app
KiCad - the KiCad Bridge
Public Made by Adomby adom
Reference implementation of the KiCad bridge: multi-instance Python server, forward path via kicad-cli, reverse path via in-process plugin. Most complex of the three bundled bridges.
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Publish 1.0.152
8 files changed
+48−17
SKILL.md+3−3@@ -498,8 +498,8 @@ A `.kicad_sym` the bridge's reader balances can still be one KiCad refuses, and Rules live on the wiki page adom/pcb-design-rules and are fetched at call time, so a rule change is a wiki publish, not a bridge release. -- `kicad_list_design_rules {"fab": "jlcpcb"}` (fab optional): fabs, processes, layer counts, file URLs. InstaPCB (`adom-instapcb`) is the house baseline and is listed first.-- `kicad_set_design_rules {"fab": "adom-instapcb", "layers": 2, "boardPath": "C:/.../board.kicad_pcb"}`: downloads the fab's `.kicad_dru`, stages it as `<board stem>.kicad_dru` (KiCad loads that name automatically; an existing file is backed up next to it), then runs DRC with it and returns the violations. `layers` defaults to the board's copper count, `druPath` uses a local file instead, `runDrc:false` only stages, `keepExisting:true` refuses to replace.+- `kicad_list_design_rules {"fab": "jlcpcb"}` (fab optional): fabs, processes, layer counts, file URLs. The 3rd party fab (the default fab id) is the baseline and is listed first.+- `kicad_set_design_rules {"fab": "jlcpcb", "layers": 2, "boardPath": "C:/.../board.kicad_pcb"}`: downloads the fab's `.kicad_dru`, stages it as `<board stem>.kicad_dru` (KiCad loads that name automatically; an existing file is backed up next to it), then runs DRC with it and returns the violations. `layers` defaults to the board's copper count, `druPath` uses a local file instead, `runDrc:false` only stages, `keepExisting:true` refuses to replace. ### Symbol names vs file names (from 0.9.283, wiki #62) @@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ Rules live on the wiki page adom/pcb-design-rules and are fetched at call time, ### Real content to try (the dashboard's "Say it" phrases point here) - **A full wiki part page**: `ray/xl555` (XL555 timer: `xl555.kicad_sym`, `xl555.kicad_mod`, `xl555.step`, `xl555.glb`). Fetch its files with `adom-wiki repo show ray/xl555 <file>` (or the files API), `push_file` them to the desktop, then `kicad_install_symbol` / `kicad_install_footprint` (or `kicad_install_library_bundle` for a zip) and `kicad_show_library` / `kicad_show_footprint`.-- **Adom boards with a schematic and a PCB**: `adom/drone-motor-carrier`, `adom/esc-g431`, `adom/carrier-fc-rp2350a-mini`, `adom/rp2350a-ads1220` (each carries `<slug>.kicad_sch`, `<slug>.kicad_pcb`, `.step`, `.glb`). Pull the `.kicad_sch` + `.kicad_pcb`, push them to the desktop, then `kicad_open_board` / `kicad_show_2d_board` / `kicad_show_3d_board`, `kicad_lint_board`, `kicad_set_design_rules {"fab":"adom-instapcb"}`, `kicad_export_gerbers`.+- **Adom boards with a schematic and a PCB**: `adom/drone-motor-carrier`, `adom/esc-g431`, `adom/carrier-fc-rp2350a-mini`, `adom/rp2350a-ads1220` (each carries `<slug>.kicad_sch`, `<slug>.kicad_pcb`, `.step`, `.glb`). Pull the `.kicad_sch` + `.kicad_pcb`, push them to the desktop, then `kicad_open_board` / `kicad_show_2d_board` / `kicad_show_3d_board`, `kicad_lint_board`, `kicad_set_design_rules {}` (no fab: the baseline fab), `kicad_export_gerbers`. - **The Adom PCM libraries** (symbols, footprints and 3D for every part on the Adom line): `kicad_pcm_install {"repositoryUrl":"https://wiki.adom.inc/api/v1/pages/kicad-pcm/files/repository.json","identifier":"inc.adom.kicad.basic-parts"}` (also `inc.adom.kicad.rp2040`). KiCad registers the libraries on its next start. - Never quote a wiki page you have not fetched: `aravk/in-s42ata`, an older example, no longer exists.
