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**Cursor for circuit boards.** An AI agent that designs, documents, and validates real PCBs from a prompt, working directly on existing KiCad repositories.
<p align="center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/copperheadhq/copperhead/main/assets/copperhead.gif" alt="copperhead agent shell demo" width="720">
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> **Status: early.** Phase 1 is implemented and the CLI runs. The [technical specification](openspec/specs/SPEC.md) is the source of truth; expect the surface to move before 1.0.
Full documentation lives at [docs.copperhead.sh](https://docs.copperhead.sh).
## What it is
An AI product-development agent for hardware: from a product brief to manufacturable files, firmware, and a build plan.
- **`copperhead create`**: full pipeline from a natural-language brief: spec, architecture, part selection, schematic, first-draft layout, then gerbers, firmware scaffold, and dev plan.
- **`copperhead do "<change>"`**: operates on an existing KiCad repo the way a coding agent operates on a codebase.
It reads and edits real `.kicad_sch` / `.kicad_pcb` files (s-expression text), maintains markdown design docs as memory, propagates every change across all artifacts that reference it, and verifies its own work by running `kicad-cli` ERC/DRC until the checks pass.
## Install
> [!TIP]
> **Most users should not install copperhead by hand.** If you are working inside an AI coding assistant (like Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex), you can install and configure copperhead automatically for your repository by pasting this single line:
> ```text
> Install copperhead for this repo using https://raw.githubusercontent.com/copperheadhq/copperhead/main/agent-install-prompt.md
> ```
If you prefer to install manually:
```bash
npm install -g copperhead # or: npx copperhead check
```
### Bootstrap script (macOS and Linux)
Prefer a one-command setup? [`install.sh`](install.sh) checks the prerequisites below, installs copperhead (globally via npm, or built from source when run inside a checkout), and verifies the result with `copperhead doctor`:
```bash
./install.sh # interactive: asks before installing anything
./install.sh --yes # assume yes to the install prompts
./install.sh --check-only # report what is missing, install nothing
```
The script is conservative by design: it never runs `sudo` and never edits shell config; whenever it cannot act safely on its own it prints the exact command for you to run instead. Rerunning is safe: on a ready machine it installs nothing and exits 0.
### Requirements
- Node.js ≥ 20
- [KiCad](https://www.kicad.org/) ≥ 8 with `kicad-cli` on PATH (on Windows and macOS, copperhead also searches standard installation directories automatically; override with `COPPERHEAD_KICAD_CLI`)
- One model backend: a locally installed, ChatGPT-authenticated [Codex CLI](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/codex/cli), a logged-in [Cursor Agent CLI](#saved-login-cursor-agent) (`agent login`), logged-in Claude Code (see [Saved login](#saved-login-claude-code)), or `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`/`OPENAI_API_KEY` in the environment. `check` never calls an LLM.
## Quick start
In an existing KiCad repository:
```bash
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=... # or OPENAI_API_KEY; optional: with no key, `copperhead` offers a model picker
copperhead init # scaffold docs/ from the schematic; idempotent
copperhead # interactive agent shell (Claude Code–style REPL)
copperhead demo --tour # what the agent does (no LLM)
copperhead demo --model cursor # full USB-C breakout create pipeline
# or one-shot:
copperhead do "add reverse-polarity protection on VIN"
copperhead check # ERC + DRC + doc drift; no LLM, CI-safe
```
Starting from nothing instead? Write a product brief and run `copperhead create --brief brief.md`. The [examples/](examples/) directory has ready-made briefs sorted by difficulty, plus a note on which one is designed to fail.
### Use your existing Codex login
No model API key is needed when Codex CLI is already authenticated:
```bash
npm install -g @openai/codex-sdk # optional adapter, loaded only for --model codex
codex login status
copperhead do "rename net KEY_DAH to KEY_DASH" --model codex
```
Plain `codex` follows your Codex model configuration. Use `codex:<model-id>` for an explicit model. If the executable is not on `PATH`, set `COPPERHEAD_CODEX_PATH=/absolute/path/to/codex`.
