register `(lib (name "Foo") (type "KiCad") (uri "\${KICAD_3RD_PARTY}/Foo.kicad_sym") ...)` in the global sym-lib-table.
- Place a real `Foo.kicad_sym` at the resolved path.
- Before: `list_symbol_libraries` does not return `Foo`.
- After: `Foo` is listed.
The existing single-shot autoroute leaves 1-7 nets unrouted on dense
boards in my testing. Best-of-N drives that to 0 most of the time by
running Freerouting a few times with varied --max-passes and keeping
the SES with the best routing score.
New optional parameters (all backward-compatible):
attempts: int, default 1 (unchanged behaviour). When > 1, run
Freerouting N times and pick the highest-scoring SES.
targetNets: list of critical net names. An attempt that routes all
of them earns a 50,000-point scoring bonus.
passSchedule: list of --max-passes values to cycle through across
attempts. Default: [50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 55,
95] (wraps if attempts > len). Ignored when attempts=1
(legacy maxPasses still used).
Scoring contract (pinned by tests):
score = nets_routed * 1000 + segments
if targetNets and all routed: score += 50_000
- +1 net always beats any segment-count delta (1000 pt step).
- Segments break ties at equal net count.
- Target bonus dominates net-count gains from unrelated nets.
## Implementation notes
- When attempts > 1, each attempt runs with `-mt 1` (single-thread
optimisation). Freerouting 2.x's multi-threaded optimiser is
documented to introduce clearance violations, so forcing
single-thread during scoring keeps the comparison apples-to-apples.
- One failed attempt does not abort the whole best-of-N run. The
failure is recorded in the response under attempts[] with ok=False,
and the remaining attempts compete for best. If every attempt fails
the response surfaces a clear error.
- The winning SES is preserved as <stem>_best.ses next to the
canonical <stem>.ses so the caller can inspect it after the run.
- Response shape:
attempts == 1: unchanged (no attempts/best_attempt fields)
attempts > 1: adds attempts[], best_attempt, best_score,
best_ses_path
## Attribution
Scoring approach and default pass schedule ported from
morningfire-pcb-automation
(https://github.com/NiNjA-CodE/morningfire-pcb-automation,
scripts/routing/freeroute_runner.py). Credited in the function
docstring, the TypeScript wrapper comment, the tool description (visible
to MCP clients), and the CHANGELOG entry.
The MCP version adds: cleaner per-attempt result reporting, automatic
single-thread optimisation, graceful degradation on partial failure,
and explicit validation that surfaces clean error payloads for invalid
attempts values.
## Tests
tests/test_autoroute_score.py 8 cases, scoring contract
tests/test_autoroute_best_of_n.py 6 cases, orchestration logic
All 14 passing. Tests are pure-Python: subprocess is mocked so the
suite runs in any environment (no Java / Freerouting / KiCad required).
- Single-attempt response shape unchanged
- Best-of-three picks the highest-scoring SES
- One nonzero exit attempt doesn't abort the run
- passSchedule wraps when attempts exceeds len
- targetNets bonus wins over higher raw net count
- attempts=0 rejected with clean error before DSN export
- +1 net (1000 pts) dominates any segment delta
- Segments tiebreak at equal net count
- Quoted net names in SES are normalised vs unquoted targets
TypeScript builds clean.
Detects courtyard overlaps between footprints and flags courtyards that
extend past the board outline. Returns overlap pairs with intersection
extents (mm), per-component boundary violations, and a placement summary.
The killer feature for AI-driven workflows is the `positions` parameter,
which accepts hypothetical placements `{ref: [x, y]}` or
`{ref: [x, y, rotation_degrees]}`. The tool evaluates the proposed
placement WITHOUT writing to the board file — so an AI agent can validate
a move_component / place_component before committing it, instead of the
current loop of write -> run DRC -> parse violations -> revert.
## Implementation
- Uses the real courtyard polygons from pcbnew (`fp.GetCourtyard(F_CrtYd)`
or B_CrtYd) for accurate AABBs even on custom and rotated footprints.
- Falls back to `fp.GetBoundingBox()` when no F/B.Courtyard polygon is
present.
- For virtual rotation, rotates the four AABB corners and re-axis-aligns.
Conservative: the rotated-AABB is always >= the rotated-polygon, so
overlap reports are never false-negatives (may be marginally
over-cautious on diagonal rectangles, which is the right error bias
for a placement validator).
- Optional `margin` parameter expands every courtyard by N mm — useful
for enforcing a manufacturing keepout wider than the symbol's
declared courtyard.
## Attribution
The approach is ported from morningfire-pcb-automation
(https://github.com/NiNjA-CodE/morningfire-pcb-automation), specifically
`scripts/placement/check_overlaps.py`. The upstream uses a static
per-footprint-type courtyard lookup table; this implementation reads
the real polygons from pcbnew so it works on any footprint without
maintaining a table. Attribution is in the function docstring, the
TypeScript wrapper, the tool's description (visible to MCP clients),
and the CHANGELOG entry.