dashboard/ui/index.html+1−1@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ const PROMPTS=[ "tour the wiki part ray/xl555 in kicad: symbol, footprint, 3d chip, project, schematic, 2d board, 3d board", "install the Adom Basic Parts and Adom RP2040 libraries from adom/kicad-pcm into kicad", "open adom/drone-motor-carrier in kicad and show me the schematic, the 2d board and the 3d board",- "check adom/esc-g431 against the InstaPCB 2-layer design rules in kicad and list every violation",+ "check adom/esc-g431 against the 3rd party fab 2-layer design rules in kicad and list every violation", "export gerbers for adom/carrier-fc-rp2350a-mini from kicad and tell me the KiCad version stamp", "are any kicad windows in my foreground? prove the bridge stayed in the background" ];
package.json+1−1@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ { "slug": "kicad-bridge",- "version": "1.0.151",+ "version": "1.0.152", "type": "app", "description": "Skills for your container so your AI knows how to drive the KiCad bridge, and how to contribute a fix back (kicad-bridge-contributing). The bridge runtime itself is the release zip; Adom Bridge loads that.", "tags": [
page.json+36−5@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ "slug": "kicad-bridge", "title": "KiCad - the KiCad Bridge", "brief": "Reference implementation of the KiCad bridge: multi-instance Python server, forward path via kicad-cli, reverse path via in-process plugin. Most complex of the three bundled bridges.",- "version": "1.0.111",+ "version": "1.0.152", "tags": [ "kicad", "pcb",@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ "install_hint": "", "version_cmd": "" },- "readme": "# Adom Desktop \u2014 KiCad Bridge\n\nA **reverse bridge** that lets Adom Desktop (AD) \u2014 and the AI driving it \u2014 control the user's own\nKiCad on Windows: open and drive every editor, install symbol/footprint libraries, place parts, run\nDRC/ERC, export manufacturing files, and screenshot any window back to the AI.\n\nKiCad is the user's **host app**. The bridge *detects* an existing KiCad and, if none is present,\n*installs* one for them \u2014 it never asks the user to download or click through anything by hand.\n\n- **Page / docs:** https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge\n- **Bridge SDK:** https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-desktop-bridges\n- **Verb namespace:** `kicad_*` \u00b7 **Status verb:** `kicad_bridge_status` \u00b7 **Health:** `GET /status`\n\n> Every screenshot in this README was captured on **ADOMBASELINE**, a stock Hyper-V VM with **no\n> GPU**, driven end-to-end through the bridge \u2014 install \u2192 libraries \u2192 editors \u2192 2D \u2192 3D. If it\n> renders there, it renders on a real laptop.\n\n---\n\n## Demo \u2014 narrated live editor tour (real screen recording)\n\n[](https://wiki.adom.inc/blob/app/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge/kicad-bridge-demo.mp4)\n\n**\u25b6 [Watch the demo](https://wiki.adom.inc/blob/app/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge/kicad-bridge-demo.mp4)** (48s, \ud83d\udd0a narrated) \u2014 the bridge driving real KiCad on a Windows VM: **select** a footprint and **zoom** the copper in the PCB editor, **rotate** the assembled board in 3D, then tour the schematic, symbol, and footprint editors. Genuine screen recording of the live windows (zoom / select / 3D rotation), narrated section by section \u2014 not animated stills.\n\n\n---\n\n## The demo verb \u2014 `kicad_demo`\n\nOne verb that shows the whole bridge off, built for the AI that demos Adom Desktop\nduring Hydrogen Desktop's install. Six beats, in the order a hardware person thinks:\n\n| Beat | Shows |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | the **schematic symbol** in the user's own Symbol Editor |\n| 2 | the **footprint** for that same part |\n| 3 | that part in **3D** |\n| 4 | a **schematic** using it (U1 + two 10k resistors) |\n| 5 | the **2D board layout** |\n| 6 | the finished **board in 3D** |\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{}' # start: prepares, warms KiCad, opens beat 1\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{\"step\":\"footprint\"}' # ...then follow data.nextCall each time\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{\"all\":true}' # bulk (non-interactive; slower than one request budget)\nadom-desktop kicad_close '{\"force\":true}' # tear down\n```\n\n**It narrates itself.** Every beat returns `say` (a line to speak), `pointOut`\n(what's actually on screen), `window` (match it in `kicad_screenshot_all`) and\n`nextCall`. One beat per call is the default precisely so the AI can talk, screenshot,\nthen move on.\n\n**It ships nothing.** The two demo parts, the schematic and the board are all\ngenerated in code, and the 3D bodies come from KiCad's *own* bundled\n`3dmodels/*.3dshapes` \u2014 so the runtime zip stays small and the 3D views are real.\nParts install into the user's real `Adom` library; the project lands in\n`Documents/adom-kicad-demo`.\n\n**No KiCad? It offers to install it.