kicad

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.