The optional SDK also installs a compatible launcher; for a global install, use
`COPPERHEAD_CODEX_PATH="$(npm root -g)/@openai/codex/bin/codex.js"` as a fallback.
Codex's read-only sandbox prevents native writes but does not confine native reads. Copperhead instructs Codex not to use its own filesystem tools, but the CLI can technically read files such as `.env`. Codex also keeps session logs under `~/.codex/sessions/`; those files are outside Copperhead's transcript-redaction boundary and should be protected according to your local data-retention policy.
## How it works
It's a loop, and it looks a lot like pair-programming, except the codebase is a circuit board.
1. **Start from the docs.** Every decision lives in the design docs, so the agent reads those first and knows the whole design, not just the part in front of it.
2. **Talk through the change.** Describe what you want ("add an external key jack", "cut the sleep current"). The agent proposes the parts and circuit; you push back until the reasoning holds up.
3. **Edit the real files.** The agent writes changes straight into the KiCad schematic and the design docs, using the same part names and net names everywhere so nothing drifts.
4. **Propagate.** Change one value, like a charge current or a pin, and it carries across every doc and schematic that references it. The boring, easy-to-get-wrong step is the one the agent is best at.
5. **Check the work.** The agent runs ERC/DRC, reads the errors back, and fixes them. Nothing is "done" until the tools agree.
6. **Write down why.** Every real decision gets a one-line reason next to it, so the next change doesn't quietly undo it.
Two invariants make this trustworthy:
1. **Nothing starts without a spec.** The agent cannot touch a KiCad file until a validated change proposal exists; the edit tools are structurally unavailable until it does. Every edit is traceable to a documented intent.
2. **Nothing is "done" until the tools agree.** Every file mutation is followed by an ERC/DRC run before the agent reports success.
Spec-gated in, verification-gated out: the design can't drift from its requirements, because drift is a build failure.
## CLI
```text
copperhead init [--path hardware/] # scaffold docs/ from an existing schematic; idempotent
copperhead do "<change request>" # the core loop: propose, edit, verify, propagate, commit
copperhead skill list # registered skills (no LLM)
copperhead skill run generate-report # read-only design report (needs a model)
copperhead check # ERC + DRC + doc-drift + spec validation; no LLM calls (alias: verify)
copperhead explain U1 # look up a refdes, net, or pin from the schematic and docs; no LLM
copperhead doctor # env preflight: node, kicad-cli, git, openspec, provider credential; no LLM/network
copperhead sync [--dry-run] # verify the whole design state, resolve drift
copperhead create --brief brief.md # brief → full output package
copperhead export bom --supplier jlcpcb # supplier-ready ordering file from docs/BOM.md
copperhead mcp # EXPERIMENTAL: serve the gated pipeline to MCP hosts over stdio
```
Global flags: `--repo <path>` (default: cwd) and `--json` for machine-readable output. `--model` is available on `do`, `sync`, `create`, `skill run`, and `doctor`; `--interactive` only on `do` and `create`; `do` also takes `--dry-run`, `--max-turns`, and `--allow-dirty`.
`copperhead create` still uses its own hardcoded stages; those are not yet skills.
`--model` accepts `gpt-5` (OpenAI), `claude` / `claude-<id>` (Anthropic API), `claude-code` / `claude-code:<id>` (Claude Code, saved login), `cursor` / `cursor:<id>` (Cursor Agent CLI, saved login), and `codex` / `codex:<id>` (Codex CLI, saved login). Routing is by prefix; `claude-code` is matched before the `claude` prefix. `compat:<id>` targets any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Groq, OpenRouter, Gemini, or a local Ollama) via `COPPERHEAD_BASE_URL` and `COPPERHEAD_API_KEY_ENV` - worked examples for each in [`.env.example`](.env.example) and the [configuration reference](https://docs.copperhead.sh/reference/configuration/#model-selection).
### Saved login (Cursor Agent)
`--model cursor` drives the Cursor Agent CLI with your saved login from `agent login`, so you can run copperhead with **no `OPENAI_API_KEY` or `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`**. Cursor is used purely as a reasoning backend in plan mode: the agent loop, safety gates, and every file edit stay inside copperhead.
