| name | kicad |
| description | Work with KiCad projects, schematics, symbol libraries, PCB files, KiCad MCP, NGSpice simulation, and PCB trace-width calculations. Use when editing or reviewing .kicad_sch, .kicad_pcb, .kicad_sym, .kicad_pro, KiCad library tables, schematic symbols, power nets, grid alignment, generated schematics, simulation setup, or KiCad installation/tooling issues. |
KiCad
Use this skill for KiCad project work, especially when the task touches schematic files, generated KiCad data, symbol/library setup, KiCad MCP, simulation, or PCB sizing calculations.
Start by identifying which KiCad surface is involved:
| Task area | Read |
|---|
| Installing KiCad or configuring database libraries | Setup |
| Connecting an agent through KiCad MCP | KiCad MCP |
Reading or editing .kicad_sch files | Schematic Files |
| Looking up complete schematic file-format element documentation | [Copied Schematics Docs](references/Schematics/KiCAD Schematic Files.md) |
| Placing symbols, power symbols, wires, labels, sheets, or properties | Schematic Editing |
| Diagnosing KiCad save crashes, parse errors, or generated schematic problems | Schematic Troubleshooting |
| Running KiCad simulation or installing NGSpice | Simulation |
| Calculating PCB trace width, voltage drop, resistance, or power loss | PCB Trace Width |
Core Rules
- Treat KiCad files as structured S-expression data. Preserve syntax, balanced parentheses, UUIDs, sheet paths, and KiCad-generated fields unless the task explicitly requires changing them.
- Prefer changing the smallest relevant KiCad file set. Avoid touching project metadata, history files, or editor state unless the user asks for that layer.
- For
.kicad_sch files, preserve UTF-8 without BOM and verify the first token still starts with (kicad_sch.
- Keep schematic placement on the design grid. In the current local KiCad notes, the important schematic grid is often
1.27 mm / 50 mil.
- When editing placed symbols, distinguish the symbol definition in
(lib_symbols ...) from placed schematic (symbol ...) instances.
- When changing visible component references, update both placed
property "Reference" values and matching instance (reference "...") values. Do not rewrite lib_id names just because the visible reference changed.
- Use KiCad itself or
kicad-cli for validation when available. For generated schematics, validate both read/export behavior and writer behavior.
Full Schematic Reference Corpus
The source KiCad schematic documentation from D:\GitHub\Obsidian_Electronics\KiCAD\Schematics is copied into references/Schematics/. Use that folder when the compact references here are not enough, especially for exact S-expression element details under references/Schematics/Elements/ or standard-library symbol notes under references/Schematics/Symbols/.
Common Validation
Use the fastest validation that matches the task:
kicad-cli sch export svg .\KiCad\example.kicad_sch --output .\.temp\kicad-export
For generated schematic writer compatibility, run sch upgrade --force only on a copy:
Copy-Item .\KiCad\example.kicad_sch .\.temp\example.kicad_sch
kicad-cli sch upgrade --force .\.temp\example.kicad_sch
Get-Item .\.temp\example.kicad_sch | Select-Object Length
Clean up .temp/ before finishing unless the user asks to keep artifacts.