** `kicad_demo` returns an offer instead of an\nerror; `kicad_demo '{\"installKiCad\": true}'` silently installs the official build\n(per-user, no UAC) and then runs the tour. Watching the AI install your EDA tool is\nitself a good demo beat.\n\n**It never takes your screen.** Every window opens in the background and all input is\nwindow-targeted (UIA / `PostMessage`), so you can keep working while it runs.\n\n---\n\n## How it fits together\n\nThe bridge is a `spawn.kind: python` process AD launches on the user's machine (`entrypoint:\nserver.py`, `port: 0` \u2014 AD picks the port and passes `ADOM_BIND_HOST`). It speaks HTTP\n(`POST /command`, `GET /status`) and reaches KiCad through **four control surfaces**, picking the\nlightest one that can do the job.\n\n\n\n| # | Surface | Used for | Where |\n|---|---------|----------|-------|\n| 1 | **kicad-cli** (subprocess) | headless DRC/ERC, gerber/pdf/svg/step/bom export, format upgrade | `handlers/export.py`, `run_drc`, `run_erc`, `lint_*` |\n| 2 | **KiCad IPC (kipy)** | board/schematic introspection, confirmed footprint placement (KiCad 9+) | `handlers/place_footprint.py` |\n| 3 | **Embedded Python** | JSON-RPC *inside* each KiCad process, dispatched on its wx UI thread | `plugin_payload/adom_bridge.py`, `handlers/bridge_client.py` |\n| 4 | **Win32 / UIA / SendKeys** | open editors, screenshots, clicks/keys, dialog handling, window management | `handlers/kicad_ui.py`, `handlers/close_windows.py` |\n\n---\n\n## The window tour\n\nEverything below was opened and captured on the GPU-less VM. Sample data is the **RP2040 breakout**\ngenerated by `tour-pack-rp2040/` (an `AdomRP2040` symbol + `QFN-56_AdomRP2040` footprint + a board).\n\n### Schematic editor \u2014 `kicad_open_schematic`\n\nThe RP2040 breakout: the MCU (U1), USB-C, a 12 MHz crystal, decoupling, and mounting pins.\n\n\n\n### Symbol editor \u2014 `kicad_open_symbol_editor`\n\nOpens straight to a symbol (`kicad_install_symbol` puts it in a user library first).\n\n\n\n### Footprint editor \u2014 `kicad_open_footprint_editor`\n\n`{\"footprintName\":\"QFN-56_AdomRP2040\",\"library\":\"AdomRP2040\"}` loads the part directly \u2014 56 pins +\nthermal pad, 7\u00d77 mm, 0.4 mm pitch, courtyard and silkscreen.\n\n\n\n### PCB editor (2D) \u2014 `kicad_open_board`\n\nThe routed breakout \u2014 copper, silkscreen, the QFN-56 land pattern, mounting holes.\n\n\n\n### 3D viewer \u2014 `kicad_open_3d_viewer {\"editor\":\"pcb\"}`\n\nThe full board in 3D \u2014 board body, the USB-C connector's 3D model, the QFN chip body, SMD parts,\nplated through-holes. **Rendered on the CPU via the software-OpenGL fallback (below); reload 1.7 s.**\n\n\n\n---\n\n## Install & upgrade \u2014 zero manual steps\n\nThe bridge never tells the user to go download KiCad. `kicad_upgrade` fetches the official installer\nand runs it silently, picking the scope automatically:\n\n- **Elevated AD** \u2192 `/allusers /S` (system-wide, `%ProgramFiles%\\KiCad`).\n- **Non-elevated AD** \u2192 `/currentuser /S` (`%LocalAppData%\\Programs\\KiCad`, **no UAC prompt**).\n\n`kicad_readiness` reports whether KiCad is installed and ready without side effects; the AI routes on\nit before offering to install. Hard-won install details (all handled for you):\n\n- KiCad 10's NsisMultiUser installer **requires** a scope flag \u2014 bare `/S` errors `rc=666660`.\n- AD's portable Python has **no CA bundle**; the bridge ships `certs/cacert.pem` and uses it for TLS.\n- Downloads are size-checked against `Content-Length` (a truncated installer otherwise fails at NSIS).\n- `%APPDATA%/kicad/<ver>/` lib tables don't exist until first launch \u2014 the bridge **bootstraps** them\n so `install_library`/`install_footprint` work on a never-opened KiCad.\n- `kicad_upgrade {\"diagnoseOnly\":true}` reports token-elevation type + `EnableLUA` without installing.\n\n---\n\n## Dialogs & error handling \u2014 the bridge clears the pointless ones\n\nKiCad throws modal dialogs that stall automation. The bridge **scans every window owned by a running\nKiCad process** (by PID \u2014 reliable, unlike title matching), auto-expires the benign ones, screenshots\nwhat it dismissed, and returns a hint so the AI can decide what (if anything) to tell the user.\n\nAuto-expired benign dialogs include:\n\n- **\"Could not use OpenGL / falling back to software rendering\"** (GPU-less hosts).\n- **\"Welcome to KiCad \u2014 starting for the first time\"** first-run wizard (dismissing accepts defaults).\n- **\"This file was created by an older version of KiCad\"** conversion notice.\n\n\n\nVerbs:\n\n- `kicad_window_info` \u2014 lists windows and **self-heals** (auto-expires benign dialogs) by default.\n- `kicad_dismiss_dialogs {\"all\":true}` \u2014 clear everything blocking; `{\"screenshot\":true}` returns\n images of each; `{\"forceSoftwareCanvas\":true}` persists Cairo canvas; `{\"debug\":true}` dumps the\n raw PID-based scan.\n- `kicad_screenshot_all` \u2014 one call returns **every** open KiCad window, so the AI can spot an error\n dialog it didn't expect and read the message.