#kicad #pcb #electronics #plugins #jlcpcb # Overview Working set of KiCad plugins, themes, and layout habits. The plugin table below is the short answer — details, install notes, and tutorials follow. # Plugins | Plugin | What it's for | Install | |---|---|---| | [Fabrication Toolkit](https://github.com/bennymeg/Fabrication-Toolkit) | One-click JLCPCB export (gerbers, BOM, CPL) | PCM | | [Kobee Studio](https://github.com/mrcpuddington/kobeestudio) | PCB graphics: labels, icons, header overlays, QR/barcodes | PCM (install from file) | | [Component Importer](https://github.com/robertxdx/component-importer-for-kicad) | Auto-import downloaded component ZIPs into project libs | Standalone app — ==no macOS build== | | [kicad_jlcimport](https://github.com/jvanderberg/kicad_jlcimport) | Pull symbols/footprints from JLCPCB / LCSC | PCM | | [KiKit](https://yaqwsx.github.io/KiKit/latest/installation/intro/) | Panelization + fab automation | Shell script | | [kicad-happy](https://github.com/aklofas/kicad-happy) | AI agent skills for KiCad (Claude Code / Codex) | Repo | ## Kobee Studio (replaces KiBuzzard) Fork of [KiBuzzard](https://github.com/gregdavill/KiBuzzard) by Corey Busuttil, targeting **KiCad 10**. KiBuzzard is effectively stale — its README still references KiCad 5.1/6.0 — so use Kobee Studio for anything new. What it adds over KiBuzzard's inverted labels: - **Parametric labels** — rounded rects, pills, flags, tabs, pointers, chamfers, hexagons; fill/outline/border/padding/radius, independent end styles - **Header overlays** — auto pin labels for 2.54 mm single-row headers with plug clearance - **Component callouts** — labels that frame a part without touching its electrical footprint; Component Array for LED banks and repeated parts - **QR + Code 128** — with quiet-zone protection and fab-minimum size guards - **PCB icon library** — ground, power, LED, battery, warning, test point, polarity (icon library still being validated) Output lands as an ordinary editable KiCad footprint. Layers: F/B silkscreen, copper, and solder mask. Install: download `Kobee-Studio-x.y.z-pcm.zip` from [Releases](https://github.com/mrcpuddington/kobeestudio/releases) (don't unzip) → PCB Editor → Plugin and Content Manager → **Install from File…** → Tools → External Plugins → *Kobee Studio: Create PCB Artwork*. ==Still WIP — save the board before applying labels.== ## Component Importer for KiCad Standalone desktop app (not a plugin) that watches a downloads folder and merges third-party component ZIPs — symbols, footprints, 3D models, datasheets — into project-local libraries, then registers them with the project. Auto-links symbols to their footprints and reformats imported symbols to KiCad-style body/fill/pin conventions so they don't look alien next to native parts. ==Windows and Linux only — no macOS build as of v0.1.5. Check releases before relying on this.== KiCad 10 first-run gotcha: create the project, **fully close KiCad**, then configure the importer (project root → library name → downloads folder → save). After the library exists and KiCad has loaded it, subsequent imports don't need KiCad closed. ## KiKit ```bash curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yaqwsx/KiKit/master/scripts/installMacOS.bash sudo bash installMacOS.bash ``` ![[Pasted image 20260423104717.png|500]] # Themes [KiCAD_Themes](https://github.com/cosmopotamian/KiCAD_Themes) — light and dark schematic color schemes, easy on the eyes for long sessions. # Tutorials - [KiCad 9 Hardware Design Tutorial (TI MSPM0) — Phil's Lab #166](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQWdVGZGpI&list=PLJg0bytQTdIEeDGHQBCZr1OhZldpEXMHm&index=3) — distilled (with part 1, #165) in [[KiCad 9 MCU Board Design Workflow]]: board-setup values, shortcuts, and his layout/routing rules of thumb, each linked to its timestamp - [Panelizing with KiKit — KiCad 9 Beginner's Tutorials](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J39-98jXFA) # Layout Notes Place Grid Origin → bottom left. ![[Pasted image 20260209002049.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260209002157.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260209002236.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260209002420.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260209001946.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260315122806.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260315123121.png]]