// Guide for AI agents to source electronic components using parts-mcp — tool sequencing, decision patterns, and multi-step workflows
Use when working with Flutter Bloc/Cubit state management. Covers when to choose Bloc vs Cubit, how to use bloc and flutter_bloc together, lifecycle, testing, and safe defaults.
Use when working with Flutter Riverpod state management. Covers providers, consumers, refs, containers, overrides, async state, code generation, testing, and safe defaults.
Use this skill to get documentation for third-party APIs, SDKs or libraries before writing code that uses them to ensure you have the latest, most accurate documentation. This is a better way to find documentation than doing web search. This includes when a user asks for tasks like "use the OpenAI API", "call the Stripe API", "use the Anthropic SDK", "query Pinecone", or any other time the user asks you to write code against an external service and you need current API reference. Fetch the docs with chub before answering, rather than relying on your pre-trained knowledge, which may be outdated because of recent changes to these APIs. Be sure to use this skill when the user asks for the latest docs, latest API behavior, or explicitly mentions chub or Context Hub. Ensure `chub` is available, run `chub --help`, then follow the instructions there.
Use this skill for intelligent document processing and content extraction using LandingAI's Agentic Document Extraction (ADE). Trigger when users need to (1) Parse documents (PDFs, images, spreadsheets, presentations) into structured Markdown with layout understanding, (2) Extract specific structured data from documents using schemas (invoice fields, form data, table data, etc.), (3) Classify and separate multi-document batches by type (invoices vs receipts, statements vs forms, etc.), (4) Process large documents asynchronously (up to 1GB/1000 pages), (5) Get visual grounding (bounding boxes, page numbers) for extracted content — use when users mention bounding boxes, word locations, grounding, highlighting extracted content, or showing where data appears in a document. Use this skill when the task involves understanding document content for a set of documents. In particular this skill can help you write code that run on sets of documents. This will increase speed, and reduce the cost of loading the documents
Use this skill for building end-to-end document processing workflows and pipelines using LandingAI ADE. Trigger when users need to: (1) Process batches of documents in parallel or async, (2) Build classify-then-extract pipelines for mixed document types, (3) Prepare parsed documents for RAG systems with chunking and vector DB ingestion, (4) Load extraction results into databases like Snowflake or export to CSV/DataFrames, (5) Visualize extraction results: draw bounding box overlays on pages, crop chunk images, or highlight/annotate specific words or phrases found in documents, (6) Build Streamlit or web UIs for document processing, (7) Find and highlight specific terms within document sections using word-level grounding (e.g. highlight "L2S" in the Introduction, redact PII, annotate extracted values on the original page). This skill complements the document-extraction skill which covers ADE SDK basics. Use document-extraction to write code that executes parse/extract/split operations with more precision and l
Build production-ready Tavily integrations with best practices for web search, content extraction, crawling, and research in agentic workflows, RAG systems, and autonomous agents
| name | electronics-sourcing |
| description | Guide for AI agents to source electronic components using parts-mcp — tool sequencing, decision patterns, and multi-step workflows |
| metadata | {"revision":1,"updated-on":"2026-03-15","source":"maintainer","tags":"electronics,sourcing,bom,components,pcb,manufacturing,workflow"} |
This skill teaches you how to source electronic components effectively using parts-mcp tools. It covers tool sequencing, decision patterns, and how to handle common scenarios.
search_parts — Use when you have a part number, description, or general keywords. This is your default starting point.
"Find me a 100nF capacitor" → search_parts(query="100nF capacitor")
"Look up STM32F411" → search_parts(query="STM32F411")
search_by_parameters — Use when you need to match specific electrical parameters within a category. More precise than keyword search.
"I need a 50V 100nF X7R 0402 cap" → search_by_parameters(
parameters={"capacitance": "100nF", "voltage": "50V", "dielectric": "X7R", "package": "0402"},
category="capacitor"
)
Decision rule: If the user gives you 3+ specific parameters, use search_by_parameters. For part numbers or general queries, use search_parts.
This is the core sourcing workflow. Follow this sequence:
1. SEARCH → Find the part
2. DETAILS → Get full specifications (if needed for validation)
3. PRICE → Compare across suppliers
4. AVAILABILITY → Check stock levels
5. ALTERNATIVE → Find replacements (only if price is too high or stock is insufficient)
Do not skip steps 3 and 4. A part that exists in the database may be out of stock or prohibitively expensive.
When the user asks to "source" or "find" a part, they expect pricing and availability — not just search results. Always follow through to at least step 4.
BOM processing is asynchronous. Always follow this exact sequence:
1. upload_bom(file_path=path) → Get job_id
2. check_bom_status(job_id=job_id) → Poll until status is "complete"
3. Review matched_parts and unknown_parts
4. For unmatched: search_parts() to resolve manually
5. calculate_bom_cost() with all resolved parts
Polling: Call check_bom_status and check the status field. If "in_progress", wait and poll again. Do not assume instant completion.
Handling unmatched parts: When unknown_parts is not empty, try search_parts with the value and footprint fields as the query. If still unmatched, report them to the user — do not silently skip them.
Datasheets can be hundreds of pages. Always use this two-step approach:
1. list_datasheet_sections(sku="PART-NUMBER")
→ See the table of contents
→ Identify which sections contain what you need
2. read_datasheet(sku="PART-NUMBER", query="relevant keywords")
→ Read only matching chunks
→ Saves significant context window
Never call read_datasheet without a query parameter unless the datasheet is short (< 20 pages). An unfiltered read of a 200-page datasheet will consume excessive context.
Keyword tips: Use specific technical terms. "maximum input voltage absolute ratings" is better than "voltage". Multiple keywords narrow the results.
Manufacturing operations (DFM, fab quoting, assembly) are all asynchronous:
submit_dfm() → check_dfm_status() # DFM analysis
quote_fabrication() → check_manufacturing_status() # Fab quote
quote_assembly() → polls internally # Combined fab + assembly
DFM first: Always run DFM analysis before requesting a fabrication quote. DFM may reveal issues that affect manufacturability or cost.
Assembly quotes combine fabrication and BOM costing in one call. Use quote_assembly when the user wants a complete per-unit cost including both PCB fabrication and component assembly.
Real-world sourcing often has partial results. Handle gracefully:
Some parts not found in BOM:
search_parts for each unmatched partSome parts unavailable:
find_alternatives for each unavailable partPrice comparison with missing suppliers:
When working with KiCad projects:
1. find_kicad_projects() → Discover available projects
2. analyze_kicad_project(project_path=...) → Understand project structure
3. extract_bom_from_kicad(project_path=...) → Get component list
4. match_components_to_parts(components=...) → Match to real parts
5. Follow the BOM processing pattern above for unmatched components
KiCad CLI requirement: BOM extraction may invoke kicad-cli if no existing BOM file is found in the project. Ensure KiCad 8+ is installed.
Local mode only: All KiCad tools require local mode (stdio transport). They are not available in hosted/HTTP mode.
When helping users optimize costs:
compare_prices with different quantities (1, 10, 100, 1000) to show price break curvesfind_alternatives and compare pricingpreferred_suppliers in calculate_bom_cost to bias toward the user's existing supplier relationshipsWhen a user asks to "source a part":
→ search_parts → get_part_details → compare_prices → check_availability
Present: part details, best price, stock status, and any concerns.
When a user provides a BOM file:
→ upload_bom → poll check_bom_status → report matched/unmatched → calculate_bom_cost
Present: match rate, unmatched items, total cost, per-line breakdown.
When a user asks "is this in stock?":
→ check_availability with quantities
Present: stock levels, number of suppliers with stock, whether quantity is meetable.
When a user asks about a datasheet:
→ list_datasheet_sections → read_datasheet with targeted query
Present: the specific information requested, citing page numbers.
When a user asks for a manufacturing quote:
→ submit_dfm (if not already done) → quote_fabrication or quote_assembly
Present: DFM issues (if any), estimated cost, lead time.