Konnect is a KiCAD 10 plugin and MCP server, shipped as a single Rust binary, that lets Claude and other AI assistants design schematics and printed circuit boards (PCBs) directly in your KiCAD project. It exposes 228 tools across 21 toolsets covering schematic capture, PCB layout and routing, electrical and design rule checks (ERC and DRC), design-review audits, JLCPCB part search, reference circuits, and manufacturing export. Bundled skills and agents teach Claude and Codex KiCAD conventions. It is in beta.
Konnect succeeds KiCAD-MCP-Server, a Python and TypeScript project in which each tool call crossed several language and serialization boundaries and depended on KiCAD's deprecated SWIG bindings. In Konnect a tool call is a direct function call in one process. PCB edits go through KiCAD 10's official IPC API in real time and integrate with KiCAD's undo and redo. Schematic files are edited by its own S-expression engine with atomic writes and UUID preservation, so schematic work does not need KiCAD running. Exports and checks run through KiCAD's command-line tool, and autorouting runs through Freerouting with a strict import step.
To save context, a router loads a small starter kit of tools and lets the model pull in further toolsets on demand, instead of listing every tool on each call. Built-in call logs and server statistics let the model diagnose its own tool failures. A standalone schematic viewer re-renders changed sheets live as the AI edits. MCP traffic runs over standard input and output by default, or over Streamable HTTP.
| KiCAD-MCP-Server | Konnect | |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime | Node.js + Python + SWIG bindings | Single static binary |
| Tool call path | TypeScript to subprocess to Python to SWIG | Direct function call |
| PCB backend | SWIG plus experimental IPC | KiCAD 10 IPC API |
| Schematic backend | kicad-skip plus custom loaders | Native S-expression engine |
| Skills and agents | None | 6 skills and 2 agents |
Features
- Schematic capture: place components and wire them by pin name
- PCB layout: place, move, rotate, and route footprints in real time with undo and redo
- Design checks: ERC, DRC, connectivity validation, decoupling audits, power-rail review, and BOM health checks
- Manufacturing export: Gerbers, drill files, BOM, pick-and-place, 3D models, and PDF
- JLCPCB part search: finds in-stock parts in a local 2.5-million-part catalog and suggests alternatives
- Reference circuits: USB-C, LDO, buck converter, STM32, I2C, and LED templates with verified values
- Autorouting: Specctra export, Freerouting routing, and a single-transaction import back into the board
- On-demand toolsets: a small starter kit with further toolsets loaded as the model needs them
- Self-diagnosis: recent-call history, server statistics, and call logs the model can read
- Live schematic viewer: re-renders hierarchical sheets as the schematic changes
- Client guidance: bundled skills, agents, and hooks for Claude, and shared skills for Codex
