ltspice

name

ltspice

description

Progressive-disclosure workflow for LTSpice / PyLTSpice circuit simulation. Use whenever the user wants to create a netlist, run a SPICE transient or AC simulation, inspect traces, or debug LTSpice convergence through PowerMCP — even when they just say "simulate this circuit", "why won't this converge", or "plot the output". Exposes session creation and batch simulation before plotting or GUI steps. Reach for this instead of answering LTSpice questions unaided.

LTSpice workflow

Start with a runnable netlist and a clean batch simulation. Use plotting and GUI steps only after the run succeeds.

Default tool ladder

1. create_rc_transient_netlist(...) for a minimal example, or create_simulation_session(netlist_text) for a real case.
2. run_simulation(netlist_path, session_dir) to generate the raw and log files.
3. read_simulation_log(log_file_path) if the run fails or looks suspicious.
4. list_available_traces(raw_file_path) before requesting plots.
5. plot_specific_traces(raw_file_path, session_dir, trace_names) for focused waveform review.
6. view_netlist_in_ltspice(netlist_path) only when the GUI is actually needed.

Working rules

• Do not ask for broad plotting until the log is clean and the available traces are known.
• Simplify the netlist and shorten the run before tuning tolerances.
• Use a minimal reproducible circuit to debug startup or convergence issues.

Deliver

• The netlist used and whether the batch run succeeded.
• The traces inspected.
• The likely root cause if the simulation misbehaved.