skidl

skidl-claude-plugin

MCP server for designing electronic schematics and PCB layouts using SKiDL — a Python library for programmatic circuit design.

Features

• Circuit Management — Create, switch between, and manage multiple circuit designs
• Component Library — Search and add parts from your local KiCad libraries
• Wiring — Create nets, buses, and connect component pins
• Schematic Generation — Export SVG schematics and KiCad .kicad_sch files
• Netlist Export — Generate KiCad-compatible netlists for PCB layout in PCBNEW
• Validation — Run electrical rules checks (ERC), verify connections and footprints
• BOM Generation — Bill of materials in JSON or CSV format
• Code Export — Export circuits as standalone SKiDL Python scripts
• 16 Design Templates — Prompt templates for common circuits (voltage dividers, amplifiers, filters, MCU designs, motor drivers, USB interfaces, and more)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• KiCad installed — only required for adding parts and searching component libraries. Circuit building, validation, and netlist/BOM/Python export work without it.
• Optional: netlistsvg for generate_svg. SKiDL's generate_kicad_schematic is experimental and needs parts from real KiCad symbol libraries.

Installation

This repository is both a Claude Code plugin and a standalone MCP server.

As a Claude Code plugin

The plugin ships its MCP server definition in .mcp.json, which runs the server via uvx straight from this repo — no manual install step is needed. Just make sure uv is installed so uvx is on your PATH.

Manual install (standalone / Claude Desktop)

pip install -e .

This exposes the skidl-mcp console script.

Usage

Run the MCP server directly (stdio)

skidl-mcp

With Claude Code

Register the server with the CLI:

claude mcp add skidl -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/fingerskier/skidl-claude-plugin skidl-mcp

With Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json (requires the manual pip install above):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skidl": {
      "command": "skidl-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Then ask Claude to design circuits:

"Design a voltage divider that converts 12V to 3.3V" "Create an ATmega328P circuit with UART and I2C headers" "Build an LED driver for 4 blue LEDs on a 5V supply"

MCP Tools

Circuit Management

Tool	Description
create_circuit	Create a new circuit and set it as active
list_circuits	List all circuits in the session
switch_circuit	Switch the active circuit
delete_circuit	Delete a circuit
get_circuit_info	Get full details of a circuit

Parts

Tool	Description
add_part	Add a component from a KiCad library
search_parts	Search KiCad libraries for components
list_parts	List all parts in a circuit
remove_part	Remove a part by reference designator
get_part_info	Get pin details and connections for a part

Nets & Wiring

Tool	Description
create_net	Create a named net
connect	Connect a pin to a net
connect_pins	Connect two pins directly
list_nets	List all nets and connections
create_bus	Create a multi-wire bus
add_power_nets	Add standard power nets (VCC, GND, etc.)

Generation & Export

Tool	Description
generate_netlist	KiCad-compatible netlist for PCBNEW
generate_svg	SVG schematic diagram
generate_bom	Bill of materials (JSON or CSV)
generate_kicad_schematic	KiCad .kicad_sch file
export_python	Standalone SKiDL Python code

Validation

Tool	Description
run_erc	Electrical rules check
check_connections	Find unconnected pins
validate_footprints	Verify all parts have footprints

Design Templates

Use these prompts to guide circuit design:

Category	Templates
Analog	design_voltage_divider, design_amplifier, design_filter, design_oscillator
Power	design_power_supply, design_led_circuit, design_battery_charger
Digital	design_microcontroller, design_logic_level_shifter, design_i2c_bus, design_spi_bus
Interface	design_sensor_interface, design_motor_driver, design_uart_interface, design_usb_interface
RF	design_antenna_matching

Development

pip install -e ".[dev]"     # see HOWTO.md §2 if the build trips on kinet2pcb/hierplace
pytest                      # 74 tests; no PYTHONPATH needed