MCP API Reference¶
Derived from packages/protocol-schemas/schemas/kicad-mcp-server-info.schema.json and
compatibility.yaml; update this page whenever either public contract changes.
Current Contract¶
| Surface | Value |
|---|---|
| MCP protocol version | 2026-07-28 |
| Tool schema version | 1.0 |
| Server-info schema version | 1.3.0 |
| Registry schema version | 2025-12-11 |
| Server package version | 3.28.0 |
Server Info Fields¶
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
schemaVersion |
string | yes | |
server |
object | yes | |
description |
string | no | |
localizedDescriptions |
object | no | |
version |
string | yes | |
mcpProtocolVersion |
string | yes | |
toolSchemaVersion |
string | yes | |
compatibilityRange |
object | yes | |
transport |
object | yes | |
kicad |
object | yes | |
operatingMode |
object | yes | |
capabilities |
object | yes | |
diagnostics |
array | yes |
Capability Fields¶
| Capability | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
fileBackedDrc |
boolean | |
fileBackedErc |
boolean | |
fileBackedExports |
boolean | |
livePcbRead |
boolean | |
livePcbWrite |
boolean | |
liveSchematicRead |
boolean | |
liveSchematicWrite |
boolean | |
liveEditingTools |
object | |
chatgptConnectorCompatible |
boolean | |
adapterRouting |
object | Deterministic active adapter selection by routed tool category. |
cliExports |
object |
Release-Gated MCP Tools¶
| Gate | Tool |
|---|---|
| required | kicad_get_version |
| required | kicad_get_project_info |
| required | kicad_set_project |
| required | sch_get_symbols |
| required | pcb_get_board_summary |
| required | export_gerber |
| required | export_drill |
| required | export_manufacturing_package |
| optional | variant_list |
| optional | variant_set_active |
| optional | export_odb |
| optional | pcb_export_3d_pdf |
| optional | dfm_run_manufacturer_check |
Protocol rollout status¶
Current public contract¶
The primary supported and advertised public MCP contract is 2026-07-28. server.json and generated server information advertise that version first while retaining 2025-11-25 for backward-compatible initialize-based clients.
Native MCP 2026 strict conformance lane¶
The historical 2026-07-28-rc selector remains available as a strict stateless conformance mode on top of the same native SDK v2 final 2026-07-28 path. It covers per-request protocol/client metadata, Mcp-Method, Mcp-Name, direct server/discover, stateless tool/prompt/resource requests, SDK-native negotiation errors, resultType, and reviewed cache metadata without a request/response translation bridge.
The opt-in strict lane supports SSE-delivered progress notifications; the stable
lane retains JSON response defaults for legacy clients. The frozen official
2026-07-28 mandatory server tests run against an isolated fixture-enabled KiCad
server (see tests/conformance/README.md); test fixtures are never registered
in normal runtime profiles.
Tasks and Apps remain explicitly excluded from advertised capabilities. Unsupported extension registration fails closed at server construction, and the discovery contract contains no extensions capability. Public metadata now advertises 2026-07-28 as primary and 2025-11-25 as the backward-compatible legacy protocol under ADR-0006.