KiCad Converter

KiCad Converter is a TypeScript library that facilitates seamless conversion between KiCad file formats, JSON, and Circuit JSON

Table of Contents

• KiCad Converter
  • Table of Contents
  • Features
  • Installation
  • Usage
  • API Reference
  • Advanced Usage
    • Working with KiCad Project Files
    • Type Checking with Zod
  • Contributing
  • License
  • Support

Features

• Convert KiCad PCB files *.kicad_pcb to Circuit JSON
• Convert Circuit JSON to KiCad PCB files *.kicad_pcb
• Parse and serialize KiCad schematic files *.kicad_sch
• Support for KiCad project files (*.kicad_pro)
• Robust type checking using Zod schemas
• Easy integration with existing KiCad and tscircuit workflows

Installation

Install KiCad Converter using npm:

npm install kicad-converter

Usage

Here's a basic example of how to use KiCad Converter:

import { convertKiCadPcbToCircuitJson, convertCircuitJsonToKiCadPcb, parseKiCadSch } from 'kicad-converter';

import kicadPcb from "./path/to/your/kicad_pcb_file.kicad_pcb" with { type: "text" }

// Convert KiCad PCB to Circuit JSON
const circuitJson = convertKiCadPcbToCircuitJson(kicadPcb);

// Convert Circuit JSON to KiCad PCB
const newKicadPcb = convertCircuitJsonToKiCadPcb(circuitJson);

API Reference

The library exposes several key functions:

• convertKiCadPcbToCircuitJson(kicadPcb: KiCadPcb): AnyCircuitElement[] Converts a KiCad PCB object to Circuit JSON format.

• convertCircuitJsonToKiCadPcb(circuitJson: AnyCircuitElement[]): KiCadPcb Converts Circuit JSON to a KiCad PCB object.

• parseKiCadSch(sexpr: SExpr): KicadSch Parses a KiCad schematic S-expression into a structured object.

• serializeKiCadSch(kicadSch: KicadSch): string Serializes a KiCad schematic object back into an S-expression string.

Advanced Usage

Working with KiCad Project Files

import { parseKiCadPro } from 'kicad-converter';

const projectFile = // ... load your .kicad_pro file content
const parsedProject = parseKiCadPro(projectFile);

console.log(parsedProject.meta.filename);

Type Checking with Zod

KiCad Converter uses Zod for robust type checking. You can leverage this in your own code:

import { KiCadPcbSchema } from "kicad-converter"

const validatedPcb = KiCadPcbSchema.parse(someData)
// If someData doesn't match the schema, this will throw an error

Contributing

We welcome contributions to KiCad Converter! Please see our Contributing Guide for more details on how to get started.

To set up the development environment:

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies: bun install
3. Run tests: bun test test

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please file an issue on the GitHub repository.