## Tests
12 pytest cases in tests/test_check_courtyard_overlaps.py, all passing:
- No overlaps when spaced; overlap detected on intersect
- Margin pushes borderline pairs into overlap
- `refs` filter restricts the check
- Boundary violations are flagged; `include_boundary=false` suppresses
- Virtual position does not mutate the footprint (asserts
`SetPosition` is never called)
- Virtual rotation swaps a tall-narrow courtyard's x/y extents
- No-board-loaded returns clean error payload
- Bad position spec (wrong arity) returns clean error payload
- GetCourtyard() OutlineCount=0 -> fallback to GetBoundingBox()
- `board_outline` override replaces the Edge.Cuts bbox
Tests use mocked pcbnew objects so they run under both the conftest stub
and a real pcbnew install. Real-board smoke test on a 44-footprint
production board succeeds: 1 known overlap detected (SW1<->SW2), 0
boundary violations, virtual placement test reports 6 expected overlaps.
## Files touched
- python/commands/component.py (impl + helpers)
- python/kicad_interface.py (tool registration)
- python/schemas/tool_schemas.py (MCP schema entry)
- src/tools/component.ts (TypeScript surface, builds clean)
- tests/test_check_courtyard_overlaps.py (12 cases)
- CHANGELOG.md (Unreleased -> New MCP Tools)
The existing y_flip tests cover Device:R (symmetric two-pin) and Device:C
rotated 90° (still electrically symmetric). The original bug — a double
Y-flip in get_pin_location — was invisible on symmetric passives because
pin 1 and pin 2 are interchangeable; it only showed up on asymmetric
multi-pin ICs like RF_Module:ESP32-WROOM-32, where labels meant for pin 3
(EN) silently landed on pin 35 (TXD0).
This adds a third test using an inline 6-pin asymmetric symbol with pins
at both positive and negative library Y on both sides. It asserts every
pin lands at the formula-predicted (symbol_x + lib_px, symbol_y - lib_py)
position, with an explicit cross-check that lib +Y pins resolve *above*
the placement centre in schematic Y-down space.
No system-library dependency — the symbol is constructed inline so the
test runs anywhere pytest does.
Fixes#135
* Fix: IPC rotate_component now uses absolute angle as documented
The IPC rotate handler was adding the angle to the current rotation
(relative), but the schema documents it as absolute. This caused
unexpected behavior where setting angle=0 had no effect on a component
already at 180°. Now correctly sets the rotation to the exact angle
specified, matching the SWIG backend behavior.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs(changelog): add unreleased entry for rotate_component absolute-angle fix
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Closes#126.
A placed schematic symbol carries its reference designator in two places:
(symbol
(property "Reference" "R5" …) ← what eeschema renders
(instances
(project "MyProject"
(path "/sheet-uuid/symbol-uuid"
(reference "R5") ← what netlist + PCB sync read
(unit 1) )))
…)
Before this change, `edit_schematic_component` with `newReference` updated
only the (property "Reference" …) field. The (reference "…") leaves inside
(instances) → (project) → (path) kept the old value. eeschema rendered the
new reference correctly and ERC passed, but `kicad-cli sch export netlist`
and "Update PCB from Schematic" both read from the (instances) block and
silently used the OLD reference — producing destructive PCB-sync diffs on
what users thought was a clean rename. Severity was high for anyone running
batch renames because the symptom only surfaces at PCB-sync time, by which
point many renames may be queued.
Walk the (instances) subtree within the matched symbol block after the
property update and replace every `(reference "OLD")` leaf with the new
value. The regex matches `(reference "X")` specifically (not
`(property "Reference" "X"`), and the walk is constrained to the
(instances …) range via the existing _find_matching_paren helper so other
(reference …) tokens elsewhere in the file can't be affected.
Adds tests/test_edit_schematic_component_instances.py covering:
- Single-instance rename updates both property and instances leaf
- Hierarchical case with multiple (path …) entries all updated atomically
- No-instances-block schematics don't crash (older KiCad / partial files)
- The regex doesn't clobber (property "Reference" …) on the instances pass
- Other field values (Value, Footprint) are left intact
- The response payload's updated.reference reflects the new ref
All 6 tests fail on main without the fix (3 fully, 3 on the instances
assertions only) and pass on this branch.
The pre-existing TestAddComponentMirrorParam failures in
test_add_schematic_component.py are unrelated and present on main —
documented in inktomi's PR #169.
