kicad-mcp-kipy

KiCad MCP server for KiCad 10 — powered by kipy, the official KiCad Python API.

Connects AI assistants (Claude, Bob, etc.) to a running KiCad 10 instance via the Model Context Protocol, enabling real-time inspection and control of schematics and PCB layouts.

Why kicad-mcp-kipy?

Related MCP server: KiCad MCP Server

Requirements

• KiCad 10.x (macOS / Linux / Windows)

• Python 3.11+

• uv (recommended) or pip

Installation

Using uvx (recommended — no install needed)

uvx kicad-mcp-kipy

Using pip

pip install kicad-mcp-kipy
kicad-mcp-kipy

Setup

1. Enable KiCad IPC API

In KiCad's Schematic Editor or PCB Editor:

Preferences → Preferences → Scripting → Enable IPC API ✅

2. Register in your MCP client (Bob / Claude Desktop)

.bob/mcp.json (workspace-level):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kicad": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["kicad-mcp-kipy"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kicad": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["kicad-mcp-kipy"]
    }
  }
}

3. Open a project in KiCad

Open your schematic or PCB file in KiCad before connecting — the IPC API is only active when an editor is open.

Available Tools

General

Schematic

PCB

How it works

AI Assistant (MCP Client)
    ↕  stdio (JSON-RPC)
kicad-mcp-kipy (MCP Server)
    ↕  pynng / NNG IPC socket  (/tmp/kicad/api.sock)
KiCad 10 IPC API Server (built-in)
    ↕  C++ SDK
KiCad Schematic / PCB Editor

KiCad 10 exposes a Protobuf-based IPC API over a local NNG socket. kipy provides Python bindings for this API. This server wraps those bindings as MCP tools.

Development

git clone https://github.com/mnori0211/kicad-mcp-kipy
cd kicad-mcp-kipy
uv sync
uv run kicad-mcp-kipy

Related

• kipy (kicad-python) — Official KiCad Python API bindings

• kicad-mcp (Huaqiu) — Alternative MCP server (KiCad 9)

• Model Context Protocol

License

MIT — see LICENSE