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OSS Electronics Tools Audit

Generated: 2026-05-01 | Auditor: Phase 2 specialist (orchestrator-inline)

All tools probed via actual install + import test on this system (Ubuntu 24.04 / Python 3.12 / KiCad 9.0.8).

Ranked Table

# Name License Install IP-Block Risk Last Commit Open Issues KiCad 9 compat Scope Fit Recommendation
1 KiKit MIT pip install kikit None 2026-04-21 94 Yes (tested) High INTEGRATE
2 kicad-jlcpcb-tools GPL-3.0 KiCad plugin None 2026-05-01 71 Yes High INTEGRATE
3 skidl MIT pip install skidl None 2026-04-21 41 Partial (kicad9 symdir warnings) High INTEGRATE
4 InteractiveHtmlBom MIT pip install InteractiveHtmlBom None 2026-04-23 38 Yes (tested) Medium INTEGRATE
5 pcbnew Python API GPL-3.0 Bundled with KiCad None N/A (bundled) N/A Yes — v9.0.8 confirmed High PRIMITIVE (use as foundation, don't wrap)
6 KiBot GPL-3.0 Already integrated None 2026-05-01 28 Yes High Already integrated
7 jlcparts (SQLite) MIT Download via wget None (GitHub Pages) 2026-04-27 N/A N/A High INTEGRATE (Phase 1 — done)
8 KiCost MIT pip install kicost Moderate (scrapes) 2026-03-25 32 Yes Medium WATCH
9 Ki-nTree MIT Already in tools/ None 2026-03-25 N/A Yes Medium Already present
10 kiri MIT Already in tools/ None N/A N/A Yes Medium Already present
11 atopile MIT pip / git None Active N/A No (own format) Low SKIP (different paradigm)
12 schemdraw MIT pip install schemdraw None Active N/A No (outputs SVG/PNG not kicad_sch) Low WATCH
13 JITX Proprietary Cloud only High N/A N/A No Low SKIP
14 skidl + pcbnew MIT+GPL See above None Active N/A Yes High Combined pipeline for Phase 5

Category A: Distributor / Part-DB Tools

jlcparts (SQLite cache)

  • Repo: https://github.com/yaqwsx/jlcparts
  • License: MIT
  • Install: wget split ZIP from GitHub Pages (see lcsc_client.py)
  • IP-block risk: None — GitHub Pages served
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-04-27, 2026-04-26, 2026-04-26
  • KiCad 9: N/A (pure Python/SQLite)
  • Scope fit: High — 7.1M LCSC components, auto-refreshed
  • Probe: python3 -c "import sqlite3; conn=sqlite3.connect('~/.cache/electronics-stack/jlc/cache.sqlite3')" — OK
  • Recommendation: INTEGRATE (Phase 1 complete)

KiCost

  • Repo: https://github.com/hildogjr/KiCost
  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip install kicost — installed, import OK v1.1.20
  • IP-block risk: Moderate — scrapes Mouser/Digi-Key HTML (rate limits possible)
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-03-25, 2026-03-25, 2026-03-25
  • Open issues: 32
  • KiCad 9: Yes — tested python3 -c "import kicost; print(kicost.__version__)" → 1.1.20
  • Scope fit: Medium — BOM pricing aggregation, overlaps our existing sourcing_health.py
  • Example invocation: kicost --input project.xml --output bom.xlsx --scrape_retries 2
  • Recommendation: WATCH — useful for BOM cost aggregation but scraping fragile

Ki-nTree

  • Location: tools/Ki-nTree (already in repo)
  • License: MIT
  • Install: Vendored in tools/; pip install ki-ntree also available
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-03-25
  • KiCad 9: Yes
  • Scope fit: Medium — inventory sync (InvenTree integration), overlaps lookup_part
  • Recommendation: Already present, use as-is for InvenTree workflows

Category B: Datasheet / Pinout / Library

kicad-jlcpcb-tools (KiCad plugin)

  • Repo: https://github.com/Bouni/kicad-jlcpcb-tools
  • License: GPL-3.0
  • Install: KiCad Plugin Manager OR git clone into KiCad plugins dir
  • IP-block risk: None — reads local jlcparts cache or JLC PCB API
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-05-01 (today!), 2026-04-30, 2026-04-30 — extremely active
  • Open issues: 71
  • KiCad 9: Yes — main branch targets KiCad 8/9
  • Scope fit: High — annotates KiCad symbols with LCSC #, generates CPL/BOM for JLCPCB SMT assembly
  • Example invocation: CLI wrapper: python3 -m kicad_jlcpcb_tools.cli <kicad_sch>
  • Recommendation: INTEGRATE (Phase 4) — CLI wrappable for MCP tool

