KiCad Studio Kit

Review, validate, and prepare KiCad projects without leaving Visual Studio Code.

KiCad Studio Kit adds KiCad-aware project navigation, schematic and PCB viewers, DRC/ERC diagnostics, BOM and manufacturing workflows, plus guarded MCP integration for AI-assisted engineering.

Quick Start

1. Install KiCad Studio Kit.
2. Open a folder containing a .kicad_pro, .kicad_sch, or .kicad_pcb file.
3. Make sure kicad-cli is available on PATH, or run KiCad: Detect kicad-cli.
4. Open a schematic or PCB directly in VS Code.
5. Run DRC/ERC from the Command Palette or the KiCad Studio sidebar.

What You Get

• Project context in one sidebar — projects, schematics, boards, validation, BOM, netlists, variants, libraries, rules, and MCP status.
• Real design review surfaces — schematic and PCB custom editors with KiCanvas and explicit CLI fallback paths.
• Validation where you work — DRC/ERC results flow into VS Code Problems and KiCad Studio validation views.
• Release-oriented tooling — BOM, netlist, plot, drill, jobset, and manufacturing package workflows.
• Fail-closed MCP integration — MCP-dependent features stay disabled when the configured server is missing or incompatible.

Real Product Captures

These images are captured from the real VS Code Extension Development Host using the repository's sanitized KiCad fixture project. They are not AI-generated UI mockups.

Project workspace

Schematic review

PCB review

DRC in VS Code Problems

Bill of Materials

Requirements and Compatibility

• Visual Studio Code ^1.101.0
• KiCad project formats from KiCad 8.x, 9.x, and 10.x
• kicad-cli for CLI-backed validation and export workflows
• Optional MCP integration: kicad-mcp-pro >=4.3.0 <5.0.0

The published extension supports MCP protocol 2026-07-28 with kicad-mcp-pro >=4.3.0 <5.0.0. MCP integration is optional; the extension continues to provide local KiCad workflows when the server is not configured. See the compatibility matrix for the supported versions and feature restrictions.

KiCad remains the source of truth for design files. Viewer fallback and compatibility state are surfaced explicitly instead of silently substituting unsupported behavior.

Privacy and Network Access

KiCad Studio telemetry is off by default. Sending telemetry also requires an explicitly configured telemetry endpoint.

Network access can occur when you explicitly use features backed by external services, including MCP endpoints, configured AI providers, component search providers, KiCad package repositories, or documentation links. Review those integrations and their credentials before enabling them.

License and Support

Current project-authored source is licensed under the MIT License, including commercial reuse under its terms. Historical releases retain the licenses originally published with them. Third-party materials have their own licenses and notices.

For reproducible bug reports, compatibility issues, or feature requests, use GitHub Issues. Include your KiCad version, operating system, extension version, and reproduction steps. See the support guidelines for reporting expectations; report security vulnerabilities privately via SECURITY.md.

Sponsor Development

KiCad Studio is free to install. If it helps your engineering work, you can support ongoing maintenance through GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me a Coffee. Sponsorship is voluntary and does not change the project's MIT terms or provide a paid support SLA. See licensing for historical license and third-party notice details.