Co-authored-by: mixelpixx <11727006+mixelpixx@users.noreply.github.com>
query_traces silently omits PCB_ZONE_T objects, so layer-usage audits
miss power planes and GND pours entirely. query_zones complements it by
iterating board.Zones() and returning each zone's net, layers, priority,
fill state, min thickness, bounding box, and filled area, with the same
net/layer/boundingBox filter surface as query_traces.
JLCPCBPartsManager defaulted db_path to a "data/" directory computed
relative to __file__, which fails with read-only filesystems when the
package is installed to a system-managed prefix (e.g. /nix/store, an
immutable container image, or /usr/lib). The same pattern in
download_jlcpcb.py would silently scatter the ~1.5 GB JLCPCB cache
inside the install tree even when it is writable.
The original integration plan (docs/archive/JLCPCB_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md)
called for a per-user database under ~/.kicad-mcp/. This change moves
the default to the platform-appropriate user data directory by adding
a new PlatformHelper.get_data_dir() helper that mirrors the existing
get_config_dir() / get_cache_dir() conventions:
- Linux: XDG_DATA_HOME/kicad-mcp or ~/.local/share/kicad-mcp
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/kicad-mcp
- Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.kicad-mcp\data
Both JLCPCBPartsManager and download_jlcpcb.py now resolve their
database paths through this helper. ensure_directories() and
detect_platform() include the new directory. Unit tests parallel to
the existing config_dir/cache_dir cases cover platform-appropriate
paths and the relative-XDG_DATA_HOME edge case.
`create_netclass` previously called legacy NETCLASSES.Find/.Add APIs that
were removed in KiCad 10. NETCLASS getters like GetMicroViaDiameter that
also no longer exist crashed any subsequent edit. The schema accepted
`traceWidth` but the handler only read `trackWidth`, so requests using
the documented field silently produced no-op netclasses.
- Add a KiCad-version-defensive shim around netclass creation that
prefers the new netclasses_map dict-style API and falls back to legacy.
- Introduce _safe_get/_safe_set helpers so missing getters/setters on
KiCad 10 NETCLASS objects fail gracefully instead of raising.
- Accept both traceWidth and trackWidth in the request payload.
Net classes still need to be written into .kicad_pro directly because
KiCad 10 stores them in net_settings.classes and the MCP only writes
to .kicad_pcb; that's a separate fix.
* Feat: save 2D board view to file instead of returning base64
The 2D view was returning base64-encoded image data in JSON, which
often exceeded token/message size limits. Now saves the rendered
image (PNG/JPG/SVG) next to the PCB file and returns the file path.
This makes the output usable by tools that can read image files
directly.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* feat(board): add opt-in responseMode param to get_board_2d_view
Add a responseMode string parameter (enum: inline | file, default inline)
so callers can choose how the rendered image is delivered.
- inline (default, pre-PR behavior): image bytes are base64-encoded
and returned in the imageData response field -- backward-compatible.
- file: image is written next to the .kicad_pcb as
<board>_2d_view.<ext> and filePath is returned -- resolves the
MCP message-size limit problem on large boards.
Rendering logic is shared between both modes; only response packaging
differs. Updated tool schema (Python + TypeScript) and replaced the
existing test file with 5 focused unit tests covering inline/file modes
for PNG and SVG formats plus the default-is-inline contract.
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* feat: guard SWIG auto-save against external file changes
After every board-mutating SWIG command, kicad_interface._auto_save_board()
unconditionally calls pcbnew.SaveBoard() with the in-memory board. When the
on-disk .kicad_pcb has been modified externally between our LoadBoard and
SaveBoard (KiCad GUI's own save, git checkout, another process), the
in-memory state silently overwrites those external changes - losing data
the user can't see was at risk.
This change records the file's mtime_ns + sha256 at LoadBoard and verifies
the signature matches before each auto-save:
* If the signature has diverged, refuse the save and attach a structured
warning to the command result so callers know their mutation is
in-memory only and they need to reload before retrying.
* If it matches, copy the existing file to .mcp-backups/<name>.<ts>
(rotating, keeps last 20) before overwriting.
* Update the recorded signature after our own writes so subsequent
saves are not falsely flagged.
Backwards compatible:
* No tool schemas changed.
* Successful saves return as before, with an extra `autoSave` field
when the wrapper observed something noteworthy.
* Refused saves return success: true (the in-memory mutation did
succeed) plus warnings: [...] and autoSave.diskChangedExternally,
so callers can detect the situation programmatically.
Adds tests/test_auto_save_guard.py (10 tests, all passing) covering:
signature math, refusal on external change, backup creation + content,
backup rotation, first-save semantics (no recorded signature proceeds
normally), and skip cases (no board / no path).
Motivation: the aircam-pdb fork-user lost ~480 traces and the full
footprint layout to a silent overwrite incident on 2026-05-03; recovery
was only possible because VS Code's local-history extension happened to
have a snapshot from a few minutes earlier. This guard makes that class
of incident loud and locally recoverable.