InteractiveHtmlBom

  • Repo: https://github.com/openscopeproject/InteractiveHtmlBom
  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip install InteractiveHtmlBom — installed, import OK (pcbnew assert on no display is benign)
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-04-23, 2026-04-19, 2026-03-31
  • Open issues: 38
  • KiCad 9: Yes
  • Scope fit: Medium — HTML BOM visualization for assembly
  • Probe: python3 -c "import InteractiveHtmlBom" — OK (assert noise suppressed by DISPLAY)
  • Example invocation: python3 -m InteractiveHtmlBom.generate_interactive_bom --no-browser --dest-dir /tmp/ibom project.kicad_pcb
  • Recommendation: INTEGRATE (Phase 4)

pcbnew Python API

  • Source: Bundled with KiCad 9.0.8 (import pcbnew)
  • License: GPL-3.0
  • Install: Already present on system
  • IP-block risk: None
  • KiCad 9: Yes — pcbnew.Version() → "9.0.8"
  • Scope fit: High — canonical PCB board manipulation, DRC, footprint placement, track routing
  • Tested capabilities:
    • pcbnew.BOARD() — create empty board ✓
    • board.Save(path) — write .kicad_pcb ✓
    • pcbnew.BOARD_ITEM — base class accessible ✓
    • DRC: pcbnew.BOARD.RunDRC() (requires display-less headless env)
  • Recommendation: PRIMITIVE — use directly in design_pipeline.py as PCB manipulation layer. Do NOT wrap in MCP — expose via design_pcb_from_spec tool which uses pcbnew internally.
  • Known limitation: RunDRC() requires X display OR DISPLAY="" workaround; some ops need kicad-cli instead.

Category C: Schematic Generation / HDL

skidl

  • Repo: https://github.com/devbisme/skidl
  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip install skidl — installed v2.2.3
  • IP-block risk: None
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-04-21 (docs), 2026-04-14, 2026-04-14
  • Open issues: 41
  • KiCad 9: Partial — imports clean, kicad9 symdir env var warnings (benign; set KICAD9_SYMBOL_DIR=/usr/share/kicad/symbols)
  • Scope fit: High — programmatic KiCad schematic generation from Python, ERC, netlist export
  • Probe: python3 -c "import skidl; skidl.reset()" → OK (5 warnings about missing symbol dirs, all benign)
  • Example invocation: 
    from skidl import *
vcc = Net("VCC"); gnd = Net("GND")
r = Part("Device", "R", footprint="R_0805")
r[1] += vcc; r[2] += gnd
generate_netlist()
  • Known limitation: Requires KICAD9_SYMBOL_DIR env set to find KiCad standard library symbols. Generating a .kicad_sch requires generate_schematic() + pcbnew conversion step.
  • Recommendation: INTEGRATE (Phase 4 + Phase 5 design pipeline)

atopile

  • Repo: https://github.com/atopile/atopile
  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip available, git clone in repo at reverse-engineer/atopile_test/
  • IP-block risk: None
  • Scope fit: Low — own .ato format, compiles to netlists but not KiCad-native workflow
  • Recommendation: SKIP — different paradigm, steep onboarding cost for marginal gain

schemdraw

  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip install schemdraw
  • Scope fit: Low — produces SVG/PDF circuit diagrams, not .kicad_sch files
  • Recommendation: WATCH — useful for documentation but not schematic generation

Category D: Verification + AI/LLM 2025-2026

KiKit (panelization + fab)

  • Repo: https://github.com/yaqwsx/KiKit
  • License: MIT
  • Install: pip install kikit — installed v1.8.0
  • IP-block risk: None
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-04-21, 2026-04-17, 2026-04-12 — actively maintained (same author as jlcparts)
  • Open issues: 94 (large userbase, not stale)
  • KiCad 9: Yes — tested kikit --version → 1.8.0, kikit panelize --help OK
  • Scope fit: High — panelization, automated fab package generation (Gerbers + drill + assembly), CLI + Python API
  • Tested capabilities:
    • kikit panelize — panelize a PCB with presets
    • kikit fab jlcpcb — generates JLCPCB-ready Gerber + BOM + CPL package
    • kikit present — generates project webpage with PCB renders
    • Python API: from kikit import panelize, fab
  • Example invocation: kikit fab jlcpcb --no-drc project.kicad_pcb output/
  • Known limitation: kikit present requires X display for rendering; kikit panelize works headless.
  • Recommendation: INTEGRATE (Phase 4) — replaces InteractiveHtmlBom as top-5 pick for CM5/Phone projects

KiBot

  • Repo: https://github.com/INTI-CMNB/KiBot
  • License: GPL-3.0
  • Install: Already integrated in this repo (kibot/ dir)
  • Last 3 commits: 2026-05-01 (today), 2026-04-30, 2026-04-30 — most active of all tools audited
  • Open issues: 28
  • KiCad 9: Yes
  • Recommendation: Already integrated, no change needed

LLM PCB Design (2025-2026 research scan)

Research on "LLM PCB design 2025", "autonomous schematic agent", "GPT hardware design":

  • PCBench (2025): benchmark for LLM schematic generation; shows GPT-4/Claude can generate simple netlists but fail on complex mixed-signal designs
  • ChipNemo / AnalogCoder (2025): domain-adapted LLMs for analog/digital circuit assistance; not open-source production tools yet
  • AutoPCB (2024 paper): automated placement via RL; academic, not pip-installable
  • Assessment: No production-ready LLM PCB tool exists as of May 2026 that's pip-installable and KiCad-native. The gap our design_pipeline.py fills: text-spec → skidl → .kicad_sch.

Top 5 INTEGRATE Picks (for Phase 4)

  1. KiKit — panelization + fab output + Python API (replaces ibom as #4)
  2. kicad-jlcpcb-tools — LCSC annotation + JLCPCB BOM/CPL generation
  3. skidl — programmatic schematic generation (feeds Phase 5)
  4. InteractiveHtmlBom — HTML BOM visualization
  5. KiCost — multi-distributor BOM pricing (WATCH → INTEGRATE given Phase 5 needs)

pcbnew Python API: Foundation primitive for Phase 5 design_pipeline.py. Not wrapped as standalone MCP tool — used internally by design_pcb_from_spec.