kicad-lib-add

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
# Then re-add without prefix:
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.