\n\n---\n\n## Software-OpenGL fallback (last resort)\n\n`kicad_enable_software_opengl` deploys Mesa's `llvmpipe` (a CPU OpenGL rasterizer) into KiCad's `bin`\nso a box with **no usable GPU** \u2014 Hyper-V, RDP, headless CI \u2014 can still render the editors and the 3D\nviewer. This is how every 3D shot above exists.\n\n> \u26a0\ufe0f It renders on the CPU and is **slow**. It is a worst-case fallback only \u2014 a real GPU (or GPU-P /\n> DDA passthrough) is vastly better. The bridge keeps it so a GPU-less box isn't a dead end; it is\n> never suggested proactively.\n\n---\n\n## Verb reference\n\nAll 41 verbs (prefix `kicad_`). Call `kicad_describe` for the live catalog with per-verb hints,\nrelated verbs, and pitfalls.\n\n**Windows & UI** \u2014 `open_board`, `open_schematic`, `open_symbol_editor`, `open_footprint_editor`,\n`open_3d_viewer`, `open_editors`, `close_symbol_editor`, `close_footprint_editor`, `close_3d_viewer`,\n`close`, `window_info`, `dismiss_dialogs`, `screenshot_all`, `send_key`, `click`, `fix_keyboard`\n\n**Libraries & parts** \u2014 `install_library`, `install_symbol`, `install_footprint`, `install_plugin`,\n`place_footprint`, `adom_library_status`\n\n**Checks & export** \u2014 `run_drc`, `run_erc`, `lint_board`, `lint_schematic`, `lint_library`,\n`format_upgrade`, `export_gerber`, `export_pdf`, `export_svg`, `export_step`, `export_bom_csv`\n\n**Detect, install & meta** \u2014 `list_versions`, `readiness`, `describe`, `enable_software_opengl`,\n`check_for_updates`, `upgrade`, `bridge_status`, `bridge_call`\n\n---\n\n## Running / dependencies\n\nAD provisions everything; there is nothing to install by hand.\n\n- **Python** \u2265 3.11 (AD provisions it) \u2014 stdlib only, plus the bundled `certs/cacert.pem`.\n- **KiCad** \u2265 7.0 (host app; `kicad_upgrade` installs it if absent).\n- **OS:** Windows (macOS/Linux detection stubs exist; the GUI surfaces are Windows-first).\n\nThe bridge binds `ADOM_BIND_HOST` on an AD-assigned port \u2014 never `0.0.0.0`. Auto-updates via\n`updateManifestUrl` in `bridge.json`.\n\n---\n\n*Developer & publish notes live in `dev-skills/` and `publish-skills/` (source-only, never shipped to\na user install).*\n",+ "readme": "# Adom Desktop — KiCad Bridge\n\nA **reverse bridge** that lets Adom Desktop (AD) — and the AI driving it — control the user's own\nKiCad on Windows: open and drive every editor, install symbol/footprint libraries, place parts, run\nDRC/ERC, export manufacturing files, and screenshot any window back to the AI.\n\nKiCad is the user's **host app**. The bridge *detects* an existing KiCad and, if none is present,\n*installs* one for them — it never asks the user to download or click through anything by hand.\n\n- **Page / docs:** https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge\n- **Bridge SDK:** https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-desktop-bridges\n- **Verb namespace:** `kicad_*` · **Status verb:** `kicad_bridge_status` · **Health:** `GET /status`\n\n> Every screenshot in this README was captured on **ADOMBASELINE**, a stock Hyper-V VM with **no\n> GPU**, driven end-to-end through the bridge — install → libraries → editors → 2D → 3D. If it\n> renders there, it renders on a real laptop.\n\n---\n\n## Demo — narrated live editor tour (real screen recording)\n\n[](https://wiki.adom.inc/blob/app/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge/kicad-bridge-demo.mp4)\n\n**▶ [Watch the demo](https://wiki.adom.inc/blob/app/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge/kicad-bridge-demo.mp4)** (48s, 🔊 narrated) — the bridge driving real KiCad on a Windows VM: **select** a footprint and **zoom** the copper in the PCB editor, **rotate** the assembled board in 3D, then tour the schematic, symbol, and footprint editors. Genuine screen recording of the live windows (zoom / select / 3D rotation), narrated section by section — not animated stills.\n\n\n---\n\n## The demo verb — `kicad_demo`\n\nOne verb that shows the whole bridge off, built for the AI that demos Adom Desktop\nduring Hydrogen Desktop's install. Six beats, in the order a hardware person thinks:\n\n| Beat | Shows |\n|---|---|\n| 1 | the **schematic symbol** in the user's own Symbol Editor |\n| 2 | the **footprint** for that same part |\n| 3 | that part in **3D** |\n| 4 | a **schematic** using it (U1 + two 10k resistors) |\n| 5 | the **2D board layout** |\n| 6 | the finished **board in 3D** |\n\n```bash\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{}' # start: prepares, warms KiCad, opens beat 1\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{\"step\":\"footprint\"}' # ...then follow data.nextCall each time\nadom-desktop kicad_demo '{\"all\":true}' # bulk (non-interactive; slower than one request budget)\nadom-desktop kicad_close '{\"force\":true}' # tear down\n```\n\n**It narrates itself.** Every beat returns `say` (a line to speak), `pointOut`\n(what's actually on screen), `window` (match it in `kicad_screenshot_all`) and\n`nextCall`. One beat per call is the default precisely so the AI can talk, screenshot,\nthen move on.\n\n**It ships nothing.