Installation

KiKit consists of three parts:

• a backend (a Python library that does all the heavy work and provides CLI)
• KiCAD PCM plugin which adds GUI for KiCAD, and
• KiCAD symbol and footprint libraries.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to install all three parts automatically in a single step due to technical limitations of KiCAD's PCM at the moment, so you have to install them separately.

Backend installation

The backend installation differs slightly based on the platform:

• Linux guide
• Windows guide
• macOS guide

GUI and libraries installation

GUI plugins and libraries are available via KiCAD PCM. See details about their installation.

Optional dependencies

Some KiKit features rely on external dependencies:

• PcbDraw – to be able to export presentation pages
• OpenSCAD – to be able to export 3D models of stencil. Install it via your system package manage.

Running KiKit in CI or isolated environment via Docker

We also distribute a Docker container for running KiKit in CI or on platform where it is hard to meet all dependencies. This mode doesn't support GUI. Learn more about the docker images.