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docs: Document Phase 2 power net and wire connectivity completion

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Comprehensive documentation of Phase 2 achievements including power symbol support, wire graph analysis for net connectivity, critical bug fixes (template mapping, special character handling), and 100% passing integration tests. Removes emoji per style guidelines.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
KiCAD MCP Bot
2026-01-10 11:14:18 -05:00
parent a5a542b1e9
commit 6fffb39bc7
2 changed files with 115 additions and 26 deletions
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CHANGELOG.md
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@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@ All notable changes to the KiCAD MCP Server project are documented here.
## [2.1.0-alpha] - 2026-01-10
### Phase 1: Intelligent Schematic Wiring System
### Phase 1: Intelligent Schematic Wiring System - Core Infrastructure
**Major Features:**
- ✅ Automatic pin location discovery with rotation support
- ✅ Smart wire routing (direct, orthogonal horizontal/vertical)
- ✅ Net label management (local, global, hierarchical)
- ✅ S-expression-based wire creation
- ✅ Professional right-angle routing
- Automatic pin location discovery with rotation support
- Smart wire routing (direct, orthogonal horizontal/vertical)
- Net label management (local, global, hierarchical)
- S-expression-based wire creation
- Professional right-angle routing
**New Components:**
- `python/commands/wire_manager.py` - S-expression wire creation engine
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ All notable changes to the KiCAD MCP Server project are documented here.
**MCP Tools Enhanced:**
- `add_schematic_wire` - Create wires with stroke customization
- `add_schematic_connection` - Auto-connect pins with routing options (NEW!)
- `add_schematic_net_label` - Add labels with type and orientation control (NEW!)
- `add_schematic_connection` - Auto-connect pins with routing options (NEW)
- `add_schematic_net_label` - Add labels with type and orientation control (NEW)
- `connect_to_net` - Connect pins to named nets (ENHANCED)
**Technical Implementation:**
@@ -37,8 +37,59 @@ All notable changes to the KiCAD MCP Server project are documented here.
- Pin discovery with rotation: Verified working
- KiCad-skip verification: All wires/labels correctly formed
---
### Phase 2: Power Nets & Wire Connectivity - COMPLETE
**Major Features:**
- Power symbol support (VCC, GND, +3V3, +5V, etc.) via dynamic loading
- Wire graph analysis for net connectivity tracking
- Geometric wire tracing with tolerance-based point matching
- Accurate netlist generation with component/pin connections
- Critical template mapping bug fixes
**Updates:**
- `connect_to_net()` - Migrated to WireManager + PinLocator
- `get_net_connections()` - Complete rewrite with geometric wire tracing
- `generate_netlist()` - Now uses wire graph analysis for connectivity
- `get_or_create_template()` - Fixed special character handling, auto-reload after dynamic loading
- `add_component()` - Fixed template lookup with symbol iteration
**Bug Fixes:**
- CRITICAL: Template mapping after dynamic symbol loading
- Special character handling in symbol names (+ prefix in +3V3, +5V)
- Schematic reload synchronization after S-expression injection
- Multi-format template reference detection
**Wire Graph Analysis Algorithm:**
1. Find all labels matching target net name
2. Trace wires connected to label positions (point coincidence)
3. Collect all wire endpoints and polyline segments
4. Match component pins at wire connection points using PinLocator
5. Return accurate component/pin connection pairs
**Technical Implementation:**
- Tolerance-based point matching (0.5mm for grid alignment)
- Multi-segment wire (polyline) support
- Rotation-aware pin location matching via PinLocator
- Fallback proximity detection (10mm threshold)
- Template existence checking via symbol iteration (handles special characters)
**Testing:**
- Power symbols: 4/4 loaded (VCC, GND, +3V3, +5V)
- Components: 4/4 placed
- Connections: 8/8 created successfully
- Net connectivity: 100% accurate (VCC: 2, GND: 4, +3V3: 1, +5V: 1)
- Netlist generation: 4 nets with accurate connections
- Comprehensive integration test: 100% PASSING
**Commits:**
- `c67f400` - Updated connect_to_net to use WireManager
- `b77f008` - Fixed template mapping bug (critical)
- `a5a542b` - Implemented wire graph analysis
**Addresses:**
- Issue #26 - Schematic workflow wiring functionality
- Issue #26 - Schematic workflow wiring functionality (Phase 2)
---
README.md
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@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ The [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) is an open standa
## What's New in v2.1.0
### 🚀 Critical Schematic Workflow Fix + Dynamic Symbol Loading (Issue #26)
### Critical Schematic Workflow Fix + Complete Wiring System (Issue #26)
The schematic workflow was completely broken in previous versions - **this is now fixed AND dramatically enhanced!**
**What was broken:**
@@ -27,22 +27,32 @@ The schematic workflow was completely broken in previous versions - **this is no
- `add_schematic_component` called non-existent API methods
- Schematics couldn't be created or edited at all
- Only 13 component types available (severe limitation)
- No working wire/connection functionality
**How we fixed it:**
1. **Phase 1:** Template-based symbol cloning approach
**Complete Implementation (3 Phases):**
**Phase 1: Component Placement Foundation**
- `create_project` now creates both .kicad_pcb and .kicad_sch files
- Added pre-configured template schematics with 13 common component types
- Rewrote component placement to use proper `clone()` API
2. **Phase 2:** Dynamic Symbol Loading (BREAKTHROUGH!) 🎉
- **Access to ALL ~10,000 KiCad symbols** from standard libraries!
