| name | kicad-lib-add |
| description | Register downloaded KiCad symbols and footprints into KiCad's library
tables (sym-lib-table, fp-lib-table) so they become available in
eeschema / pcbnew without manually using Preferences > Manage Libraries.
Handles vendor-style folders such as:
~/Documents/footprints/
BSS138/ (*.kicad_sym, *.kicad_mod)
ULN2803AFW/ (*.kicad_sym, *.kicad_mod)
MyLib.pretty/ (footprint library folder)
Invoke for: "add this symbol to KiCad", "register these footprints",
"import downloaded library", "make this library available", "set up libraries
for this project".
|
| allowed-tools | ["Bash","Read","Glob","Grep"] |
You are registering a KiCad library. Follow these steps exactly.
Step 1 — Confirm scope
Ask the user (or infer from context) whether the library should be registered:
- global — available in every project. Writes to
~/.config/kicad/<version>/{sym,fp}-lib-table. This is the default.
- project — available only inside one project. Writes to
<project>/{sym,fp}-lib-table, which goes into version control with the
project. Preferred when the lib is project-specific or you want the team
to get it automatically.
Step 2 — Dry-run first
Always start with --dry-run so the user can see what will be registered
before any file is touched:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py <PATH> --dry-run
Review the [NEW] / [EXISTS] / [REPLACE] report. [EXISTS] entries are
already registered and will be skipped — this is correct, no action needed.
Do NOT recommend --prefix to resolve collisions; it pollutes library names
with permanent prefixes that are hard to undo.
Step 3 — Apply
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py <PATH> [--scope project --project <DIR>]
The script:
- Auto-detects the latest installed KiCad version under
~/.config/kicad/
- Backs up each table to
*.bak before writing
- Is idempotent: re-running is safe, already-registered names are skipped
- Accepts a single
.kicad_sym file, a single .pretty/ folder, or a
directory tree containing many of either (plus loose .kicad_mod folders)
Step 4 — Tell the user
- KiCad must be restarted (or at least the schematic/PCB editor reopened)
to pick up new library-table rows.
- If they used
--scope global, suggest committing the vendor folder
itself to a stable location (not ~/Downloads). ~/Documents/kicad-libs/
is a reasonable convention.
Quick reference
List what's already registered:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py --list
Override KiCad version:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py <PATH> --kicad-version 9.0
Remove entries that were accidentally added with a prefix:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py --remove-prefix PRASAD --kicad-version 9.0
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py --remove-prefix PRASAD --kicad-version 10.0
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py <PATH> --kicad-version 9.0
python3 ~/.claude/skills/kicad-lib-add/kicad_lib_add.py <PATH> --kicad-version 10.0
Notes
- Library NAME is derived from the filename stem (
foo.kicad_sym → foo)
or the folder name (foo.pretty → foo, foo/ with loose .kicad_mod → foo).
- Footprint folders not named
*.pretty are accepted because KiCad's
KiCad plugin type treats any directory of .kicad_mod files as a library.
- The tool never moves or copies library files — it only registers URIs.
Point at a permanent path, not
~/Downloads.
