altium-monkey

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altium-monkey is a Python toolkit for reading, writing, analyzing, and rendering Altium files directly from automation.

It is designed for engineers who want to build their own command-line tools, CI/CD checks, visualization pipelines, library generators, BOM workflows, and design-review helpers without driving the Altium GUI for every operation.

What It Supports

Core file types:

1. .SchDoc
2. .SchLib
3. .PcbDoc
4. .PcbLib
5. .PrjPcb
6. .OutJob
7. .IntLib extraction
8. .PCBDwf Draftsman files, currently experimental

Common workflows:

1. create and mutate schematic documents
2. create schematic symbols and PCB footprints
3. insert SchLib symbols and PcbLib footprints
4. extract SchLib and PcbLib data from projects
5. render logical schematic SVGs, compiled physical schematic SVGs, and PCB SVGs
6. inspect PCB layers, drills, board outlines, nets, and net classes
7. author and mutate PCB vias, including IPC-4761 protection metadata
8. extract embedded fonts and 3D models
9. generate project containers and, on Windows with Altium Designer installed, run associated OutJobs
10. create experimental Draftsman pages with notes, text, pictures, and generated board-assembly-view highlight artwork

Install

Normal GIL-enabled CPython 3.12 through Python 3.14 are supported. Free-threaded Python builds are not currently part of the support contract.

pip install altium-monkey

or with uv:

uv add altium-monkey

Install the optional example dependencies before running the full example set:

pip install "altium-monkey[examples]"

With uv, use uv run --extra examples ... so examples that synthesize STEP geometry receive CadQuery without changing the core runtime environment.

The package includes dependencies for SVG text shaping and STEP-model bounds. STEP bounds use the required wn-geometer==2026.9.13 dependency. That release publishes wheels for Windows amd64, macOS arm64, and Linux x86_64/aarch64 using manylinux_2_35; other platforms are not currently part of the install support boundary. See RELEASE_NOTES.md for platform and Python-version boundaries. CadQuery is needed only by examples that synthesize new STEP models.

Public API Compatibility

We strive to maintain compatibility for documented public APIs between releases. The API surface may still change as more Altium capabilities are modeled, especially in areas that are currently marked as release boundaries or advanced usage. Compatibility-affecting changes and migration notes will be documented in release notes.

Quick Start

Parse a project and emit the public design JSON contract:

from altium_monkey import AltiumDesign

design = AltiumDesign.from_prjpcb("example.PrjPcb")
payload = design.to_json(include_pnp=False)  # Schematic-only; no board parse.

Project loading is proportional to the requested work. The default FULL mode loads the schematic/compiler context but does not parse any referenced PcbDoc. Use METADATA_ONLY when a tool needs project parameters, variants, or document discovery without loading either schematics or boards:

from altium_monkey import AltiumDesign, AltiumProjectLoadMode

design = AltiumDesign.from_prjpcb(
    "example.PrjPcb",
    load_mode=AltiumProjectLoadMode.METADATA_ONLY,
)
board = design.load_pcbdoc()  # The board is parsed only when requested.

Create or modify a schematic, then save it:

from altium_monkey import AltiumSchDoc, SchFontSpec, SchRectMils, make_sch_note

schdoc = AltiumSchDoc("input.SchDoc")
note = make_sch_note(
    bounds_mils=SchRectMils.from_corners_mils(1000, 3000, 2600, 2400),
    text="Added by altium-monkey",
    font=SchFontSpec(name="Arial", size=10),
)
schdoc.add_object(note)
schdoc.save("output.SchDoc")

Create a simple PCB primitive:

from altium_monkey import AltiumPcbDoc, PcbLayer

pcbdoc = AltiumPcbDoc()
pcbdoc.add_track(
    (1000, 1000),
    (2500, 1000),
    width_mils=8,
    layer=PcbLayer.TOP,
    net="GND",
)
pcbdoc.save("output.PcbDoc")

Documentation

The public docs are Markdown-first for this release:

1. SchDoc
2. SchLib
3. PcbDoc
4. PcbLib
5. PrjPcb
6. AltiumDesign
7. Draftsman
8. IntLib
9. API patterns
10. Schema contracts
11. Format contracts
12. Docs style foundation
13. Examples

The examples are the best starting point for public API usage. They are kept in examples/ and are indexed from examples/manifest.toml.

