Product Boundaries

This repository releases one product — the KiCad Studio VS Code extension (apps/vscode-extension) — alongside private shared test and fixture packages. The KiCad MCP Pro server is developed and released from the separate KiCad MCP Pro repository. See ADR 0009.

The products remain source-decoupled and integrate only through published MCP contracts, compatibility metadata, and canary evidence.

Allowed dependencies

Local surface	May depend on
apps/vscode-extension	npm dependencies, VS Code APIs, KiCad CLI process calls, MCP protocol data, and the private test harness in tests only
packages/kicad-fixtures	fixture-generation dependencies and repository contract metadata
packages/test-harness	Node standard library and shared test-only packages
Future shared packages	external dependencies and other shared packages, but not product internals

KiCad MCP Pro owns its Python dependencies, KiCad Python/CLI integrations, server transport, server manifests, protocol-schema source, and publish workflows in its own repository.

Forbidden dependencies

• The extension must not import Python server modules such as kicad_mcp.*.
• KiCad MCP Pro must not import VS Code extension source.
• No product may reach into another repository's implementation through copied or relative source imports.
• Production source must not import @oaslananka/kicad-test-harness or path-reference packages/test-harness.
• packages/* shared packages must not depend on apps/*.
• Removed local MCP server, launcher, or schema-source workspaces must not be reintroduced.

Integration rule

The products integrate through these explicit surfaces:

• this repository's compatibility.yaml client contract;
• apps/vscode-extension/src/mcp/compatibilityMatrix.ts and the extension protocol adapter;
• published @oaslananka/kicad-protocol-schemas schemas;
• published kicad-mcp-pro server artifacts;
• cross-repository contract, real-pair, and compatibility canaries.

Protocol changes must update each affected owner and the published-artifact release order. Use the protocol change checklist when changing tool names, schemas, capability metadata, transport behavior, server-info payloads, compatibility metadata, or extension adapter behavior.

Enforcement

Run the boundary and ownership checks from the repository root:

corepack pnpm run check:boundaries
corepack pnpm run check:mcp-split-docs

The boundary checker fails when local production source imports another product implementation, when production source imports the shared test harness, or when the test harness imports product internals. The MCP split-doc checker prevents active operational guidance from assigning work to removed local MCP paths or a retired repository name.

This repository's .github/CODEOWNERS covers its local CI, architecture docs, examples, extension, fixtures, and shared test packages. KiCad MCP Pro source and protocol-schema source ownership is declared and enforced in the KiCad MCP Pro repository. Branch protection guidance for this repository is documented in branch-protection.md.