** The two demo parts, the schematic and the board are all\ngenerated in code, and the 3D bodies come from KiCad's *own* bundled\n`3dmodels/*.3dshapes` — so the runtime zip stays small and the 3D views are real.\nParts install into the user's real `Adom` library; the project lands in\n`Documents/adom-kicad-demo`.\n\n**No KiCad? It offers to install it.** `kicad_demo` returns an offer instead of an\nerror; `kicad_demo '{\"installKiCad\": true}'` silently installs the official build\n(per-user, no UAC) and then runs the tour. Watching the AI install your EDA tool is\nitself a good demo beat.\n\n**It never takes your screen.** Every window opens in the background and all input is\nwindow-targeted (UIA / `PostMessage`), so you can keep working while it runs.\n\n---\n\n## How it fits together\n\nThe bridge is a `spawn.kind: python` process AD launches on the user's machine (`entrypoint:\nserver.py`, `port: 0` — AD picks the port and passes `ADOM_BIND_HOST`). It speaks HTTP\n(`POST /command`, `GET /status`) and reaches KiCad through **four control surfaces**, picking the\nlightest one that can do the job.\n\n\n\n| # | Surface | Used for | Where |\n|---|---------|----------|-------|\n| 1 | **kicad-cli** (subprocess) | headless DRC/ERC, gerber/pdf/svg/step/bom export, format upgrade | `handlers/export.py`, `run_drc`, `run_erc`, `lint_*` |\n| 2 | **KiCad IPC (kipy)** | board/schematic introspection, confirmed footprint placement (KiCad 9+) | `handlers/place_footprint.py` |\n| 3 | **Embedded Python** | JSON-RPC *inside* each KiCad process, dispatched on its wx UI thread | `plugin_payload/adom_bridge.py`, `handlers/bridge_client.py` |\n| 4 | **Win32 / UIA / SendKeys** | open editors, screenshots, clicks/keys, dialog handling, window management | `handlers/kicad_ui.py`, `handlers/close_windows.py` |\n\n---\n\n## The window tour\n\nEverything below was opened and captured on the GPU-less VM. Sample data is the **RP2040 breakout**\ngenerated by `tour-pack-rp2040/` (an `AdomRP2040` symbol + `QFN-56_AdomRP2040` footprint + a board).\n\n### Schematic editor — `kicad_open_schematic`\n\nThe RP2040 breakout: the MCU (U1), USB-C, a 12 MHz crystal, decoupling, and mounting pins.\n\n\n\n### Symbol editor — `kicad_open_symbol_editor`\n\nOpens straight to a symbol (`kicad_install_symbol` puts it in a user library first).\n\n\n\n### Footprint editor — `kicad_open_footprint_editor`\n\n`{\"footprintName\":\"QFN-56_AdomRP2040\",\"library\":\"AdomRP2040\"}` loads the part directly — 56 pins +\nthermal pad, 7×7 mm, 0.4 mm pitch, courtyard and silkscreen.\n\n\n\n### PCB editor (2D) — `kicad_open_board`\n\nThe routed breakout — copper, silkscreen, the QFN-56 land pattern, mounting holes.\n\n\n\n### 3D viewer — `kicad_open_3d_viewer {\"editor\":\"pcb\"}`\n\nThe full board in 3D — board body, the USB-C connector's 3D model, the QFN chip body, SMD parts,\nplated through-holes. **Rendered on the CPU via the software-OpenGL fallback (below); reload 1.7 s.**\n\n\n\n---\n\n## Install & upgrade — zero manual steps\n\nThe bridge never tells the user to go download KiCad. `kicad_upgrade` fetches the official installer\nand runs it silently, picking the scope automatically:\n\n- **Elevated AD** → `/allusers /S` (system-wide, `%ProgramFiles%\\KiCad`).\n- **Non-elevated AD** → `/currentuser /S` (`%LocalAppData%\\Programs\\KiCad`, **no UAC prompt**).\n\n`kicad_readiness` reports whether KiCad is installed and ready without side effects; the AI routes on\nit before offering to install. Hard-won install details (all handled for you):\n\n- KiCad 10's NsisMultiUser installer **requires** a scope flag — bare `/S` errors `rc=666660`.\n- AD's portable Python has **no CA bundle**; the bridge ships `certs/cacert.pem` and uses it for TLS.\n- Downloads are size-checked against `Content-Length` (a truncated installer otherwise fails at NSIS).\n- `%APPDATA%/kicad/<ver>/` lib tables don't exist until first launch — the bridge **bootstraps** them\n so `install_library`/`install_footprint` work on a never-opened KiCad.\n- `kicad_upgrade {\"diagnoseOnly\":true}` reports token-elevation type + `EnableLUA` without installing.\n\n---\n\n## Dialogs & error handling — the bridge clears the pointless ones\n\nKiCad throws modal dialogs that stall automation. The bridge **scans every window owned by a running\nKiCad process** (by PID — reliable, unlike title matching), auto-expires the benign ones, screenshots\nwhat it dismissed, and returns a hint so the AI can decide what (if anything) to tell the user.\n\nAuto-expired benign dialogs include:\n\n- **\"Could not use OpenGL / falling back to software rendering\"** (GPU-less hosts).\n- **\"Welcome to KiCad — starting for the first time\"** first-run wizard (dismissing accepts defaults).\n- **\"This file was created by an older version of KiCad\"** conversion notice.\n\n\n\nVerbs:\n\n- `kicad_window_info` — lists windows and **self-heals** (auto-expires benign dialogs) by default.\n- `kicad_dismiss_dialogs {\"all\":true}` — clear everything blocking; `{\"screenshot\":true}` returns\n images of each; `{\"forceSoftwareCanvas\":true}` persists Cairo canvas; `{\"debug\":true}` dumps the\n raw PID-based scan.