altium-cruncher 2026.6.22

Cross-platform Altium CLI utilities built on public altium-monkey

Altium Cruncher

altium-cruncher is a cross-platform command-line application for Altium file workflows. It is intended for users who want useful Altium utilities without writing Python.

The package consumes the public altium-monkey library and keeps higher-level command behavior here: SVG export, PCB layer STEP export, extraction, BOM/PnP output, design JSON export, cleanup, project decomposition, and EasyEDA import workflows.

Install

Windows Quick Install

For Windows users who are not already using Python tooling, the repository includes a PowerShell installer wrapper. It installs uv if needed, installs altium-cruncher as a uv tool, updates the shell PATH, and verifies the install with altium-cruncher version.

From a source checkout or release source archive:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\install-altium-cruncher.ps1

To reinstall or update the tool:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\install-altium-cruncher.ps1 -Force

The EasyEDA import workflow is installed by default with the package.

Manual Install

Install uv first if it is not already available:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

On macOS or Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

The intended user install path is uv tool install:

uv tool install altium-cruncher
uv tool update-shell
altium-cruncher --help

During local development:

uv sync --extra test
uv run altium-cruncher --help
uv run python -m altium_cruncher version

The EasyEDA import command generates SchLib, PcbLib footprint, and downloaded 3D model assets by default, but 3D model placement into the generated PcbLib is not implemented. During local EasyEDA development:

uv sync --extra test
uv run altium-cruncher easyeda-import --help

Commands

Run altium-cruncher <command> --help for command-specific options.

Command	Purpose	Status
version	Print altium-cruncher and controlled dependency versions.	Public
sch-svg	Generate schematic SVG from SchDoc, PrjPcb, or SchLib inputs.	Public
pcb-svg	Generate PCB SVG views from PcbDoc or PrjPcb inputs.	Public, with beta HLR/pin-view areas
pcb-layer-step	Generate a colored STEP model for one PCB layer, intended for fixture-alignment workflows.	Public
svg	Run schematic SVG, PCB SVG, or both based on input.	Public
bom	Generate BOM output as CSV, JSON, or XLSX.	Public
pnp	Generate pick-and-place output as CSV, JSON, XLSX, or JLC CPL.	Public
jlc	Generate JLCPCB BOM and CPL outputs from an Altium project.	Public
design / design-review / dr	Generate an agent-facing design review bundle with design JSON, document JSON, notes JSONC, schematic SVGs, and PCB copper-layer review SVGs.	Public
json-dump	Dump parsed SchDoc, SchLib, PcbDoc, and PcbLib contents to JSON for inspection.	Experimental
extract	Extract symbols, footprints, or IntLib sources from Altium design documents.	Public
installs	List discovered Altium Designer install paths.	Public
launch	Launch Altium Designer, optionally opening a file.	Public
libraries	List symbol and footprint names in Altium SchLib/PcbLib files.	Public
schdoc	Create blank schematic documents through MCO operations.	Public
schlib	Create one-symbol schematic libraries through MCO operations.	Public
pcbdoc	Create generated rigid PCB documents through MCO operations.	Public
pcblib	Create PcbLib footprint libraries through MCO operations.	Public
prjpcb	Create JSONC-driven PrjPcb project skeletons through MCO operations.	Public
split	Split a multi-symbol SchLib or multi-footprint PcbLib into individual files.	Public
merge	Merge multiple SchLib or PcbLib files into one library.	Public
megamaid	Decompose a PrjPcb into libraries, BOM/PnP, netlist, split/combined document-library JSON dumps, notes JSONC, and embedded assets.	Public
notes	Extract schematic note objects, text frames, and free text to structured JSON.	Public
outjob	Run project OutJob files through Altium Designer.	Public
variants	Inspect and edit PrjPcb project variants.	Public
mco	Execute Monkey Change Order JSONC operation files.	Experimental
mate	Generate fixture mating-board plans and runnable MCO files from a DUT PCB selection.	Beta
clean	Normalize SchDoc, SchLib, or PcbLib assets using JSON/JSONC config.	Public
profiles	Inspect and clean Altium ProgramData profile extension state.	Public
easyeda-import	Generate Altium SchLib, PcbLib footprint, and downloaded 3D assets from EasyEDA/LCSC data.	Public

pcb-svg includes normal layer SVG output, top/bottom assembly SVG views with geometer-backed HLR projection of embedded STEP models, and an optional synthetic BOARD_CUTOUTS layer for board-profile cutouts. The A0 PCB SVG config uses pcb.svg.config by default and fits SVGs tightly around the board outline while metadata preserves Altium-coordinate placement and transform data. User-editable config files may use JSONC comments and trailing commas.

The pcb-svg HLR and pin-oriented views are beta quality. Hidden-line rendering, embedded STEP projection, pin visibility, and related details are expected to improve, and current output may contain errors or omissions.

The mate command is an initial beta intended for Cricket Node-style fixture and debug mating-board testing. Broader mating modes, richer library metadata, header and multi-pin connector workflows, and GUI-assisted config authoring are planned future work.

Compact JSON output is a core direction for machine-consumable Altium design data, but the first standalone milestone prioritizes command parity and cross-platform packaging.

New commands should keep the top-level CLI as an orchestrator. Command-specific parser setup and behavior belong in command modules, including simple commands. New commands, features, and external dependencies need explicit justification in the commit, PR, or linked plan. Minimize dependencies unless there is a clear install, licensing, and maintenance case.

Tests

Run the Rack suite:

uv run --extra test rack run --all

Run the built-wheel install test after python -m build:

uv run --extra test python tests\support_scripts\install_test.py

Rack is the primary local gate. Current public strata are L0_public_cli for command registration and L3_public_workflows for fixture-backed CLI workflows. L99_signoff runs version-contract and Python hygiene checks. Additional command parity gates will be added as public fixtures and release policy are finalized. Signoff policy will cover command manifests, public command tests, PEP 257-style docstrings, architecture/design documentation, JSON/config contracts, and package build/install tests.

GitHub Actions runs CI for pull requests and pushes to main on Ubuntu and Windows. CI runs the Rack suite, builds the package, checks the distributions, and runs the installed-console smoke test.

Architecture Docs

• docs/adrs/ records accepted architecture decisions.
• docs/design/ records durable interface, command, data-flow, and format design notes.
• docs/design/index.html is the master design-doc entry point used by humans and signoff tooling.
• docs/contracts/ stores stable schemas and conformance examples for public JSON or config formats.

Release Policy

Versioning, tagging, release, and traceability are defined in docs/adrs/ADR-0001-versioning-tagging-release-policy.md. The intended release workflow is GitHub Actions plus PyPI Trusted Publishing/OIDC. Local Twine upload is fallback only.

Current release notes are available in docs/releases/2026-06-22.md.

altium-cruncher remains AGPL-3.0-or-later because it imports and depends on the AGPL altium-monkey package for normal operation.