Schematic SVG Fonts

Schematic SVG rendering uses installed fonts when it can resolve the requested Altium font family. On macOS, the resolver searches the standard system font locations, including Supplemental fonts. Callers can also set ALTIUM_FONT_DIRS to one or more additional font directories.

When a common Altium/Windows family is unavailable, schematic rendering can use bundled open-source fallback fonts. Arial and Microsoft Sans Serif-style families substitute Arimo, Times New Roman-style families substitute Tinos, and Courier New or monospace families substitute Cousine. SVG output embeds bundled fallback faces only when callers explicitly request a self-contained artifact:

from altium_monkey import SchSvgRenderOptions

svg = schdoc.to_svg(
    options=SchSvgRenderOptions(embed_bundled_fallback_fonts=True)
)

The default is False, which keeps SVG output compact. Font substitution and text measurement are unchanged in either mode. The option never embeds an installed, configured, or otherwise caller-provided font, and it does not write font sidecar files. A compact SVG viewed on a machine without the selected fallback family may not reproduce the renderer's text metrics exactly.

gotIR carries font-resolution diagnostics for substitutions and fallbacks so downstream tools can surface a warning instead of silently using a hard default.

Contributing

This repository is a published mirror. Issues, minimal reproduction cases, documentation fixes, API feedback, and focused pull requests are welcome, but PRs may be adapted or reimplemented in the upstream development workspace before they are mirrored back here. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

API Shape

The schematic side uses a higher-level object system:

1. AltiumSchDoc and AltiumSymbol own ObjectCollection instances.
2. Typed views such as schdoc.notes and symbol.pins are live query views.
3. Structural mutations should go through add_object(...), insert_object(...), or remove_object(...).

The PCB document side is helper-oriented rather than ObjectCollection-based:

1. AltiumPcbDoc and AltiumPcbFootprint expose high-level add_* methods.
2. AltiumPcbDoc covers common authoring workflows including board setup, nets, primitives, components, footprint insertion, component bodies, and embedded 3D model placement. Via support includes IPC-4761 type metadata, feature rows, propagation delay, tenting, and testpoint flags.
3. Parsed primitives are available through typed record lists such as pcbdoc.tracks, pcbdoc.pads, pcbdoc.vias, and pcbdoc.components.
4. Direct record-list mutation is possible but should be treated as advanced usage until PcbDoc grows a generic object API.

See API patterns for units, object ownership, public vs careful APIs, and internal Altium unit guidance.

Testing And Interoperability

altium-monkey is developed against a large private corpus and real-world Altium files spanning multiple Altium eras from "Summer '08" until present day. Interoperability checks include round-trip parsing, binary serialization, SVG rendering, and native Altium oracle comparisons where practical. The test corpus is not included in the public package.

No tool can prove perfect compatibility with every historical Altium file. If you find a parsing, serialization, SVG, or interoperability issue, please file an issue with the smallest representative .SchDoc, .SchLib, .PcbDoc, or .PcbLib that reproduces the problem.

Release Boundaries

Known release boundaries include:

1. PcbDoc does not yet use ObjectCollection; it remains a typed-list plus helper-oriented API.
2. PcbDoc does not yet have a public generic object deletion API.
3. IntLib support is extract-only, with fallback source-stream extraction when component cross-reference metadata cannot be parsed.
4. Variant processing supports DNP handling and parameter overrides; alternate fitted component replacement is not applied semantically yet.
5. Complex hierarchical channels route through the compiled design model for design JSON, netlist JSON, and physical schematic SVG/IR output. Rich consumers should use the required Design b0 compiled_schematic_graph and select pages by canonical page occurrence id instead of assuming one source SVG ID maps to one physical component.
6. Project design JSON emits altium_monkey.design.b0. Strict validators pinned to Design a2 should refresh to design_b0.schema.json; Design b0 requires altium_monkey.compiled_schematic_graph.a0 and intentionally does not emit the duplicated Design a2 physical_pages projection. Compile metadata and diagnostics remain opt-in through to_json(include_compile_metadata=True).
7. Windows remains the primary validation platform. macOS font discovery and bundled schematic font substitution have focused coverage; Linux coverage remains limited and may rely more heavily on bundled substitutions.

See RELEASE_NOTES.md for the full current support boundary.

License

altium-monkey is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. See LICENSE.