kilm 0.1.0

A command-line tool for managing KiCad libraries across projects and workstations

KiCad Library Manager (KiLM)

A command-line tool for managing KiCad libraries across projects and workstations.

Features

• Automatically detect KiCad configurations across different platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Add symbol and footprint libraries to KiCad from a centralized repository
• Set environment variables directly in KiCad configuration
• Pin favorite libraries for quick access in KiCad
• Create timestamped backups of configuration files (only when changes are needed)
• Support for environment variables
• Dry-run mode to preview changes
• Compatible with KiCad 6.x and newer

Installation

From PyPI

pip install kilm

Usage

Initialize a Library

The first step is to initialize your KiCad library. This creates metadata for your library and registers it in the configuration:

# Initialize the current directory as a KiCad library
kilm init

# Initialize with a custom name
kilm init --name my-kicad-library

# Initialize with a description
kilm init --description "My custom KiCad library"

# Initialize with a custom environment variable
kilm init --env-var MY_CUSTOM_LIB

Add a 3D Models Library

You can add multiple 3D model libraries, each with its own environment variable:

# Add the current directory as a 3D models library
kilm add-3d

# Add a specific directory
kilm add-3d --directory ~/path/to/3d-models

# Add with a custom name and environment variable
kilm add-3d --name my-3d-models --env-var MY_CUSTOM_3D_VAR

View Configured Libraries

You can view all configured libraries with:

# List all configured libraries
kilm config

# List only GitHub libraries (symbols/footprints)
kilm config --type github

# List only cloud libraries (3D models)
kilm config --type cloud

# Show detailed information
kilm config --verbose

Configure KiCad

With libraries initialized, you can set up KiCad to use them:

# Set up using the current libraries
kilm setup

# Set up all configured libraries
kilm setup --all-libraries

# Set up specific libraries by name
kilm setup --symbol-lib-dirs "main-lib,project-lib" --threed-lib-dirs "my-3d-models"

# Preview changes without making them (dry run)
kilm setup --dry-run

# Show verbose output for debugging
kilm setup --verbose

Using Environment Variables (Legacy Method)

You can still use environment variables if preferred:

# For Bash/Zsh
export KICAD_USER_LIB=~/path/to/your/kicad-libraries
export KICAD_3D_LIB="~/path/to/your/kicad-3d-models"

# For Fish
set -U KICAD_USER_LIB ~/path/to/your/kicad-libraries
set -U KICAD_3D_LIB "~/path/to/your/kicad-3d-models"

# For Windows PowerShell
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KICAD_USER_LIB", "C:\path\to\your\kicad-libraries", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KICAD_3D_LIB", "C:\path\to\your\kicad-3d-models", "User")

Managing Pinned Libraries

KiCad has a feature to pin libraries as favorites for quick access. You can manage these pinned libraries with:

# Pin all libraries from your library directory
kilm pin

# Pin specific libraries
kilm pin --symbols MySymbolLib AnotherLib --footprints MyFootprintLib

# Unpin specific libraries
kilm unpin --symbols LibToUnpin --footprints FootprintToUnpin

# Unpin all libraries
kilm unpin --all

List Available Libraries

kilm list

Check Current Configuration

kilm status

This will show:

• kilm configuration details
• KiCad configuration directory location
• Environment variables set in KiCad
• Pinned libraries
• Currently configured symbol and footprint libraries

Custom Library Descriptions

The tool will look for a file called library_descriptions.yaml in your library directory with the following format:

# Symbol library descriptions
symbols:
  LibraryName: "Custom description for the library"
  
# Footprint library descriptions
footprints:
  LibraryName: "Custom description for the library"

Automatic Updates

For automatic library updates, you can create a Git hook in your project:

1. Create a script in your project called update_library.sh:

   #!/bin/bash
   echo "Updating KiCad libraries..."
   (cd $KICAD_USER_LIB && git pull)
   kicad-lib-manager setup --dry-run
   echo "If the changes look good, run 'kicad-lib-manager setup' to apply them."
   

2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x update_library.sh
   

3. Add a Git hook to run it automatically:

   mkdir -p .git/hooks
   cat > .git/hooks/post-merge << 'EOL'
   #!/bin/bash
   ./update_library.sh
   EOL
   chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge
   

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.