# Adom for KiCad

**One map of every Adom surface, app, skill and EDA tool that works with KiCad.**

This is a *hub* page. When Hydrogen Desktop finishes installing it opens an AI
thread that explores what EDA tools the user has and what they can do with them.
For KiCad, this page is the answer: it is the complete, current menu of options,
and every row hands off to the canonical tool that does the work. Its
[dependency graph](#the-toolkit-dependencies) *is* the toolkit — each dependency
is one surface below.

> Sister hubs: **[Adom for Fusion 360](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/fusion)** ·
> **[Adom for Altium](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/altium)**. All three belong to
> the **[adom/eda](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/eda)** family.

## When this fires

The user has KiCad running (Adom Desktop's bridge can confirm), or the workspace
holds any of: `*.kicad_pro`, `*.kicad_sch`, `*.kicad_pcb`, `*.kicad_sym`,
`*.kicad_mod`, `sym-lib-table`, `fp-lib-table`.

## Options at a glance

| Intent | Tool | You get | How to invoke |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive KiCad live | [`adom/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-desktop-kicad-bridge) | Open editors, DRC/ERC, install libs, export gerbers/STEP/PDF, 3D viewer, screenshots | `adom-desktop` skill, `kicad_*` verbs |
| View a board (no KiCad) | [`kyle/kicad-pcb-viewer`](https://wiki.adom.inc/kyle/kicad-pcb-viewer) | Pan/zoom `.kicad_pcb`, layer toggles, in a webview | Hydrogen webview app |
| View a footprint in 3D | [`adom/fp3d-viewer`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/fp3d-viewer) | Extruded pads, labels, land-pattern overlay for `.kicad_mod` | skill |
| Manage libraries | [`adom/kicad-library-manager`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/kicad-library-manager) | Read/edit their sym-/fp-lib-table, live JLCPCB stock, sync w/ backups | webview app |
| Browse & add from wiki | [`adom/adom-project-manager`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-project-manager) | Add wiki components/boards into the KiCad library | webview app |
| Import external ZIPs | [`kyle/adom-kicad-library-importer`](https://wiki.adom.inc/kyle/adom-kicad-library-importer) | SnapEDA/SamacSys/UltraLibrarian ZIP → KiCad | CLI via bridge |
| Source a part (full) | [`adom/adom-chip-fetcher`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-chip-fetcher) | `.kicad_sym` + `.kicad_mod` + STEP + datasheet | CLI |
| Source a part (fast) | [`adom/chip-fetcher-lite`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/chip-fetcher-lite) | Wiki-first staging; upload only what's missing | app |
| Curated basics | [`adom/adom-basic-parts`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-basic-parts) | Passives / common SMD, symbol+footprint+3D | skill |
| Adom machine parts | [`barrett-land/adom-library-importer`](https://wiki.adom.inc/barrett-land/adom-library-importer) | Install Adom pins/contacts into KiCad | skill |
| Price / stock / datasheet | [`adom/adom-parts-search`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-parts-search) | Mouser+DigiKey+JLCPCB data (no CAD) | CLI + webview |
| Make a symbol | [`adom/adom-symbol`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-symbol) | `.kicad_sym` + viewer | app |
| Make a footprint | [`adom/adom-footprint`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-footprint) | `.kicad_mod` + layer HUD | app |
| Translate a library | [`adom/adom-lbr`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-lbr) | Altium/EAGLE/Fusion ⇄ native KiCad | app |
| Datasheet → CAD | [`adom/adom-ds2sf`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-ds2sf) | PDF → symbol + footprint + provenance | app |
| STEP → GLB (3D) | [`adom/adom-step2glb`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-step2glb) | Color-preserving GLB | CLI |
| Chip icons / outlines | [`adom/adom-chip-thumbnailer`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-chip-thumbnailer) | Icons, shaded 3D, vector outlines from STEP | app |
| Validate footprint vs 3D | [`adom/adom-chipsmith`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/adom-chipsmith) | Pin-1 (chip+fp), EP vias, bake `.step`/`.glb` | app |
| Donut / NPTH pads | [`adom/kicad-donut-pad`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/kicad-donut-pad) | Annular pads for MEMS/vented packages | skill |
| Publish as a molecule | [`adom/kicad-export-molecule`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/kicad-export-molecule) → [`molecule-publish`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/molecule-publish) | STEP export → OCCT molecule → wiki component page | skill chain |
| Shared backend | [`adom/service-kicad`](https://wiki.adom.inc/adom/service-kicad) | Headless KiCad 10 the tools shell to | infra |

## The surfaces, grouped

**Drive it live.** Adom Desktop's KiCad bridge is the reverse bridge into the
user's real KiCad — the richest of the three bundled bridges. Open every editor,
place parts, install symbol/footprint libraries, run DRC/ERC, export manufacturing
files, open the 3D viewer, and grab window screenshots. Forward path is
`kicad-cli`; the reverse path is an in-process plugin.

**See it without opening it.** `kyle/kicad-pcb-viewer` renders a `.kicad_pcb` in a
Hydrogen webview (pan/zoom, layer toggles, flip); `adom/fp3d-viewer` shows a
`.kicad_mod`'s pad geometry in 3D. And every published part or board already
renders interactive symbol + footprint + 3D viewers natively on its wiki
component page — no download needed to look.

**Manage the user's own libraries.** `kicad-library-manager` (klm) reaches into
their machine through the bridge, reads their personal `sym-lib-table` /
`fp-lib-table`, lets you edit fields inline with live JLCPCB stock/price, add
parts from the wiki, and sync to disk with reversible backups. `adom-project-manager`
browses wiki boards/projects and adds components into the KiCad library.

**Source parts.** `adom-chip-fetcher` pulls a full manufacturer-grade CAD bundle
for an MPN (KiCad symbol + footprint + STEP + datasheet), sourcing manufacturer
data first and falling back down a ladder. `chip-fetcher-lite` is the fast,
wiki-first sibling — check the wiki, upload only what is missing. Any published
component page hands over a typed KiCad downloads grid.

**Create & export CAD.** `adom-symbol` and `adom-footprint` produce native KiCad
`.kicad_sym` / `.kicad_mod` with live viewers. `adom-lbr` translates a part
between Altium / EAGLE / Fusion and KiCad through one canonical JSON. `adom-ds2sf`
turns a datasheet into symbol + footprint. `adom-step2glb`, `adom-chip-thumbnailer`,
and `adom-chipsmith` cover 3D conversion, icon/outline rendering, and footprint
validation (pin-1 on both the chip and the footprint, EP heatsink vias).
`kicad-donut-pad` generates annular NPTH pads for MEMS mics and vented packages.

**Publish as a molecule.** `kicad-export-molecule` exports the board's STEP via the
bridge and hands it to `molecule-publish`, which does the OCCT conversion,
packaging, and wiki publish — producing a component page whose downloads and
viewers any teammate can use, and which `adom-molecule-import` pulls into Hydrogen.

## The toolkit (dependencies)

Every surface above is a declared dependency of this page, so the Dependencies
tab is a live, clickable inventory of the KiCad toolchain. Installing this hub
pulls the whole set; or install just the one row you need.

## Notes for maintainers

- Canonical slugs are pinned deliberately. A few older duplicates exist on the
  wiki (`adom/step2glb`, `adom/chip-thumbnailer`, `adom/adom-altium-schlib`,
  `adom/adom-concur`) — this page points only at the current ones. See the EDA
  audit for the full list.
- `service-kicad` is shared infrastructure; it is listed for completeness but is
  not something an end user invokes.