KiCad Studio
The complete KiCad development environment for VS Code: open schematics and PCBs, run DRC/ERC, export production files, inspect BOMs, search components, compare design revisions, and optionally get AI-powered design guidance.
Public GitHub repository:
https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-studio
Primary repository and CI/CD live in Azure DevOps:
https://dev.azure.com/oaslananka/open-source/_git/kicad-studio
Feature List
🧭 Interactive schematic viewer powered by a bundled KiCanvas build.🧱 PCB viewer with layer summaries, quick presets, and save-to-refresh workflow.⚡ One-command exports for fab and documentation outputs.🩺 DRC/ERC diagnostics mapped into the VS Code Problems panel.📦 Bill of Materials side view with filtering, sorting, and export.🔎 Component lookup through Octopart/Nexar and LCSC.🔀 Visual Git diff for KiCad schematics.🤖 Optional AI analysis for errors and selected circuit blocks.🌲 KiCad-aware project explorer, jobset awareness, and reusable VS Code tasks.
Feature Matrix
| Area |
Status |
| KiCanvas schematic/PCB viewer |
Bundled, CSP-restricted, save-refresh aware |
| DRC/ERC |
kicad-cli backed, Problems panel integration, optional auto-run on save |
| Fabrication exports |
Gerber, drill, IPC-2581, ODB++, DXF, GenCAD, IPC-D-356, pick-and-place |
| 3D exports |
GLB, BREP, PLY |
| Manufacturing package |
Generic, JLCPCB, and PCBWay ZIP profiles |
| BOM/netlist |
BOM CSV/XLSX/HTML plus CLI-backed net/node extraction |
| AI |
Claude and OpenAI with secure SecretStorage keys and language-selectable prompts |
| Jobsets |
.kicad_jobset discovery and kicad-cli jobset run command |
Requirements
- KiCad 6 or newer installed locally.
kicad-cli is required for checks and most exports.
- VS Code 1.95.0 or newer.
- Optional API keys:
- Octopart/Nexar API key for richer component search.
- Anthropic or OpenAI API key for AI-assisted analysis.
Installation
- Marketplace: search for
KiCad Studio by oaslananka.
- Command line:
code --install-extension oaslananka.kicadstudio
Quick Start
- Open a folder that contains a
.kicad_pro, .kicad_sch, or .kicad_pcb file.
- Run
KiCad: Detect kicad-cli once so the extension can validate your KiCad installation.
- Open a schematic or PCB file to start using the custom viewer, BOM panel, project tree, exports, and checks.
Features — Detailed
Schematic Viewer
- Opens
.kicad_sch files in a readonly custom editor.
- Uses a strict webview CSP and local-only rendering.
- Supports fit, zoom, grid toggle, theme toggle, and open-in-KiCad actions.
- Refreshes automatically on save when
kicadstudio.viewer.autoRefresh is enabled.
PCB Viewer
- Opens
.kicad_pcb files in a readonly custom editor.
- Shows detected board layers with accessibility-friendly labels and colors.
- Includes quick layer preset buttons for copper, fab, assembly, and user layers.
- Gracefully degrades when the bundled KiCanvas build does not expose programmable layer toggles.
Export Commands
| Command |
Shortcut |
Output |
KiCad: Export Gerber Files |
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+G |
Gerbers |
KiCad: Export Gerbers + Drill Files |
— |
Gerbers + drill maps |
KiCad: Export PDF (Schematic) |
— |
Schematic PDF |
KiCad: Export PDF (PCB) |
— |
PCB PDF |
KiCad: Export SVG |
— |
SVG artwork |
KiCad: Export IPC-2581 |
— |
IPC-2581 package |
KiCad: Export ODB++ |
— |
ODB++ archive |
KiCad: Export 3D Model (GLB) |
— |
GLB board model |
KiCad: Export 3D Model (BREP) |
— |
BREP board model |
KiCad: Export 3D Model (PLY) |
— |
PLY board model |
KiCad: Export GenCAD |
— |
GenCAD manufacturing data |
KiCad: Export IPC-D-356 Netlist |
— |
IPC-D-356 netlist |
KiCad: Export DXF |
— |
DXF drawings |
KiCad: Export Pick and Place |
— |
CSV centroid file |
KiCad: Export Manufacturing Package |
— |
Gerber, drill, BOM, pick-and-place, manifest ZIP |
KiCad: Export Bill of Materials (CSV) |
— |
BOM CSV |
KiCad: Export Bill of Materials (XLSX) |
— |
BOM XLSX |
KiCad: Export Netlist |
— |
KiCad S-expression netlist |
KiCad: Export Interactive HTML BOM |
— |
Interactive HTML BOM |
DRC / ERC
- Runs
kicad-cli DRC and ERC in-progress notifications.
- Converts JSON results into VS Code diagnostics.
- Updates the KiCad status bar summary with error and warning counts.
- Opens the Problems panel automatically when issues are found.
BOM Table
- Parses schematic symbols directly from the KiCad S-expression AST.
- Groups identical components, preserves DNP flags, and keeps common manufacturing fields.
- Supports text filtering, column sorting, CSV export, and XLSX export.
- Jump-to-reference flow opens the matching schematic entry in the text editor.
Component Search
- Supports Octopart/Nexar and LCSC search sources.
- Opens a detail panel for offers, datasheet access, and copy-to-clipboard actions.
