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Fenolite

PCB automation in Python, for engineers and AI agents.

Create PCB projects from code, inspect KiCad and Altium files, and review designs in your browser. Use the Python library or a CLI with structured JSON results, explicit write plans and conversion loss reports.

Get started · Documentation · Examples · What's in 0.5 · Get help

Actual Fenolite viewer, using a small example authored for this project. No KiCad or Altium installation is needed to view it.

Install

Requires Python 3.11+. It installs no other package. Heavier features are optional extras.

python -m pip install fenolite
fenolite capabilities --brief --json
fenolite init blink --confirm --json
fenolite build blink/design.py --out blink/build --confirm --json
fenolite view blink/build --serve

Open the local address printed by the viewer. You now have a PCB and a schematic built from blink/design.py, using the built-in component catalog. No external CAD libraries are needed. These commands create a new blink folder; use a fresh location.

This starter is a header, resistor and LED. It is an educational example; choose parts, ratings, placement and rules for your own circuit before manufacturing. For reviewed write plans, a standalone HTML export and routing, follow the quickstart.

Three ways to use Fenolite

Review a design in your browser

Open a KiCad or Altium project, board, schematic or library. Explore layers, highlight nets, measure geometry and navigate between documents. Export a standalone HTML page for review.

fenolite view board.kicad_pcb --serve
fenolite view Project.PrjPcb --export review.html --confirm --json

The animation uses Fenolite's authored Altium Blink fixture. See the viewer guide for supported items, 3D prerequisites and rendering limits.

Build from Python

Define components, connections, placement and copper in a versioned source file. Build a project that can also be opened in its CAD editor. Preserve board edits on rebuild and sync placements back to source.

from fenolite.dsl import Design, Net, Part, connect, mm

design = Design("led")
design.board(mm(30), mm(20))
r1 = Part("R1", "Fenolite:Resistor", footprint="Fenolite:Chip_0603", value="330")
d1 = Part("D1", "Fenolite:LED", footprint="Fenolite:Chip_0603", value="LED")
design.add(r1, d1)
connect(Net("LED_A"), r1[2], d1[1])
r1.place(mm(10), mm(10))
d1.place(mm(20), mm(10))

This small fragment illustrates the DSL, not a complete powered circuit. Start with the complete starter tutorial, then explore authored examples and the Python DSL.

KiCad's CLI provides ERC, DRC, zone fills and fabrication exports. Production routing uses an external router or copper declared in the script. The built-in direct router is for simple demonstrations.

Convert and compare projects

Convert between KiCad and Altium, or write a KiCad 10 project for KiCad 9. Review what was kept, changed or lost, with a readback comparison against the source.

fenolite convert board.PcbDoc --to kicad --out converted --dry-run --json
fenolite equivalent before.kicad_pcb after.kicad_pcb --level 5 --json

Conversions and Altium writes are experimental in 0.7. Lossy conversion requires explicit consent. Support depends on the constructs in the input; review the report and the resulting design. Read the conversion guide.

For AI agents

The same commands return structured JSON, typed errors, evidence labels and file receipts. A write can be previewed with --dry-run, then confirmed using its --plan identifier.

fenolite guide start --text
fenolite skill install --help

The package includes an agent guide and board-design practice pages. Agents can inspect parts, query nets and geometry, build, route, check and export using the same CLI as an engineer. See the agent guide and CLI contract.

fenolite capabilities --brief --json
fenolite init blink --confirm --json
fenolite build blink/design.py --out blink/build --dry-run --json
fenolite build blink/design.py --out blink/build --confirm --json
fenolite place blink/build --strategy grid --confirm --json
fenolite route blink/build --router direct --confirm --json
fenolite fill blink/build --confirm --json
fenolite check blink/build --json
fenolite export blink/build -o blink/fab --all --manifest --confirm --json
fenolite render blink/build -o blink/views --svg --png --confirm --json

Support at a glance

Status: version 0.7. Python scripts build KiCad 9/10 PCB and schematic projects. The agent loop uses KiCad's ERC/DRC checks, the board engineering analyses and an MCP server; conversion supports KiCad/Altium and the older KiCad major. Altium writes, computed Altium pours and conversions are experimental. See the release scope and limits.

Linux, macOS and Windows are supported. Optional extras include geo for polygon operations and kicad-ipc for a live KiCad session. Since 0.6 the package includes the stdlib-only MCP server (fenolite mcp), script editing and image replies described in the MCP documentation. See installation and prerequisites.

The viewer, conversion, board panels, slots and review tools ship since 0.5; 0.6 adds the MCP server, the board engineering tools (analyses, tidy, reuse, silkscreen, test points, DRC gates) and the Python API. 0.7 carries Altium boards through KiCad and back (rules, classes, planes, unions, fonts, computed pours), still experimental. Native Draftsman writing and Embedded Board Arrays remain gated. Detailed scope and deferred checks are in the release record.

Help and contribute

Trying Fenolite on a public or self-authored example? Tell us what worked and where you got stuck. Ask a question or report a bug, including the version, command and error output. Keep private designs and personal paths out of public reports.

For development, clone the repository, run uv sync --extra dev and read CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Apache-2.0. Format knowledge comes from public sources under the project's clean-room rules. Results carry evidence labels; detailed claims live in the evidence matrix.

Fenolite is Portuguese for phenolic board material, the laminate many of us etched our first boards on.