PowerTree

Electronic circuit power tree analysis — a fully offline desktop app for budgeting power from source to load with min/typ/max corners, margin analysis, a live flowchart, and report-grade exports (PDF / HTML / Excel / CSV / PNG).

— PySide6 · Windows-first · no accounts, no internet.

pip install powertree
powertree-gui                      :: desktop app (opens with a Zynq demo board)
powertree --help                   :: full CLI

What it does

• Projects hold many power trees (.ptproj, versioned JSON, self-contained).

• Elements: one Source per tree (V min/typ/max + current or power limit), Converters (efficiency %, Vout corners, quiescent current, optional output limit, pass-through output rail for sub-loads), Loads (current- or power-type, typ/peak value, allowed input-voltage window for margin checks), Series elements (resistance, bounded so the math never breaks). Every element carries the same metadata: name, signal name, ref des, part number, pin(s), datasheet link, notes.

• Blocks group elements visually (e.g. one IC with Icc + Iq loads) and show aggregate power.

• Bottom-up solver, auto-refresh: every edit re-solves all three corners (damped fixed-point for series-R × power-load interaction) and repaints instantly.

• Margin analysis: source/converter limit usage, load under/over-voltage vs its allowed window, step-down/boost sanity, collapsed-rail detection — surfaced as findings, node badges, list statuses, and report sections.

• Views: color-coded flowchart (90° routed arrows with rail labels, legend, collapse/expand chips, no overlaps, power text on every card) + hierarchical list view. Layouts: top-down, left-right, or custom drag-to-place.

• Search (Ctrl+F) across name/signal/refdes/part/pins/notes — highlights the canvas and filters the list.

• Documentation notes: hierarchical markdown notes with embedded images, linked to elements — capture where every number came from.

• Exports: PDF report (flowcharts + tables + margins + full notes appendix), macro-enabled Excel report (.xlsm with outline collapse + VBA navigation macros; falls back to .xlsx + importable .bas when VBA trust is off), HD PNG flowchart, notes → Markdown / HTML / PDF.

Related MCP server: kicad-mcp

Install & run

From PyPI (recommended):

pip install powertree            :: add powertree[mcp] for the AI/MCP server
powertree-gui                    :: GUI
powertree info my.ptproj         :: CLI (same entry: powertree --help)

From source:

git clone https://github.com/bin2ai/powertree
cd powertree
py -3.12 -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\pip install -r requirements.txt
.venv\Scripts\python.exe main.py         :: or double-click PowerTree.bat

Standalone Windows installer (no Python needed) — build dist\PowerTree-Setup.zip with installer\build_installer.ps1, unzip, run install.bat (per-user install, Start-Menu/Desktop shortcuts, uninstaller; installer\PowerTree.iss builds a setup.exe when Inno Setup is present).

Onboarding: press F1 in the app (Quick start), or read docs/QUICKSTART.md and docs/USER_GUIDE.md. A full feature tour with screenshots: artifacts/PowerTree_Feature_Overview.pdf.

The app opens with a built-in demo (a realistic Zynq-7000 carrier board) so every feature is visible immediately.

Four ways to use it

powertree info examples\DemoBoard.ptproj
powertree validate examples\DemoBoard.ptproj --strict   && echo margins clean
powertree growth examples\DemoBoard.ptproj              :: +N% load headroom
powertree export bundle examples\DemoBoard.ptproj -o out\   :: all formats

Tests

.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pytest tests -q

14 tests cover the solver math (hand-checked corner cases incl. the series-R + power-load fixed point), model constraints, and file-format round-tripping.

Layout

main.py                  launcher
src/powertree/
  model/    elements, bottom-up solver (calc.py), .ptproj serialization
  ui/       main window, flowchart canvas, tidy-tree layout, list view,
            properties, notes, dark theme
  export/   PDF report, Excel (.xlsm/COM + .xlsx), HD PNG, notes MD/HTML/PDF
  sampledata.py  demo project
tests/       pytest suite
examples/    DemoBoard.ptproj
notes/       Obsidian knowledge base (project docs, not app data)

Excel macros note

.xlsm export embeds VBA (expand/collapse outline, next-finding navigation) through Excel COM, which requires File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings → Macro Settings → “Trust access to the VBA project object model”. Without it you get an identical .xlsx plus PowerTree_Macros.bas to import manually (Alt+F11 → File → Import).

Roadmap ideas

Resistive loads · operating modes / duty-cycle scenarios · undo-redo · temperature derating · CSV/BOM import · converter component library · rail sequencing checks · per-corner load values.

Scaffolded 2026-08-06. See CLAUDE.md for how Claude works in this project.