\n- `kicad_screenshot_all` — one call returns **every** open KiCad window, so the AI can spot an error\n dialog it didn't expect and read the message.\n\n---\n\n## Software-OpenGL fallback (last resort)\n\n`kicad_enable_software_opengl` deploys Mesa's `llvmpipe` (a CPU OpenGL rasterizer) into KiCad's `bin`\nso a box with **no usable GPU** — Hyper-V, RDP, headless CI — can still render the editors and the 3D\nviewer. This is how every 3D shot above exists.\n\n> ⚠️ It renders on the CPU and is **slow**. It is a worst-case fallback only — a real GPU (or GPU-P /\n> DDA passthrough) is vastly better. The bridge keeps it so a GPU-less box isn't a dead end; it is\n> never suggested proactively.\n\n---\n\n## Verb reference\n\nAll 41 verbs (prefix `kicad_`). Call `kicad_describe` for the live catalog with per-verb hints,\nrelated verbs, and pitfalls.\n\n**Windows & UI** — `open_board`, `open_schematic`, `open_symbol_editor`, `open_footprint_editor`,\n`open_3d_viewer`, `open_editors`, `close_symbol_editor`, `close_footprint_editor`, `close_3d_viewer`,\n`close`, `window_info`, `dismiss_dialogs`, `screenshot_all`, `send_key`, `click`, `fix_keyboard`\n\n**Libraries & parts** — `install_library`, `install_symbol`, `install_footprint`, `install_plugin`,\n`place_footprint`, `adom_library_status`\n\n**Checks & export** — `run_drc`, `run_erc`, `lint_board`, `lint_schematic`, `lint_library`,\n`format_upgrade`, `export_gerber`, `export_pdf`, `export_svg`, `export_step`, `export_bom_csv`\n\n**Detect, install & meta** — `list_versions`, `readiness`, `describe`, `enable_software_opengl`,\n`check_for_updates`, `upgrade`, `bridge_status`, `bridge_call`\n\n---\n\n## Running / dependencies\n\nAD provisions everything; there is nothing to install by hand.\n\n- **Python** ≥ 3.11 (AD provisions it) — stdlib only, plus the bundled `certs/cacert.pem`.\n- **KiCad** ≥ 7.0 (host app; `kicad_upgrade` installs it if absent).\n- **OS:** Windows (macOS/Linux detection stubs exist; the GUI surfaces are Windows-first).\n\nThe bridge binds `ADOM_BIND_HOST` on an AD-assigned port — never `0.0.0.0`. Auto-updates via\n`updateManifestUrl` in `bridge.json`.\n\n---\n\n*Developer & publish notes live in `dev-skills/` and `publish-skills/` (source-only, never shipped to\na user install).*\n", "author": { "name": "John Lauer", "email": "[email protected]"@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ "skills": [], "author_name": "John Lauer", "source_visibility": "public",- "description": "Your real KiCad, driven by AI in the background: a native Rust bridge (Windows) with 110+ kicad_* verbs for editors, libraries, placement, routing, pours, DRC, exports and screenshots. This page's repo is the full source; fixes come back as wiki PRs (skill kicad-bridge-contributing).",+ "description": "Skills for your container so your AI knows how to drive the KiCad bridge, and how to contribute a fix back (kicad-bridge-contributing). The bridge runtime itself is the release zip; Adom Bridge loads that.", "dependencies": { "adom/adom-bridge": "^2.0.3" },@@ -87,9 +87,15 @@ "uninstall.sh", "skills/kicad-interaction/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-3d-models/SKILL.md",+ "skills/kicad-autorouting/SKILL.md",+ "skills/kicad-place-route-loop/SKILL.md",+ "skills/kicad-copper-pours/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-tour/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-tour/tour_runner.py", "skills/kicad-web-control/SKILL.md",+ "skills/kicad-uia/catalog.json",+ "skills/kicad-uia/SKILL.md",+ "skills/kicad-bridge-contributing/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-bridge-dev/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-bridge-publish/SKILL.md", "skills/kicad-bridge-hero/SKILL.md",@@ -127,5 +133,30 @@ "binary_name": "adom-bridge-kicad", "authors": null, "author_handle": "john",- "authors_json": null-}+ "authors_json": null,+ "agent_permissions": {+ "allow_bash": [+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge"+ ],+ "allow": [+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge status, readiness, describe, diagnostics, window_info, state and open_editors are read-only queries against KiCad and the bridge; they change nothing.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge list_versions, list_footprints, list_symbols, list_design_rules and adom_library_status read library tables and files; they change nothing.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge plugin_diagnose, verb_times, progress, errors, log_tail, get_settings and check_for_updates read bridge logs and settings; they change nothing.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge screenshot_all captures KiCad windows to images; it changes nothing in KiCad.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge extract_netlist, trace_net, find_connections and analyze_connections read the open design; they change nothing.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge lint_board, lint_schematic, lint_library, run_drc and run_erc run KiCad's own checks and produce reports; they change nothing."