auditing-pcb-design

PCB Design Audit

Target: $ARGUMENTS

Run KiCad design rule checks and export manufacturing outputs.

References (MUST READ)

Read these before proceeding:

• references/kicad-cli-reference.md — DRC/ERC commands, JSON output schema, gerber/BOM export

Workflow

1. Detect kicad-cli — Verify kicad-cli is available, report version

2. Find project files — Glob for *.kicad_pro, *.kicad_sch, *.kicad_pcb

3. Run ERC on schematic:

   kicad-cli sch erc --output erc-report.json --format json <schematic.kicad_sch>
   

4. Run DRC on PCB:

   kicad-cli pcb drc --output drc-report.json --format json <pcb.kicad_pcb>
   

5. Parse JSON reports — Categorize violations by severity (error/warning/exclusion)

6. If clean (no errors), export manufacturing outputs:

   • Gerbers: kicad-cli pcb export gerbers --output gerbers/ <pcb.kicad_pcb>
   • Drill: kicad-cli pcb export drill --output gerbers/ <pcb.kicad_pcb>
   • BOM: kicad-cli sch export bom --output bom.csv <schematic.kicad_sch>

7. Generate findings report at docs/pcb-audit-report.md

Output Format

# PCB Audit Report: <Project Name>

## Tool Version
kicad-cli <version>

## ERC Results
- Errors: N
- Warnings: N
  - <violation description> @ <sheet:component>

## DRC Results
- Errors: N
- Warnings: N
  - <violation description> @ <coordinates>

## Manufacturing Outputs
- [ ] Gerbers exported to gerbers/
- [ ] Drill files exported to gerbers/
- [ ] BOM exported to bom.csv

## Recommendations
...

Rules

• Never export gerbers if DRC has unresolved errors
• Report all warnings even if they are excluded in KiCad
• Include exact coordinates/references for every DRC/ERC finding
• Do not modify KiCad project files — this is a read-only audit