* fix(auto-save-guard): refuse only on content divergence, not mtime
The guard added in 9ba0010 records `(mtime_ns, sha256)` as the file's
disk signature and refuses auto-save when the recorded tuple no longer
matches the current one. Comparing the full tuple meant any mtime delta
fired the refusal — including a bare `touch` of the file, an atime-style
backup tool, or any MCP read path that opened the .kicad_pcb between
load and save. Users were trapped: every write needed an explicit
save_project call to bypass the false positive (documented as a
workaround in fork users' notes).
Compare on sha256 only; mtime is incidental. The actual data-loss
scenario the guard is meant to catch — an external write that genuinely
changed the file — produces a different content hash, which is what the
guard now keys off. After a touch-only mtime advance with content
unchanged, refresh the recorded signature so we don't re-hash on every
subsequent call.
Drops the mtime-equality fast path on _disk_signature: a filesystem with
coarse mtime resolution (FAT32, some network mounts) could accept two
writes inside one mtime tick; trusting mtime as a hash cache key would
re-introduce a class of silent overwrites the guard exists to prevent.
The hash itself is cheap (sha256 over a typical .kicad_pcb completes in
tens of milliseconds).
Adds 4 regression tests in test_auto_save_guard.py:
- touch-only mtime advance proceeds and refreshes the signature
- content change at the same mtime is still refused (hash divergence
must drive the decision, not tuple equality)
- the user-facing warning calls out "contents", not "mtime"
- _disk_signature returns the same hash when content is unchanged
even after the file's mtime advances
The handler iterated `board.GetFootprints()` and assigned nets to existing
pads, but had no path to *add* footprints for schematic symbols whose
Reference was not yet on the board. New parts placed on the schematic
landed in the net list with no PCB representation — the rats nest had
nowhere to terminate, and place_component / route_pad_to_pad would fail
because the target footprint did not exist.
KiCad's "Update PCB from Schematic" (F8) implicitly adds the missing
footprints; bring the MCP's behaviour in line.
Implementation:
* `_extract_components_from_schematic` runs `kicad-cli sch export netlist
--format kicadxml` (the same path `_handle_generate_netlist` already
uses) and returns a flat `[{reference, value, footprint}]` list. Walks
hierarchical sub-sheets transparently because kicad-cli does.
* `_add_missing_footprints_from_schematic` resolves each missing component
against the project's fp-lib-table via `LibraryManager`, calls
`pcbnew.FootprintLoad`, sets reference / value / FPID, and places the
footprint at the board origin (the user / autoplacer can position it).
Power and flag references (`#PWR…`, `#FLG…`) are excluded — they have
no PCB footprint.
* The pad-net assignment loop now runs *after* the add path, so newly
placed footprints get their nets assigned in the same call.
* Response payload gains `footprints_added` and `footprints_skipped`
diagnostic lists. The textual `message` field reports both the new
footprint count and the existing net / pad counts.
Adds tests/test_sync_schematic_to_board_footprints.py — 9 unit tests
covering the add path (missing ref, already-present ref, power refs,
empty footprint, unknown library) and the kicad-cli helper (XML parse,
missing kicad-cli, non-zero exit).
WireManager.add_wire and add_polyline_wire bailed out with
"No sheet_instances section found in schematic" when called on a
hierarchical sub-sheet — that block only exists in the root .kicad_sch.
The handler in kicad_interface.py converted the False return into a
flat "Failed to add wire" message, leaving callers with no diagnostic.
Apply the same fallback that WireManager.add_label has used since the
hierarchical-design support: when (sheet_instances ...) is absent,
append the new (wire ...) item at the end of the outer (kicad_sch ...)
form.
Adds tests/test_add_wire_sub_sheet.py with 6 regression tests covering
both add_wire and add_polyline_wire on a sub-sheet, including paren
balance, sexpdata round-trip, and segment count for an N-point polyline.
DynamicSymbolLoader.create_component_instance only handled root
schematics: it located its insertion point via `(sheet_instances`,
which exists only in the root .kicad_sch. Adding a component to any
hierarchical sub-sheet raised "Could not find insertion point in
schematic" and aborted the call.
Fall back to inserting just before the closing paren of the outer
(kicad_sch ...) form when the marker is absent. WireManager.add_label
already uses the same fallback for hierarchical sub-sheets.
Adds three regression tests in TestCreateComponentInstanceSubSheet
covering successful insertion, paren balance, and sexpdata round-trip
on a sub-sheet without (sheet_instances).
`BoardOutlineCommands.add_mounting_hole` produced footprints with an empty
library:name id (`(footprint "" ...)` in the .kicad_pcb), which KiCad's GUI
Move tool refuses to select — users couldn't drag the resulting MHs in the
editor. It also emitted the pad with the default `*.Cu` + `*.Mask` LSET on
NPTHs; with `padDiameter > diameter` that creates phantom copper annular
rings on every Cu layer and trips clearance DRC against neighbouring nets.