+ ],+ "soft_deny": [+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge install_library, install_library_bundle, install_symbol, install_footprint, pcm_install and pcm_uninstall write to the user's KiCad libraries.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge adom_library_heal, set_design_rules, format_upgrade and set_settings rewrite library files, rules or settings.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge launch, close, close_symbol_editor, close_footprint_editor, close_3d_viewer and dismiss_dialogs start or stop KiCad windows.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge uninstall, install_plugin, upgrade and enable_software_opengl reconfigure the user's KiCad or the bridge.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge export_gerber, export_gerbers, export_pdf, export_svg, export_step, export_molecule, export_bom_csv and export_part write files.",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge make_part_project and place_footprint edit or create designs; demo, send_key and click drive KiCad's windows and inject input."+ ],+ "environment": [+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge is the KiCad Bridge; every kicad verb also passes Adom Bridge's human-approval gate on the user's desktop (caller identity, per-call reason, Activity Log).",+ "adom-desktop-kicad-bridge container approval is the first of two gates; the desktop gate is the second."+ ]+ }+}
skills/kicad-bridge-test/run_verb_tests.py+1−1@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ def matrix(w: dict) -> dict: "export_step": dict(phase=2, args={"filePath": B, "outputPath": OUT + "/board.step"}, timeout=320), "export_bom_csv": dict(phase=2, args={"filePath": S, "outputPath": OUT + "/bom.csv"}, timeout=200), "export_molecule": dict(phase=2, args={"filePath": B, "outputDir": OUT + "/molecule"}, timeout=320),- "set_design_rules": dict(phase=2.7, args={"fab": "adom-instapcb", "boardPath": w["board_copy_src"], "runDrc": False},+ "set_design_rules": dict(phase=2.7, args={"fab": "jlcpcb", "boardPath": w["board_copy_src"], "runDrc": False}, timeout=200, note="on the COPY of the board (format_upgrade's), staged only, never the fixture"), "format_upgrade": dict(phase=2, args={"filePath": w["board_copy"]}, timeout=200, note="runs on a COPY of the board, never the fixture itself"),
skills/kicad-copper-pours/SKILL.md+3−3@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@ --- name: kicad-copper-pours-description: After a board is 100 percent routed, the next step every AI on the KiCad Bridge takes before calling it done: copper pours. Which nets get a pour and why (current, heat, and copper retention, because InstaPCB's ablation process mills copper away, so every square millimetre kept is copper not removed), which nets never get one (switching nodes, crystal and clock, high-impedance analog, current-sense Kelvin paths, anything whose capacitance or impedance the pour would change, and anything that would make a ground loop), how to set priorities so small pours win inside big ones, thermal versus solid connections, 2-layer versus 4-layer strategy, the offline gate (tools/add_pours.py then KiCad's DRC), landing pours live with kicad_add_zone, measuring what stayed with kicad_zone_state, and the second loop: moving a trace or a part so a pour can carry the current or spread the heat. Trigger words: copper pour, pours, zone, zones, ground pour, power pour, polygon pour, copper fill, fill zones, ablation, copper ablation, retain copper, maximize copper, heatsink copper, thermal copper, current carrying, kicad_add_zone, kicad_zone_state, add a zone, pour the ground, pour VBAT, InstaPCB copper.+description: After a board is 100 percent routed, the next step every AI on the KiCad Bridge takes before calling it done: copper pours. Which nets get a pour and why (current, heat, and copper retention, because the 3rd party fab's ablation process mills copper away, so every square millimetre kept is copper not removed), which nets never get one (switching nodes, crystal and clock, high-impedance analog, current-sense Kelvin paths, anything whose capacitance or impedance the pour would change, and anything that would make a ground loop), how to set priorities so small pours win inside big ones, thermal versus solid connections, 2-layer versus 4-layer strategy, the offline gate (tools/add_pours.py then KiCad's DRC), landing pours live with kicad_add_zone, measuring what stayed with kicad_zone_state, and the second loop: moving a trace or a part so a pour can carry the current or spread the heat. Trigger words: copper pour, pours, zone, zones, ground pour, power pour, polygon pour, copper fill, fill zones, ablation, copper ablation, retain copper, maximize copper, heatsink copper, thermal copper, current carrying, kicad_add_zone, kicad_zone_state, add a zone, pour the ground, pour VBAT, 3rd party fab copper. --- # Copper pours: the step after 100 percent routed -A board that is routed is not finished. The traces carry the signals; the copper pours carry the current, sink the heat, and, on an InstaPCB board, are the copper that does NOT get milled away. The kicad-place-route-loop skill ends at zero unconnected; this skill starts there and ends when every net that deserves a pour has one, the DRC is still clean, and the copper kept per layer is measured and reported. Then the placement and routing get a second look: sometimes a trace or a part has to move so a pour can do its job.