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KiCad MCP Pro Runtime Compatibility Matrix

This document records which capabilities are tested against which KiCad versions, operating systems, and execution modes.

Support Tiers

Tier Meaning
Tested Tested and passing in CI
Caveat Works with known caveats
Best effort Not covered in the CI matrix
Unsupported Not supported

KiCad Version and Feature Matrix

Capability KiCad 9.x KiCad 10.0.x KiCad 11 readiness Notes
Project management Tested Tested Manual smoke Must stay IPC, CLI, or file backed.
Schematic read (IPC) Caveat Tested Manual smoke IPC API is still evolving in KiCad.
Schematic write (IPC) Best effort Caveat Manual smoke Round-trip parsing validation required.
PCB inspection (IPC) Caveat Tested Manual smoke Direct pcbnew fallback is forbidden.
PCB editing (IPC) Best effort Caveat Manual smoke Retryable errors are environment-dependent.
DRC/ERC (CLI) Tested Tested Manual smoke CLI-backed; most stable path.
BOM export (CLI) Tested Tested Manual smoke Multi-sheet behavior needs explicit fixture verification.
Gerber export (CLI) Tested Tested Manual smoke
STEP export (CLI) Tested Tested Manual smoke
FreeRouting Best effort Best effort Best effort External binary; Specctra flow is install-dependent.
ngspice simulation Best effort Best effort Best effort External binary; smoke-level only.
KiCad 10 Design Blocks Unsupported Tested Manual smoke KiCad 10-specific behavior stays gated.
KiCad 10 Time-Domain Unsupported Tested Manual smoke KiCad 10-specific behavior stays gated.

KiCad 11 readiness is tracked in repository compatibility metadata rather than declared as supported runtime coverage. See compatibility.yaml kicadIpcReadiness and docs/compatibility/kicad-10-to-11-migration.md for the direct SWIG/pcbnew guard, manual nightly and RC smoke commands, and IPC feature-parity evidence.

Operating System Matrix

OS Tested Notes
Ubuntu latest Tested Primary CI runner.
macOS latest Tested CI runner; IPC socket path differs.
Windows latest Caveat CI runner; path separators differ.

Execution Mode Matrix

Mode KiCad Required GUI Required Notes
stdio default Optional No Most tools degrade gracefully.
Streamable HTTP Optional No Requires the http extra.
With KiCad open (IPC) Yes Yes Full edit capability.
CLI-only headless Optional No Export and validation only.
Docker No, external mount No KiCad must be mounted or configured externally.

Known Limitations

  1. IPC calls fail if KiCad is open and blocked by a modal dialog. Callers should back off and retry retryable errors.
  2. On KiCad 9.x, BOM export through IPC may reflect only the root sheet. Use kicad-cli BOM export for more reliable multi-sheet behavior.
  3. FreeRouting requires the FreeRouting JAR or container path to be configured explicitly.
  4. The Docker image does not include KiCad. Mount a host KiCad installation and set KICAD_CLI_PATH explicitly.