BoardReadyOps v2 Roadmap
Current execution: BoardReadyOps — Public Roadmap · Sequencing: #191
Vision
Evolve BoardReadyOps from a KiCad release-readiness gate into an end-to-end hardware release operating system.
The target workflow is:
Generate → Validate → Decide → Package → Attest → Review → Handoff
BoardReadyOps should turn a KiCad project into a verified, signed, manufacturer-ready release package — running locally or in CI, producing auditable evidence, and blocking unsafe releases before boards are ordered.
Milestones
v1.6.0 — Artifact Generation MVP ✅
First-party artifact generation engine so BoardReadyOps can produce common KiCad manufacturing and documentation outputs.
| Issue | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| #279 | boardreadyops generate CLI command |
✅ Done |
| #280 | KiCad CLI backend detection and diagnostics | ✅ Done |
| #281 | Generate Gerber, drill, BOM and CPL outputs | ✅ Done |
| #282 | Add PDF, SVG and STEP documentation outputs | ✅ Done |
| #283 | Add generation output recipe schema | ✅ Done |
| #284 | Add KiCad artifact generation fixtures | ✅ Done |
| #308 | Add BoardReadyOps v2 roadmap document | ✅ Done |
| #309 | Add professional issue and PR templates | ✅ Done |
| #310 | Add version consistency guard | ✅ Done |
| #311 | Update README for hardware release pipeline positioning | ✅ Done |
v1.7.0 — Release Prepare Pipeline ✅
One-command release preparation that generates artifacts, validates readiness, packages evidence, and produces a clear release decision.
| Issue | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| #285 | boardreadyops release prepare command |
✅ Done |
| #286 | Emit structured release decision JSON | ✅ Done |
| #287 | Attach generated artifacts to evidence bundle | ✅ Done |
| #288 | Create vendor-specific manufacturer handoff zip | ✅ Done |
v1.8.0 — Visual Review & Vendor Readiness
Upgrade the HTML report into a product-quality release dashboard with vendor readiness scoring and release diff.
| Issue | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| #291 | Build release dashboard v1 | ✅ Done |
| #292 | Implement vendor readiness score core | ✅ Done |
| #293 | Add BOM and CPL release diff | ✅ Done |
v1.9.0 — Policy, Waivers & Provenance
Configurable release governance, formal waiver workflow, and supply-chain-grade provenance.
| Issue | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| #289 | Define Evidence Bundle v2 layout and manifest schema | ✅ Done |
| #290 | Add offline release bundle verification command | ✅ Done |
| #294 | Add release policy schema and evaluator | ✅ Done |
| #295 | Add boardreadyops policy simulate command |
✅ Done |
| #296 | Add waiver schema and expired waiver blocking | ✅ Done |
| #297 | Add signed release manifest support | ✅ Done |
| #298 | Design GitHub Artifact Attestation integration | ✅ Done |
v2.0.0 — Hardware Release OS
Full hardware release operating system: variants, HBOM, expanded DFM/DFA, firmware contracts, cloud dashboard, GitHub App.
| Issue | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| #299 | Add variant config and output path support | ✅ Done |
| #300 | Emit HBOM JSON from normalized BOM data | ✅ Done |
| #301 | Define firmware contract adapter interface | ✅ Done |
| #302 | Add first expanded DFM/DFA rule pack | ✅ Done |
| #303 | Write GitHub App architecture RFC | ✅ Done |
| #304 | Write Vercel control-plane architecture ADR | ✅ Done |
| #305 | Define dashboard data and artifact storage model | ✅ Done |
| #306 | Create golden demo walkthrough | ✅ Done |
| #307 | Add bad-board zoo release corpus | ✅ Done |
Workstreams
1. KiCad Artifact Generation Engine (Epic #261)
First-party kicad-cli integration that produces Gerber, drill, BOM, CPL, PDF, and STEP outputs from a KiCad project. Replaces the need for KiBot for standard manufacturing workflows.
2. One-Command Release Prepare Pipeline (Epic #262)
boardreadyops release prepare orchestrates the full pipeline: discover → generate → validate → decide → package. Produces a structured release decision JSON and evidence bundle in one command.
3. Evidence Bundle v2 & Signed Manifests (Epic #263)
Formal evidence bundle layout with schema version 2, role-based artifact groups, checksums file, and Ed25519 signature support for trusted manufacturing releases.
4. Manufacturer Handoff Packages (Epic #264)
Vendor-specific handoff packages (JLCPCB, PCBWay, OSH Park) that contain only the files required by that manufacturer, with a readable manufacturer note and manifest.
5. Vendor Readiness Scoring (Epic #265)
0–100 readiness score per vendor profile, with required/recommended evidence weighting, score explanations in reports, and policy integration.
6. Visual Release Dashboard (Epic #266)
Product-quality HTML release dashboard with decision overview, score cards, generated artifact list, vendor readiness, findings, waivers, and evidence manifest sections.
7. Release-to-Release Diff Engine (Epic #267)
BOM and CPL diff between two release candidates or evidence bundles. JSON, Markdown, and HTML outputs for PR comments and dashboard sections.
8. Variant-Aware Hardware Release (Epic #268)
Prototype and production variant support across generation, validation, packaging, and release decisions. --variant flag and variant-specific output paths.
9. Policy Engine & Release Governance (Epic #269)
Configurable policy layer with severity thresholds, vendor readiness thresholds, waiver-aware decisions, and boardreadyops policy simulate.
10. Waivers & Approval Workflow (Epic #270)
Formal waiver schema with owner, reason, expiry, and approval metadata. Expired waivers block production release policy.
11. Provenance, Attestations & Hardware SLSA (Epic #271)
Supply-chain provenance metadata, GitHub Artifact Attestation integration, signed release manifests, and Hardware Release Level model.
12. HBOM & BOM Intelligence (Epic #272)
Structured hardware bill of materials (HBOM) output, MPN normalization, component identity checks, and plugin-ready supplier intelligence hooks.
13. Firmware-Hardware Contract Ecosystem (Epic #273)
Stable adapter interface for multiple firmware ecosystems: PlatformIO, Zephyr, ESP-IDF, STM32CubeMX. Pin, peripheral, and boot/debug connector checks.
14. DFM/DFA Rule Corpus Expansion (Epic #274)
Extended manufacturing and assembly risk rules covering polarity markers, pin-1 markers, silkscreen over pad, and initial test point coverage warnings.
15. GitHub App & PR Release Gate (Epic #275)
Native GitHub App with check run lifecycle, PR comment strategy, and dashboard/evidence links. Complements the existing GitHub Action for zero-config integration.
16. Cloud Dashboard & Vercel Control Plane (Epic #276)
Hosted web dashboard and API on Vercel with GitHub App integration, artifact storage, and execution plane for KiCad-heavy jobs.
17. Golden Demo & Bad-Board Zoo (Epic #277)
Production-quality demo repo and intentionally broken fixture corpus that demonstrate and regression-test all major BoardReadyOps findings.
Definition of Success
A hardware team can run:
boardreadyops release prepare . --profile jlcpcb
boardreadyops handoff create build/release --profile jlcpcb
And receive: - A verified, signed evidence bundle capturing artifacts, decisions, and provenance - A clean manufacturer handoff package ready to upload - A human-readable dashboard for engineering review - A machine-readable decision JSON for CI gates
Contributing to the Roadmap
- Comment on the relevant epic issue to discuss scope or propose changes
- Open an RFC issue (use the RFC template) for significant design changes
- Reference the target milestone when opening issues or PRs
- Check the Contributing guide for development workflow
See the BoardReadyOps — Public Roadmap for current execution and #191 for roadmap sequencing.