```bash
agent status
copperhead do "add reverse-polarity protection on VIN" --model cursor
```
If `agent` is not on `PATH`, set `COPPERHEAD_CURSOR_PATH` to the CLI binary (also available as `cursor-agent` on some installs). Cursor's JSON schema does not report token usage, so run summaries show 0 tokens for `--model cursor`.
### Saved login (Claude Code)
`--model claude-code` drives Claude Code through the [Claude Agent SDK](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-sdk) and reuses your saved login (the `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN` from `claude setup-token`), so a Claude subscription runs copperhead with **no `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`**. Claude Code is used purely as a reasoning backend: the agent loop, its safety gates, and every file edit stay inside copperhead, identical to the other providers.
```bash
claude setup-token # while logged into Claude Code
export CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=... # the token setup-token printed
copperhead do "add reverse-polarity protection on VIN" --model claude-code
```
The Claude Agent SDK ships as an optional dependency, so a normal install pulls it in. copperhead loads it only when you select `claude-code`, and prints an actionable error if it is missing (for example after `npm install --omit=optional`), telling you to add it with `npm i @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk`.
copperhead never reads, copies, or logs the credential; the CLI owns authentication. A missing dependency or an unauthenticated install fails with an actionable message and touches nothing.
### Ordering (`export bom`)
`copperhead export bom` turns the drift-checked `docs/BOM.md` into a file a supplier accepts without hand-editing. It is deterministic, LLM-free, and network-free, safe anywhere `check` is, and it reads `BOM.md` (never the schematic) so it inherits the drift guarantee; it refuses to export while `BOM.md` disagrees with the schematic.
```bash
copperhead export bom --supplier jlcpcb # JLCPCB assembly CSV → outputs/jlcpcb-bom.csv
copperhead export bom --supplier digikey --boards 25 # DigiKey cart CSV, quantities for 25 boards
copperhead export bom --supplier mouser --spares 15 # Mouser cart CSV, 15% spare parts
```
- `--supplier <jlcpcb|digikey|mouser>` (required). JLCPCB gets the assembly-service format (Comment, Designator, Footprint, LCSC Part #, designators grouped per line); DigiKey and Mouser get cart-upload lists (MPN, manufacturer, quantity, customer reference).
- `--boards <n>` (default 1) and `--spares <percent>` (default 10) set the order quantity: `ceil(perBoardCount × boards × (1 + spares/100))`, raised to `perBoardCount × boards + 2` for passive lines (footprints `R_`/`C_`/`L_`); losing a couple of 0402s to tweezers is the norm, and percentage-only spares under-order low-count passives.
- Rows without an MPN, and rows still flagged `UNVERIFIED`, are excluded from the supplier file and named in a warnings footer on stderr. `--include-unverified` opts the flagged-but-MPN'd rows back in (it never includes MPN-less rows). `create` stage 6 also emits `outputs/jlcpcb-bom.csv` automatically.
`docs/BOM.md` may carry optional `Manufacturer` and `LCSC` columns beyond the base `Refdes | Value | Footprint | MPN | Rationale`; the exporter matches columns by header, so add them when you want them populated in supplier files; `init` scaffolds the base columns only. Only *appending* columns is safe: keep `Refdes | Value | Footprint` first and in that order, because the drift check (`check`/`sync`, which the exporter gates on) reads those three by position, so reordering them makes it compare the wrong cells and refuse the export with a spurious drift message.
Nothing is a black box: decisions land in an append-only `docs/DECISIONS.md`, every run writes a human-readable summary next to its transcript, and a per-run `docs/CHANGELOG.md` narrates the design history.
## MCP server (experimental)
Coding agents are already pointed at KiCad repos through generic file tools, which
means a host agent can rewrite a `.kicad_sch` with no spec gate, no verification,
and no rollback. `copperhead mcp` closes that: it serves the gated pipeline to any
MCP host as five opaque, outcome-level tools — `copperhead_check`, `copperhead_do`,
`copperhead_sync`, `copperhead_init`, `copperhead_doctor` — and nothing finer. There is no file-edit
tool, no raw KiCad tool, and no partial-loop tool to reach around, so a host agent
cannot skip spec-gating or verification by any sequence of calls.