+A board that is routed is not finished. The traces carry the signals; the copper pours carry the current, sink the heat, and, on a 3rd party fab board, are the copper that does NOT get milled away. The kicad-place-route-loop skill ends at zero unconnected; this skill starts there and ends when every net that deserves a pour has one, the DRC is still clean, and the copper kept per layer is measured and reported. Then the placement and routing get a second look: sometimes a trace or a part has to move so a pour can do its job. ## Why pours, in one paragraph per reason - **Current.** A 0.25 mm trace of 35 um copper carries about 0.5 A with a 10 C rise; a 1 mm trace about 2 A. A drone ESC's battery, phase and return paths carry tens of amps in pulses. No trace width that fits between pads does that; a pour does, on every layer it is on, stitched with vias. - **Heat.** MOSFET tabs, regulator tabs, LED drivers and shunts dump heat into the copper they sit on. A pour under and around the tab, on both outer layers, joined by thermal vias, is the heatsink.-- **Copper retention.** InstaPCB's process is subtractive: it starts from a copper-clad board and ablates the copper that must go. Every square millimetre left as a pour is copper that never has to be removed: less machine time, less wear, less chance of a stray sliver. The metric is filled copper area per layer; `kicad_zone_state` reports it. "Maximize the pours" is the default; the exceptions below are the whole judgement.+- **Copper retention.** The 3rd party fab's process is subtractive: it starts from a copper-clad board and ablates the copper that must go. Every square millimetre left as a pour is copper that never has to be removed: less machine time, less wear, less chance of a stray sliver. The metric is filled copper area per layer; `kicad_zone_state` reports it. "Maximize the pours" is the default; the exceptions below are the whole judgement. ## Which nets get a pour
skills/kicad-place-route-loop/SKILL.md+1−1@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ Nothing lands on the live board until the plan passes KiCad's own DRC offline: ## After 100 percent: the pours -Routed is not finished. The nets that carry the current, sink the heat and, on an InstaPCB board, are the copper that does not get milled away get pours next: the kicad-copper-pours skill in this package, with the same offline gate and the same second look at placement and traces when a pour cannot do its job. The clock keeps running through it.+Routed is not finished. The nets that carry the current, sink the heat and, on a 3rd party fab board, are the copper that does not get milled away get pours next: the kicad-copper-pours skill in this package, with the same offline gate and the same second look at placement and traces when a pour cannot do its job. The clock keeps running through it. ## Report the time the human waited
skills/kicad-tour/SKILL.md+2−2@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ --- name: kicad-tour-description: "Run a guided KiCad tour on the user's laptop via adom-desktop — install a custom symbol library, walk the user through Symbol Editor → Footprint Editor → Schematic Editor → PCB Editor → 3D Viewer, then export gerbers. Two prebuilt packs ship under plugins/kicad/tour-pack/ (single resistor, fast) and plugins/kicad/tour-pack-rp2040/ (RP2040 breakout board, comprehensive). Trigger words — kicad tour, walk me through kicad, kicad demo, show me kicad, rp2040 breakout, resistor demo, kicad showcase, end-to-end kicad, send symbol and footprint, kicad export gerbers, gerbers for jlcpcb, gerbers for instapcb, kicad 3d board, kicad design walkthrough."+description: "Run a guided KiCad tour on the user's laptop via adom-desktop — install a custom symbol library, walk the user through Symbol Editor → Footprint Editor → Schematic Editor → PCB Editor → 3D Viewer, then export gerbers. Two prebuilt packs ship under plugins/kicad/tour-pack/ (single resistor, fast) and plugins/kicad/tour-pack-rp2040/ (RP2040 breakout board, comprehensive). Trigger words — kicad tour, walk me through kicad, kicad demo, show me kicad, rp2040 breakout, resistor demo, kicad showcase, end-to-end kicad, send symbol and footprint, kicad export gerbers, gerbers for jlcpcb, gerbers for 3rd party fab, kicad 3d board, kicad design walkthrough." --- # kicad-tour@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ adom-desktop kicad_export_gerbers "{ ``` Returns the list of generated `.gbr` / `.gtl` / `.gbl` / `.gm1` files.-These are JLCPCB- and InstaPCB-ready directly.+These are JLCPCB- and 3rd party fab-ready directly. ## Failure modes + recovery