Operating Kicad Eda

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Tasks that involve MCP servers

Example prompts

• “/operating-kicad-eda”

Requirements

• Python 3
• Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Bash

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1NEVER hand-route — pcb(add_trace/add_via) produces DRC-failing garbage. Use autoroute(operation="run").
2. 2NEVER guess names — footprint and symbol names change between KiCad versions. Always library(operation="search") first.
3. 3SERIALIZE PCB ops — MCP PCB tools do load/modify/save. Parallel calls corrupt the .kicad_pcb file.
4. 4VERIFY after changes — drc(operation="run") + audit(operation="all") before declaring done.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2544577. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

  • Read
  • Bash

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Operating Kicad Eda loads about 888 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.9k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 59 tokens; SKILL.md has 229 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~59

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~888

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~1.9k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

• NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md

  allowed-tools: Read, Bash

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from telagod/code-abyss at commit 2544577, republished under its MIT licence (© telagod). 229 words, ~888 tokens.

name

operating-kicad-eda

description

KiCad EDA orchestration via kicad-mcp MCP server. Routes 17 tools for schematic creation, PCB layout, autorouting, DRC, and Gerber export. Enforces serialized PCB ops, library-first lookup, and autoroute-only routing.

allowed-tools

Read, Bash

user-invocable

true

argument-hint

<operation: schematic|pcb|route|drc|export|full-pipeline>

1. library(search) → find symbols and footprints
2. schematic(create_symbol) → place all components
3. schematic(add_wire/add_label) → connect nets
4. [Python] footprint injection script → fix kicad-cli lookup
5. build_pcb_from_schematic → initial PCB
6. pcb(set_board_outline) → product form factor
7. suggest_placement or pcb(place_footprint) → position components
8. autoroute(run) → FreeRouter
9. drc(run) → check
10. drc(autofix) → fix violations
11. pcb(add_zone) → GND copper pour both layers
12. export(gerber) → manufacturing files
13. export(render) → 3D views

© telagod, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files (references) in skills/operating-kicad-eda of telagod/code-abyss.

• SKILL.md
• references/drc-strategies.md
• references/footprint-injection.md
• references/kicad9-quirks.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2544577