Repro: call `add_mounting_hole` with `position={x:117,y:84.5,unit:"mm"},
diameter:3.2, padDiameter:3.5`. The resulting MH is unselectable and DRC
reports phantom F.Cu pad shorts to neighbouring component pads.
Changes:
- Set a real FPID via `module.SetFPID(pcbnew.LIB_ID(lib, name))`. Default
is `MountingHole:MountingHole_<diameter:g>mm` (e.g. 3.2 → 3.2mm); a new
optional `footprintLibId` parameter overrides.
- For NPTH (the default `plated:false`), restrict the pad's LSET to
`F.Mask` + `B.Mask` only. PTH path is unchanged — the default Cu+Mask
LSET is correct there.
- Update the schema in `tool_schemas.py`: previously advertised
`x`/`y`/`diameter` at the top level, but the impl reads
`position={x,y,unit}`, `padDiameter`, `plated`. Schema now matches the
implementation and exposes the new `footprintLibId` param.
- New `tests/test_add_mounting_hole.py` regression suite (7 tests) asserting
SetFPID is invoked with non-empty lib:name (default + override forms),
NPTH SetLayerSet excludes any Cu layer, and PTH does not call
SetLayerSet (preserves default Cu+Mask).
Some community-generated KiCad symbol libraries (e.g.
PCM_Diode_Schottky_AKL:MBRS130) define each pin number twice — once as a
visible "real" pin with non-zero length whose ``at`` coordinate is the
wire-connection endpoint, and once as an inner zero-length "ghost" pin
used as an internal graphic-anchoring join. Both definitions live inside
the same ``lib_symbols`` block.
``parse_symbol_definition`` stored pins via ``pins[number] = pin_data``
— a plain assignment. Each duplicate-numbered pin encountered during the
recursive walk overwrote the previous one. The recursion order put the
ghost pins last for MBRS130, so the ghost won and ``get_pin_location``
returned a coordinate that did not match any wire/label.
Downstream this caused ``get_connections_for_net`` to silently miss diode
pins on the rails they were wired to — on a real schematic, querying
``+BATT`` returned 8 of 9 expected nodes (D1/1 absent) and ``+3V3``
returned 44 of 46 (D1/2 and D2/2 absent), because the BFS could not find
the diode's pin endpoint at the labelled position.
Fix: when the same pin number is defined more than once, keep the entry
with the greater ``length``. The outer real pin has length > 0; the
inner ghost has length == 0. Strict-greater comparison resolves ties to
first-encountered, so legitimate same-length duplicates (e.g., per-unit
repetitions in multi-unit symbols) keep stable existing behaviour.
Tests: four unit tests in ``tests/test_pin_locator_duplicate_pin_defs.py``
cover (a) outer-then-ghost order (the real bug), (b) ghost-then-outer
order (length-not-order heuristic), (c) no-duplicate baseline regression,
and (d) equal-length tie keeps first-encountered. Two of the four fail
on main, all four pass on this branch.
Full suite: 671 passed, 11 skipped, 0 regressions (modulo the pre-existing
tests/test_get_pin_angle.py collection error which is unrelated to
pin_locator).
End-to-end on the real schematic that triggered the report: after the
fix ``get_connections_for_net('+BATT')`` returns all 9 expected nodes
matching ``kicad-cli sch export netlist`` exactly. The companion fix in
PR #177 (wire_connectivity pwr-flag bridge) closes the orthogonal
over-merge bug; together they bring net membership to full parity with
kicad-cli on schematics that use both ``PWR_FLAG`` markers and
diodes from community libraries.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Every power:PWR_FLAG symbol carries Value="PWR_FLAG" — the ERC marker
inherits its rail's name from the wire/label it sits on. Commit 7f3a379
added #FLG symbols to the same handling loop as #PWR power ports inside
_parse_virtual_connections, so every pwr-flag was getting appended to
label_to_points["PWR_FLAG"]. The BFS in _find_connected_wires uses
label_to_points for virtual jumps; reaching any pwr-flag pin caused it
to teleport to every other pwr-flag pin, walking across each one's stub
wire into a different power rail. The result: get_net_connections(rail)
returned the union of pins on every rail that had a pwr-flag, for any
rail.
Fix: pwr-flag pin positions still register as anchors in point_to_label
(preserving the original intent of 7f3a379 so find_orphaned_wires keeps
accepting them), but they no longer enter label_to_points. The pwr-flag
remains electrically connected to its rail via the wire-graph BFS through
the wire it sits on; the label-jump mechanism is unnecessary for that
path and actively harmful when the "label" is the same for unrelated
rails.
Tests: three unit tests on _parse_virtual_connections cover the bug
(over-merge gone), regression check (power ports still work in both maps),
and edge case (pwr-flag and port at same point — port name wins). All
three fail on main, pass on this branch.
Full suite: 667 passed, 11 skipped, 0 regressions (modulo the pre-existing
tests/test_get_pin_angle.py collection error which is unrelated to
wire_connectivity).
End-to-end verification on a single-sheet schematic with 7 distinct
power rails each carrying a pwr-flag: every queried net now matches
the official kicad-cli netlist output (modulo a separate library-symbol
bug on PCM_Diode_Schottky_AKL:MBRS130 with duplicate pin definitions,
out of scope here).
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
dynamic_symbol_loader only consulted the project-local sym-lib-table
and a hardcoded list of bundled symbol directories, so libraries
registered via the user-global sym-lib-table (Preferences > Manage
Symbol Libraries > Global) were invisible to add_schematic_component.
Common case: company libraries that live under OneDrive / a network
share / any other custom path the user added through the GUI.
Also widened the sym-lib-table parser regex to accept quoted URIs (and
quoted names) that contain spaces — required for paths like
"C:/Users/.../OneDrive - Company/Documents/KiCad/...". The old bare-
word capture stopped at the first space.
Search order is now:
1. Project sym-lib-table
2. User-global sym-lib-table (~/AppData/Roaming/kicad/<ver>/sym-lib-table
on Windows, ~/.config/kicad/<ver>/sym-lib-table on Linux,
~/Library/Preferences/kicad/<ver>/sym-lib-table on macOS)
3. Bundled / well-known symbol directories
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
cairocffi uses cffi's ffi.dlopen('cairo-2') which requires the DLL to
be on the system PATH. On Windows, prepend KiCad's bin directory to
PATH early in kicad_interface.py (before any cairocffi import) so
cairo-2.dll can be found. Checks PYTHONPATH, Python executable dir,
and default KiCad 9/8 install paths.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The _ipc_move_component and _ipc_place_component handlers were ignoring
the unit field from position parameters, always treating values as mm.
When inches were specified, components would be placed at 1/25.4th of
the intended position. Now reads the unit field and converts to mm
before passing to the IPC backend.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
KiCad 9's IPC API returns Footprint objects where fp.definition lacks
the library_link attribute, causing all component queries to fail with
"'Footprint' object has no attribute 'library_link'" warnings and
returning 0 components. This adds a hasattr check with fallback to
fp.definition.id.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
import.meta.url.pathname returns /C:/... on Windows (leading slash),
breaking path.join. fileURLToPath handles Windows paths correctly.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Hardcoded Windows path broke Linux/macOS startup. Use import.meta.url to
derive the script path relative to the compiled JS, with KICAD_SCRIPT_PATH
env override for custom installs.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The eeschema-ground-truth fixture (_build_mirror_case) passed
'mirror': 'x' to ComponentManager.add_component, which silently drops
the kwarg — so the resulting .kicad_sch had no (mirror x|y) token,
eeschema rendered an unmirrored symbol, and our pin coords (also
unmirrored) tautologically matched. The mirror tests were GREEN both
before and after the rotation/mirror fix in 7e67cb9, providing zero
regression coverage for the mirror semantics.
Fix:
- _build_mirror_case now applies the mirror via the same low-level
helper (WireDragger.update_symbol_rotation_mirror) that
rotate_schematic_component uses, with a guard assertion that the
written file actually contains (mirror x|y).
- Two new pin-down unit tests in test_add_schematic_component.py
document and lock down ComponentManager.add_component's silent-drop
behavior for mirror, so the next person to touch that path knows to
update the eeschema-truth fixture if they grow real mirror support.
Verified: with the production fix at 7e67cb9 reverted, the kicad-cli
mirror tests now go RED (previously they stayed GREEN regardless).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Two bugs in WireDragger.pin_world_xy (and corresponding bugs in
PinLocator.get_pin_angle) caused pin coordinates and angles to land on
the wrong pin in 4 of 8 polarized cases (rot=90, rot=270, mirror x on a
vertical part, mirror y on a vertical part). Verified end-to-end against
`kicad-cli sch export netlist`.
(1) Rotation direction. After PR #145's `-ly` Y-flip, calling the
standard math (Y-up CCW) `_rotate` is effectively CW in screen Y-down.
eeschema's TRANSFORM(0,1,-1,0) for rot=90 is screen-CCW. They agreed at
0° and 180° (where the rotation matrices coincide) but disagreed at 90°
and 270°.
(2) Mirror axis semantics swapped. Per eeschema symbol.h:43-44,
SYM_MIRROR_X = TRANSFORM(1,0,0,-1) negates Y, and SYM_MIRROR_Y =
TRANSFORM(-1,0,0,1) negates X. Our code did the inverse: `mirror_x`
negated the X component and `mirror_y` negated the Y component.
Fix shape for `_rotate`: chose option (b) — leave `_rotate` as standard
math and negate the angle at the call site (`_rotate(lx, ly, -rotation)`).
This converts math-CCW to screen-CCW without disturbing
`TestRotatePoint`'s direct expectations of `_rotate`.
Final composition order in `pin_world_xy` matches eeschema's parser
(rotation set first into m_transform, then mirror composed via
`new = old * temp` so the mirror is applied first to the coordinate):
1. Y-flip: ly = -ly (lib Y-up → screen Y-down)
2. Mirror: if mirror_x: ly = -ly (negate screen-Y)
if mirror_y: lx = -lx (negate screen-X)
3. Rotate: _rotate(lx, ly, -rotation) (screen-CCW)
4. Translate: add (sym_x, sym_y)
Verified by hand for {rot=90, rot=270} × {none, mirror_x, mirror_y}
against the TRANSFORM matrices in transform.cpp:44 and symbol.h:43-44.
`PinLocator.get_pin_angle` mirrors the same composition in angle space.
For an angle, Y-flip and mirror_x both negate the angle; mirror_y maps
to (180 - angle). The screen-CCW rotation in `pin_world_xy` corresponds
to subtracting (not adding) the symbol rotation in standard atan2
convention — fixed accordingly. Geometry test
(`test_get_pin_angle.py::test_get_pin_angle_matches_geometric_expectation`)
derives expected angles from `pin_world_xy` itself, so it pins the two
together.
`tests/test_rotate_schematic_mirror.py::test_pin_positions_mirror_x_flips_x`
encoded the OLD inverted semantics and is updated/renamed to
`test_pin_positions_mirror_x_flips_y` with a pin that has non-zero Y so
the assertion is meaningful under the corrected semantics.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
`test_rotate_handler_no_crash` permanently replaced
`sys.modules["schemas.tool_schemas"].TOOL_SCHEMAS` with `[]`, leaking into
later tests. When test_wire_connectivity (or any test) ran after this one
and did `from schemas.tool_schemas import TOOL_SCHEMAS`, it got the empty
list and `TOOL_SCHEMAS["get_wire_connections"]` raised `TypeError: list
indices must be integers or slices, not str`.
Save the original sys.modules entries and restore them in a `finally`
block so the stubs are scoped to the test body. Whole suite now passes
(678 tests, previously 4 failed in TestSchema when run in suite order).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Use None default + 'instances or []' to keep mutable-default lint happy
and satisfy the Iterable annotation.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
All 10 failing tests in test_hierarchical_pad_net_map.py share the same root cause:
broken test fixture, not a production bug. PR #88 (commit 7cafbda, "fix:
get_schematic_pin_locations now accounts for mirror flags") introduced
PinLocator._get_symbol_transform, which reads symbol position/rotation/lib_id
directly from the .kicad_sch file via sexpdata + WireDragger.find_symbol — it
deliberately bypasses the kicad-skip cache so mirror/rotation mutations are
authoritative. The hierarchical-pad-net-map tests, however, only mocked
skip.Schematic and wrote a lib_symbols-only stub to disk with no (symbol ...)
instance, so _get_symbol_transform returned None and every pin lookup failed
with "Could not read transform for R1/R2". The tests last passed at 8a42812
(introduction) and broke at 7cafbda; PR #145 did not touch this code path.
Per-test classification (all 10): broken fixture.
- TestLabelAtPin::test_global_label_pin1 — fixture
- TestLabelAtPin::test_global_label_pin2 — fixture
- TestLabelAtPin::test_both_pins_mapped — fixture
- TestLabelAtPin::test_local_label_also_works — fixture
- TestLabelAtPin::test_hierarchical_label_also_works — fixture
- TestLabelViaWire::test_label_one_hop_away — fixture
- TestLabelViaWire::test_label_two_hops_away — fixture
- TestMultipleSubsheets::test_components_in_subsheet_collected — fixture
- TestMultipleSubsheets::test_top_and_sub_components_merged — fixture
- TestRotatedSymbol::test_90_degree_rotation — fixture (rotation expected
values already match the post-PR-145 convention; only fixture needed)
Fix: add _build_sch_with_instances() helper that emits a real (symbol ...)
block alongside the existing TestLib:R lib_symbols, so sexpdata can resolve
the transform. The skip.Schematic mock is still used for labels and wires.
All 15 tests in this file now pass; the broader related set
(test_pin_locator_y_flip, test_get_pin_angle, test_move_with_wire_preservation,
test_pin_locator_and_component) also pass — 84 total.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Resolves the four failing tests in tests/test_pin_locator_and_component.py
left behind by the PR #145 / commit 3c22580 Y-flip work.
Per-test rationale:
- TestPinLocatorYAxisNegation::{test_pin1_y_above_center_for_rotation_0,
test_pin2_y_below_center_for_rotation_0, test_pin1_rotated_90}: stale.
Their assertions encoded the *correct* post-PR-145 convention (96.19,
103.81, etc.), but their setup MagicMock'd self._schematic_cache while
bypassing _get_symbol_transform, which reads the .kicad_sch file
directly via sexpdata. The end-to-end Y-flip behaviour is already
covered against eeschema in tests/test_pin_locator_y_flip.py — keeping
three mock-based duplicates added no value, so they were removed.
- TestPinLocatorReferenceRstrip::test_get_pin_location_finds_symbol_with_trailing_underscore:
revealed a real production bug. PinLocator.get_pin_location strips a
trailing "_" on the kicad-skip lookup path, but the sexpdata-based
_get_symbol_transform delegates to WireDragger.find_symbol which used an
exact-equality comparison. With kicad-skip's "R1_" artifact the function
returned None, so the whole pin-location call failed even when the symbol
was clearly present. Fixed find_symbol to apply the same rstrip("_") on
the stored reference before comparing, mirroring the existing behaviour
in PinLocator. The test was also rewritten to use a real temp .kicad_sch
(with the on-disk reference mangled to "R1_") so it actually exercises
both lookup paths instead of bypassing one with mocks.
Files changed:
- python/commands/wire_dragger.py:78-89 — rstrip("_") on the reference
read out of the symbol property before comparing to the caller-supplied
reference.
- tests/test_pin_locator_and_component.py — removed three stale mock-based
Y-axis tests (covered by tests/test_pin_locator_y_flip.py end-to-end);
rewrote rstrip tests to use a real schematic file so _get_symbol_transform
is actually exercised.
Verified: tests/test_pin_locator_and_component.py + test_pin_locator_y_flip.py
+ test_get_pin_angle.py + test_move_with_wire_preservation.py — 69 passed.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
PR #145 restored the Y-axis flip in WireDragger.pin_world_xy so pin
coordinates now match the schematic (Y-down) frame instead of the
library (Y-up) frame. PinLocator.get_pin_angle was the companion to
that transform but never received the matching fix: it was returning
the library-frame angle (with mirror handling but no Y-flip), so
angles came out 180° off along the Y axis.
This was masked before PR #145 because pin_world_xy was wrong in the
same direction — both functions skipped the Y-flip, so callers that
compared pin endpoints to angles saw a self-consistent picture. Once
pin_world_xy was corrected the inconsistency surfaced.
Apply the same lib→screen Y-flip (negate angle) after the mirror
handling and before the symbol-rotation add, matching pin_world_xy's
order: mirror in lib space → Y-flip → rotate → translate (no
translate for angles since angles are translation-invariant).
Fixes the 24 parametrized cases in
tests/test_get_pin_angle.py::test_get_pin_angle_matches_geometric_expectation
(pin × mirror × rotation matrix). The test derives its expected value
from pin_world_xy itself, making it the canonical geometric oracle.
test_pin_locator_y_flip and test_move_with_wire_preservation continue
to pass.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
After every board-mutating SWIG command, kicad_interface._auto_save_board()
unconditionally calls pcbnew.SaveBoard() with the in-memory board. When the
on-disk .kicad_pcb has been modified externally between our LoadBoard and
SaveBoard (KiCad GUI's own save, git checkout, another process), the
in-memory state silently overwrites those external changes - losing data
the user can't see was at risk.
This change records the file's mtime_ns + sha256 at LoadBoard and verifies
the signature matches before each auto-save:
* If the signature has diverged, refuse the save and attach a structured
warning to the command result so callers know their mutation is
in-memory only and they need to reload before retrying.
* If it matches, copy the existing file to .mcp-backups/<name>.<ts>
(rotating, keeps last 20) before overwriting.
* Update the recorded signature after our own writes so subsequent
saves are not falsely flagged.
Backwards compatible:
* No tool schemas changed.
* Successful saves return as before, with an extra `autoSave` field
when the wrapper observed something noteworthy.
* Refused saves return success: true (the in-memory mutation did
succeed) plus warnings: [...] and autoSave.diskChangedExternally,
so callers can detect the situation programmatically.
Adds tests/test_auto_save_guard.py (10 tests, all passing) covering:
signature math, refusal on external change, backup creation + content,
backup rotation, first-save semantics (no recorded signature proceeds
normally), and skip cases (no board / no path).
Motivation: the aircam-pdb fork-user lost ~480 traces and the full
footprint layout to a silent overwrite incident on 2026-05-03; recovery
was only possible because VS Code's local-history extension happened to
have a snapshot from a few minutes earlier. This guard makes that class
of incident loud and locally recoverable.
