KiCad 10.0.3 Feature Parity¶

This page is the human-readable view of compatibility.yaml kicad10FeatureParity. It tracks KiCad 10.0.3 parity separately from the current KiCad 11 readiness plan so release gates stay focused on the stable KiCad line.

Status vocabulary:

State	Meaning
`supported`	Product support exists and is backed by a test, fixture, command probe, or smoke path.
`not-applicable`	KiCad-native GUI behavior is intentionally outside the extension or MCP product surface.
`partial`	Some product support exists, but a tracked gap remains.
`blocked`	Product support is intentionally prevented by an upstream or policy boundary.
`future`	The upstream feature exists or is expected, but product adoption is scheduled separately.

Importers¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`altium`	`supported`	Extension import command and MCP manufacturing probe after `kicad-cli pcb import --help` advertises the format.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`, `tests/integration/test_manufacturing_tools.py`
`allegro`	`blocked`	Extension command is registered for future compatibility but hidden unless CLI support appears.	#179, `kicad-10-0-3-regressions`
`cadstar`	`supported`	Extension command is probe-gated by CLI help.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`eagle`	`supported`	Extension command is probe-gated by CLI help.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`fabmaster`	`supported`	Extension command is probe-gated by CLI help.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`geda_lepton`	`supported`	Extension and MCP support require the installed CLI to advertise `geda`.	`tests/integration/test_manufacturing_tools.py`
`pads`	`supported`	Extension, MCP, fixture, and canary coverage exercise the PADS import boundary.	`tests/unit/test_kicad_canary.py`
`pcad`	`supported`	Extension command is probe-gated by CLI help.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`solidworks`	`supported`	Extension command is probe-gated by CLI help.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`

Exports¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`gerber`	`supported`	MCP manufacturing and extension export workflows depend on the KiCad CLI Gerber export.	`scripts/kicad_canary.py`
`drill`	`supported`	MCP manufacturing and extension export workflows depend on the KiCad CLI drill export.	`scripts/kicad_canary.py`
`pdf`	`supported`	Schematic and PCB PDF exports are part of the primary KiCad canary plan.	`tests/unit/test_kicad_canary.py`
`pcb_pdf_property_popup_suppression`	`supported`	KiCad 10.0.3-specific PDF flag is covered by a fixture and canary probe.	`kicad-10-0-3-regressions`
`ipc2581`	`supported`	Extension command and MCP `export_ipc2581` tool both expose the export.	`tests/integration/test_pcb_export_validation_surface.py`
`odbpp`	`supported`	Extension command and MCP `export_odb` tool expose ODB++ behind capability checks.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`step`	`supported`	MCP `export_step` and `export_3d_step` tools cover the KiCad CLI STEP export.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`stepz`	`supported`	MCP `export_stepz` exposes KiCad's `stpz` CLI export for headless STEPZ/GZIP-compressed STEP output.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`xao`	`supported`	MCP `export_xao` exposes the KiCad CLI XAO export for headless interchange workflows.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`

GUI Editor¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`design_blocks`	`supported`	Product support is headless through parser coverage and MCP `pcb_block_*` tools.	`tests/integration/test_pcb_tools.py`
`graphical_drc_rule_editor`	`not-applicable`	The native GUI editor remains a KiCad-owned surface; product support is textual `.kicad_dru` guidance and diagnostics.	`docs/kicad10/graphical-drc.md`
`variants`	`supported`	Extension variants view and MCP `variant_*` tools cover list, activation, diff, and export integration.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`barcode_support`	`supported`	MCP `pcb_add_barcode` supports headless barcode insertion; visual editing stays in KiCad.	`tests/unit/test_kicad10_parity_tools.py`
`time_domain_tuning`	`supported`	MCP tuning helpers model and validate routing intent; the native interactive routing UX remains KiCad-owned.	`tests/integration/test_routing_tools.py`

IPC¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`kicad_python_ipc`	`supported`	KiCad IPC is the supported live-editor direction for current and future KiCad lines.	`tests/gui/test_kicad_gui_live_context.py`
`swig_pcbnew_direct_dependency`	`blocked`	Production direct `pcbnew` imports are forbidden because SWIG bindings are deprecated.	#197

Product Surfaces¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`status_surface`	`supported`	The MCP server-info endpoint exposes detected KiCad line and feature gates.	`tests/unit/test_server_info_contract.py`
`importer_command_gating`	`supported`	Import commands are unavailable until the matching CLI capability probe passes.	`tests/integration/test_export_tools.py`
`server_info_capability_contract`	`supported`	MCP server-info compatibility and capability payloads are schema and docs gated.	`tests/unit/test_server_info_contract.py`
`empty_project_read_tools`	`partial`	File-backed empty-project behavior is tracked outside this matrix.	#228
`ipc_state_consistency`	`partial`	IPC lifecycle consistency is tracked in the MCP compatibility milestone.	#223

Release¶

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`vsix_provenance`	`supported`	VSIX release evidence includes checksums, SBOM, and artifact attestations.	`.github/workflows/publish-python.yml`
`wheel_provenance`	`supported`	Python release evidence includes checksums, SBOM, trusted publishing, and attestations.	`.github/workflows/publish-python.yml`
`npm_tarball_provenance`	`supported`	npm launcher release evidence includes checksums, SBOM, and provenance.	`.github/workflows/publish-npm.yml`

KiCad 11 Readiness¶

KiCad 11 readiness is represented separately from KiCad 10.0.3 parity:

Feature id	State	Product boundary	Evidence or issue
`protocol_upgrade`	`future`	MCP protocol and KiCad 11 support planning remain separate from the stable KiCad 10 gate.	#197
`nightly_canary`	`supported`	Manual nightly canary commands track prerelease behavior without changing the stable support line.	`corepack pnpm run test:kicad-cli-contract:nightly`
`swig_removal_guard`	`supported`	The direct-`pcbnew` guard keeps production code away from APIs planned for removal.	`scripts/check_no_pcbnew.py`

Validation¶

Linux and macOS:

corepack pnpm run check:compatibility
corepack pnpm run test:contract
corepack pnpm run test:fixtures

Windows 11 PowerShell:

corepack pnpm run check:compatibility
corepack pnpm run test:contract
corepack pnpm run test:fixtures

The compatibility gate verifies that every supported item has product evidence, every partial or blocked item links a GitHub issue, and every feature id in the matrix appears on this page.

Source Verification¶

Checked on 2026-05-27: