KiCad Studio Kit

KiCad Studio Kit is the VS Code extension repository. The MCP server is
developed and released separately. This repository owns only the extension-side
MCP discovery, configuration, compatibility metadata, and user experience — see
ADR 0009 and
repository structure.

This repository contains:

• the KiCad Studio VS Code extension (apps/vscode-extension) — the only released product here;
• private shared test infrastructure (packages/test-harness, packages/kicad-fixtures);
• the extension-side MCP integration contract and compatibility metadata.

The KiCad MCP Pro server (kicad-mcp-pro) — its Python source, npm launcher,
container image, and MCP Registry listing — lives in
oaslananka/kicad-mcp.

Canonical repository: https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-studio-kit
Searchable documentation: https://oaslananka.github.io/kicad-studio-kit/
OpenSSF Best Practices evidence: docs/best-practices-evidence.md
Governance: GOVERNANCE.md · Roadmap: ROADMAP.md · Support: SUPPORT.md

Version Baseline

This repository's local release surface is:

• VS Code extension: oaslananka.kicadstudiokit (1.9.0)

The Python package kicad-mcp-pro, container image, and MCP Registry listing
are released from oaslananka/kicad-mcp.

KiCad Compatibility

KiCad Studio Kit treats KiCad 10.0.x as the primary tested line, keeps KiCad
9.x as deprecated best-effort compatibility after upstream EOL, and keeps
KiCad 8.x as deprecated file-level compatibility. The canonical matrix, tested patch versions, CI
coverage level, and feature gates are maintained in
docs/support-matrix.md and compatibility.yaml.

Local Validation

corepack enable
corepack pnpm run dev:doctor
corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
corepack pnpm --dir apps/vscode-extension exec playwright install chromium
corepack pnpm run check:forbidden-refs
corepack pnpm run check:version
corepack pnpm --filter kicadstudiokit run check
corepack pnpm --filter kicadstudiokit run package

Product-scoped entrypoints are available from the root:

corepack pnpm run check:kicad-studio

corepack pnpm --dir packages/test-harness run check
corepack pnpm run check:protocol-schemas
corepack pnpm run check:compatibility-contract
corepack pnpm run check:dev-doctor

Python/MCP server checks run from the
oaslananka/kicad-mcp repository.

For a reproducible VS Code Dev Containers or GitHub Codespaces environment, use
the checked-in devcontainer configuration. The container
sets up Node, pnpm, Python, uv, Playwright, shellcheck, actionlint, GitHub CLI,
and best-effort KiCad CLI support for root checks and MCP tests.

Install

Install the extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace or Open VSX, or build
it locally:

corepack enable
corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
corepack pnpm run package:kicad-studio

Usage

Open a workspace containing a KiCad project and use the KiCad Studio activity
bar views and commands. See docs/getting-started.md
for the guided workflow and docs/extension/commands.md
for the command catalog.

Architecture

• Searchable documentation site
• Repository structure
• Product boundaries
• Release model
• Testing strategy
• Dev container
• KiCad fixture corpus
• Integration model
• Agent onboarding
• MCP client config examples
• VS Code MCP workspace example

Examples

• Examples overview
• LED Basic KiCad example
• MCP Workflow Demo

Publishing

Publishing is handled by GitHub Actions workflows under .github/workflows. External setup for environments, marketplace secrets, and trusted publishers is documented in docs/publishing.md.
The structured preview (beta) program and tester feedback loop for the stable 1.x line are documented in docs/beta-program.md.

Maintenance

Dependency update policy, dashboard triage, and security-update handling are documented in docs/dependency-lifecycle.md.
Compatibility support states and release gates are documented in docs/support-matrix.md.
Canonical repository and portfolio workflow status are recorded in CANONICAL.md, .repo-health.yaml, and docs/reusable-workflows.md.
Telemetry and error reporting are opt-in, disabled by default, and documented in docs/telemetry.md.

Contributing

Read CONTRIBUTING.md and run corepack pnpm run check before
opening a pull request.

License

KiCad Studio Kit is available under the MIT License.