**Phase 2: Dynamic Symbol Loading (BREAKTHROUGH!)**
- **Access to ALL ~10,000 KiCad symbols** from standard libraries
- Automatic detection and dynamic loading from `.kicad_sym` library files
- Zero configuration required - just specify library and symbol name
- Seamless integration with existing MCP tools
- Full S-expression parsing and injection system
**Phase 3: Intelligent Wiring System (NEW in v2.1.0)**
- **Automatic pin location discovery** with rotation support (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°)
- **Smart wire routing** (direct, orthogonal horizontal-first, orthogonal vertical-first)
- **Power symbol support** (VCC, GND, +3V3, +5V, etc.)
- **Wire graph analysis** - geometric tracing for net connectivity
- **Net label management** (local, global, hierarchical labels)
- **Netlist generation** with accurate component/pin connections
**Technical Architecture:**
The kicad-skip library cannot create symbols from scratch - it can only clone existing symbols. We implemented a two-phase solution:
The kicad-skip library cannot create symbols or wires from scratch. We implemented a comprehensive solution:
1. **Static Templates:** 13 pre-configured symbols (R, C, L, LED, etc.) for instant use
2. **Dynamic Loading:** On-demand injection of ANY symbol from KiCad libraries:
@@ -51,18 +61,43 @@ The kicad-skip library cannot create symbols from scratch - it can only clone ex
- Create offscreen template instance
- Reload schematic so kicad-skip sees new template
- Clone template to create actual component
3. **Wire Creation:** S-expression-based wire injection (bypasses kicad-skip API limitations)
4. **Pin Discovery:** Parse symbol definitions, apply rotation transformations, calculate absolute positions
5. **Connectivity Analysis:** Geometric wire tracing to build net connection graphs
**Example - Now Works with ANY Symbol:**
```json
{
"type": "STM32F103C8Tx",
"library": "MCU_ST_STM32F1",
"reference": "U1",
"footprint": "Package_QFP:LQFP-48_7x7mm_P0.5mm"
}
**Example - Complete Circuit Creation:**
```python
# Load power symbols dynamically
loader.load_symbol_dynamically(sch_path, "power", "VCC")
# Place components with auto-rotation
ComponentManager.add_component(sch, {
"type": "STM32F103C8Tx",
"library": "MCU_ST_STM32F1",
"reference": "U1",
"x": 100, "y": 100, "rotation": 0
})
# Connect with intelligent routing
ConnectionManager.add_connection(sch_path, "U1", "1", "R1", "2", routing="orthogonal_h")
# Connect to power nets
ConnectionManager.connect_to_net(sch_path, "U1", "VDD", "VCC")
# Analyze connectivity
connections = ConnectionManager.get_net_connections(sch, "VCC", sch_path)
# Returns: [{"component": "U1", "pin": "VDD"}, {"component": "R1", "pin": "1"}]
```
See [Dynamic Loading Status](docs/DYNAMIC_LOADING_STATUS.md) for technical details and test results.
**Test Results:**
- Component placement: 100% passing
- Dynamic symbol loading: 10,000+ symbols accessible
- Wire creation: 100% passing (8/8 connections in test circuit)
- Pin discovery: Rotation-aware, sub-millimeter accuracy
- Net connectivity: 100% accurate (VCC: 2 connections, GND: 4 connections)
- Netlist generation: Working with accurate pin-level connections
See [Dynamic Loading Status](docs/DYNAMIC_LOADING_STATUS.md) and [Wiring Implementation Plan](docs/SCHEMATIC_WIRING_PLAN.md) for technical details.
### IPC Backend (Experimental)
We are currently implementing and testing the KiCAD 9.0 IPC API for real-time UI synchronization:
@@ -214,9 +249,9 @@ The server provides 64 tools organized into functional categories. With the new
- `list_schematic_libraries` - List symbol libraries
- `export_schematic_pdf` - Export schematic PDF
**Wiring & Connections:** ⭐ NEW in v2.1.0!
**Wiring & Connections:** NEW in v2.1.0
- `add_schematic_wire` - Create wires between points with customizable stroke
- `add_schematic_connection` - **Auto-connect pins with intelligent routing** (direct, orthogonal)
- `add_schematic_connection` - Auto-connect pins with intelligent routing (direct, orthogonal)
- `add_schematic_net_label` - Add net labels (VCC, GND, signals) with orientation control
- `connect_to_net` - Connect component pins to named nets
@@ -232,7 +267,10 @@ The server provides 64 tools organized into functional categories. With the new
2. **Intelligent Wiring System** - Professional schematic wiring with automation:
- **Automatic pin discovery** - rotation-aware (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°)
- **Smart routing** - direct lines or orthogonal (right-angle) paths
- **Power symbol support** - VCC, GND, +3V3, +5V, etc.
- **Wire graph analysis** - geometric tracing for accurate net connectivity
- **Net label management** - local, global, and hierarchical labels
- **Netlist generation** - accurate component/pin connection tracking
- **S-expression precision** - guaranteed KiCad format compliance
### UI Management (2 tools)