```jsonc
// .mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"copperhead": {
"command": "copperhead",
"args": ["mcp", "--repo", "/absolute/path/to/your/kicad/project"]
}
}
}
```
> **The surface is experimental and unstable.** It declares a `0.` protocol major:
> tool names, inputs, and result shapes may change in any release, and there is no
> registry listing until the stabilization criteria are met. Host configuration for
> Claude Code and generic stdio hosts, the companion skill, the Codex gap, and those
> criteria are all in [`integrations/`](integrations/README.md).
`copperhead_check`, `copperhead_init` and `copperhead_doctor` need no credential; `copperhead_do` and
`copperhead_sync` with `resolve: true` refuse with a typed error naming the missing
environment variable. The server opens no network transport of its own — stdio only,
and LLM calls happen exactly where the CLI already makes them.
## What it is not
- **Not an autorouter.** Routing stays human or delegated; copperhead produces the DRC-clean draft that layout tools optimize from.
- **Not a new editor.** No walled garden; your KiCad install remains the editor.
- **Not the engineer of record.** A human signs off; the agent never claims a design is fab-ready beyond "ERC/DRC clean".
## Simple demo
From a checkout of this repo, run the smallest create-pipeline demo with the USB-C power breakout brief:
```bash
npm run demo:simple
```
The script creates or resumes a git repo at `demo-runs/usb-c-breakout/` and runs:
```bash
copperhead create --brief examples/simple/usb-c-breakout.md
```
Pass normal create flags after `--`, for example `npm run demo:simple -- --model claude`.
If a stage fails, rerun the same command; the demo repo keeps a baseline commit and ignores run transcripts so retries start from the last committed design state.
More briefs, including medium and hard tiers, live in [examples/](examples/).
## Maturity
Honest read of where the current release stands, so you can calibrate before pointing this at a board you care about:
- **Solid.** `init` and `check`/`verify` are deterministic, LLM-free, and covered by the offline test suite against a real KiCad fixture: scaffolding, ERC/DRC, the s-expression reader, drift detection, and fab export all run green in CI.
- **Implemented, not yet proven.** The agent loop (`do`, `sync --resolve`, `create`) is complete and structurally gated, but its acceptance tests need a live model and have not been observed passing end to end. Expect rough edges.
- **Always.** Every mutation runs inside a git snapshot and rolls back if verification fails, so the worst case is a no-op commit, not a mangled schematic. Work on a branch anyway.
## Open source
The entire tool (agent core, prompts, tools) is public under Apache-2.0, built on an open stack (KiCad, kicad-cli, [OpenSpec](https://github.com/Fission-AI/OpenSpec)). Everything it produces is plain markdown and JSON in your own repo: no proprietary formats, no lock-in. This is a Chouhan Industries project, and the same commitment that puts every hardware schematic in public applies to the tool that designs them.
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for setup and workflow. Note that your first pull request requires signing the [Contributor License Agreement](.github/cla/CLA.md); a bot posts instructions on the PR and signing is a one-time comment.
## Project layout
- [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md): repository instructions loaded automatically by Codex and compatible coding agents; [`CLAUDE.md`](CLAUDE.md) provides the corresponding Claude Code guidance
- [`src/`](src/): CLI ([`cli.ts`](src/cli.ts), [`commands/`](src/commands/)), the provider-agnostic agent loop ([`agent/`](src/agent/)), the `kicad-cli` wrapper and s-expression reader ([`kicad/`](src/kicad/)), and doc/constraint memory ([`memory/`](src/memory/))
- [`integrations/`](integrations/README.md): MCP host configuration and the companion Claude Code skill
- [`test/`](test/): offline suite plus [`fixtures/`](test/fixtures/), a tiny known-good KiCad project
- [`openspec/specs/SPEC.md`](openspec/specs/SPEC.md): the full technical specification, including binary acceptance criteria
- [`openspec/changes/build-copperhead-phase-1/`](openspec/changes/build-copperhead-phase-1/): the implementation plan with proposal, design decisions, capability specs, and task checklist
## License
[Apache-2.0](LICENSE)