- Uses secure secret storage commands for API keys instead of relying on plaintext settings.
Git Diff
- Compares
HEAD against the working tree for schematic files.
- Matches symbols by UUID or reference fallback and classifies added, removed, and changed parts.
- Renders a two-pane visual diff webview with a quick navigation list.
AI Assistant
KiCad: AI Analyze Selected Error asks the configured provider to explain a DRC/ERC issue.KiCad: AI Explain Selected Block analyzes selected text from the active editor.- AI features are fully opt-in and remain disabled when no provider or secret key is configured.
Configuration
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
kicadstudio.kicadCliPath |
"" |
Explicit path to kicad-cli. Leave empty for auto-detection. |
kicadstudio.kicadPath |
"" |
Path to the KiCad installation directory or executable used by Open in KiCad. |
kicadstudio.defaultOutputDir |
fab |
Default export output directory relative to the workspace root. |
kicadstudio.gerber.precision |
6 |
Gerber precision. |
kicadstudio.gerber.useProtelExtension |
false |
Reserved compatibility flag for Gerber file naming. |
kicadstudio.ipc2581.version |
C |
IPC-2581 version. |
kicadstudio.ipc2581.units |
mm |
IPC-2581 export units. |
kicadstudio.bom.groupIdentical |
true |
Group identical BOM entries. |
kicadstudio.bom.fields |
["Reference","Value","Footprint","Quantity","MPN","Manufacturer","Description"] |
Ordered BOM fields. |
kicadstudio.viewer.theme |
dark |
Viewer theme hint for CLI-backed exports and webviews. |
kicadstudio.viewer.autoRefresh |
true |
Refresh viewers when the source file is saved. |
kicadstudio.componentSearch.enableLCSC |
true |
Enable LCSC search results. |
kicadstudio.ai.provider |
none |
AI provider: none, claude, or openai. |
kicadstudio.ai.model |
"" |
Optional model override. Leave empty to use claude-sonnet-4-6 for Claude or gpt-4.1 for OpenAI. |
kicadstudio.ai.openaiApiMode |
responses |
OpenAI API mode: responses or chat-completions. |
kicadstudio.ai.language |
en |
Language for AI-generated answers: en, tr, de, zh-CN, or ja. |
kicadstudio.drc.autoRunOnSave |
false |
Automatically run DRC when a PCB file is saved. |
kicadstudio.erc.autoRunOnSave |
false |
Automatically run ERC when a schematic file is saved. |
kicadstudio.exportPresets |
[] |
Stored export presets managed by the extension. |
Plaintext API key settings have been removed from runtime use. Use KiCad: Set AI API Key and KiCad: Set Octopart/Nexar API Key; old plaintext values are migrated to VS Code SecretStorage on activation when found.
Viewer Limitations
- KiCanvas does not support KiCad 5 files. Use KiCad 6 or newer project files for interactive viewing.
- KiCad 10 support is improving, but some newer entities may still render incompletely until upstream KiCanvas catches up.
- In some remote, WSL, or restricted WebGL environments, the interactive viewer may fail and the extension may need to fall back to safe preview behavior.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Command |
Windows / Linux |
macOS |
| Run DRC |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
Cmd+Shift+D |
| Run ERC |
Ctrl+Shift+E |
Cmd+Shift+E |
| Export Gerbers |
Ctrl+Shift+G |
Cmd+Shift+G |
KiCad CLI Setup
Windows
- Install KiCad 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.
- KiCad Studio checks these common locations automatically:
%PROGRAMFILES%\KiCad\{9,8,7,6}\bin\kicad-cli.exe%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\KiCad\{9,8,7,6}\bin\kicad-cli.exe
- If your installation is custom, set
kicadstudio.kicadCliPath.
macOS
- Install KiCad into
/Applications.
- KiCad Studio checks:
/Applications/KiCad/KiCad.app/Contents/MacOS/kicad-cli/usr/local/bin/kicad-cli/opt/homebrew/bin/kicad-cli
- If needed, point
kicadstudio.kicadCliPath to the bundled executable.
Linux
- Install KiCad from your distribution, AppImage, or package manager.
- KiCad Studio checks:
/usr/bin/kicad-cli/usr/local/bin/kicad-cli/snap/bin/kicad-cli~/.local/bin/kicad-cli
- If
kicad-cli lives elsewhere, configure kicadstudio.kicadCliPath.
Contributing
- Clone the repository and install dependencies with
npm install.
- Run
npm run build for a development bundle.
- Run
npm run lint, npm run test:unit, and npm test before opening a pull request.
- Use the Extension Development Host launch profile in
.vscode/launch.json for manual testing.
- Keep commits focused and include screenshots or reproduction steps for UI-facing changes.
- Azure DevOps is the source of truth for CI/CD and release approval for this project.
Development Notes
npm run build:prod creates the production bundle in dist/.npm run package creates a .vsix package ready for Marketplace upload.scripts/bundle-kicanvas.js vendors a KiCanvas build into media/kicanvas/.scripts/generate-icon.js regenerates icons and screenshot placeholders.azure-pipelines-ci.yml is the primary CI pipeline definition in Azure DevOps.azure-pipelines-publish.yml is the manual, approval-gated Marketplace publish pipeline in Azure DevOps.- GitHub Actions are kept as manual fallback workflows only.
License
MIT
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