KiCad 11 Readiness Dashboard
Machine-maintained from compatibility.yaml.kicadIpcReadiness. Refresh with corepack pnpm run docs:generate.
KiCad 10.0.5 remains primary and release-blocking. This page tracks preparation for 11.0.x; it does not claim KiCad 11 support before the official RC or stable canary and published-artifact gates pass.
Current Gate
| Item | State |
|---|---|
| Reviewed | 2026-07-26 |
| Stable baseline | 10.0.5 |
| Target line | 11.0.x |
| Upstream state | nightly |
| Overall readiness | blocked |
| Promotion state | blocked |
| Tracking issue | https://github.com/oaslananka/kicad-studio-kit/issues/377 |
Current blocker: No official KiCad 11 RC or stable release and no matching published-artifact canary evidence are available yet.
Upstream evidence: official source; official source.
Readiness Dimensions
| Area | Status | Owner | Current result | Evidence | Blocker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KiCad CLI | ready-for-canary | KiCad MCP Pro | Nightly and future-line CLI canary commands plus deterministic artifact outputs are defined. | corepack pnpm run test:kicad-cli-contract:nightly; corepack pnpm run test:kicad-cli-contract:future; docs/compatibility/kicad-10-to-11-migration.md | No KiCad 11 RC or stable CLI evidence bundle has been recorded. |
| IPC API | ready-for-canary | Shared contract | Project discovery, PCB/schematic reads, DRC/ERC, export, and diagnostics parity requirements are mapped. | kicadIpcReadiness.ipcApi.requiredFor; official source | KiCad 11 IPC behavior has not been verified against an official RC or stable build. |
| VS Code extension UX | complete | KiCad Studio | Detected KiCad lines and feature-level capability failures are visible in status and command surfaces. | apps/vscode-extension/test/unit/kicadStatusBar.test.ts; apps/vscode-extension/test/unit/viewerStatusMenu.test.ts; apps/vscode-extension/test/unit/kicadCliSupport.test.ts | — |
| MCP integration | ready-for-canary | Shared contract | Published server compatibility ranges and cross-repository real-pair gates are defined. | .github/workflows/cross-repo-compatibility.yml; docs/mcp/transport.md; docs/adr/0008-mcp-2026-07-28-protocol-upgrade.md | No published KiCad MCP Pro release has been verified against KiCad 11. |
| Tests | ready-for-canary | Shared contract | Compatibility, unit, integration, and critical CLI snapshot requirements are release-gated. | scripts/check-compatibility-contract.test.mjs; apps/vscode-extension/test/unit/kicadCliSupport.test.ts; corepack pnpm run check:compatibility-contract | KiCad 11-specific snapshots and real-pair results remain pending. |
| Documentation | complete | KiCad Studio | Migration, support boundary, generated dashboard, and stable-release checklist are documented. | docs/compatibility/kicad-10-to-11-migration.md; docs/support-matrix.md; scripts/generate-docs-site.mjs | — |
No production pcbnew / SWIG dependency
Status: complete — No production pcbnew / SWIG dependency is permitted; KiCad IPC, kicad-cli, and file-backed adapters are the supported integration paths.
Owner: Shared contract. Evidence: kicadIpcReadiness.directPcbnewImports; official source.
The repository contract keeps directPcbnewImports.policy set to forbidden-in-production with an empty allowlist. Native guard execution is owned by KiCad MCP Pro; this extension repository keeps the claim visible and release-reviewable.
Critical CLI Snapshot Contract
The first KiCad 11 nightly/RC evidence bundle must retain these command outputs so command-surface drift can be reviewed in the pull request rather than inferred from a pass/fail badge.
| Snapshot | Canary probe | Expected artifact | Status | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| version-about | version | logs/version.stdout.log | pending | Freeze the exact KiCad 11 build identity and compiler/runtime metadata. |
| pcb-drc | clean-drc | logs/clean-drc.stdout.log | pending | Review DRC command output and exit-code drift. |
| schematic-erc | clean-erc | logs/clean-erc.stdout.log | pending | Review ERC command output and report-shape drift. |
| pcb-export-help | pcb-export-surface | logs/pcb-export-help.stdout.log | pending | Review manufacturing and 3D export command availability. |
| schematic-export-help | schematic-export-surface | logs/schematic-export-help.stdout.log | pending | Review schematic PDF, BOM, and netlist command availability. |
| board-statistics | board-stats | logs/board-stats.stdout.log | pending | Review board statistics semantics, including path and Unicode cases. |
Same-Day Stable Release Checklist
| Step | ID | Owner | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | verify-artifact | KiCad Studio | pending | Record the official KiCad 11 release URL, artifact size, and digest. |
| 2 | run-native-canary | KiCad MCP Pro | pending | Run the pinned CLI and IPC canary against the official artifact. |
| 3 | attach-snapshots | KiCad MCP Pro | pending | Attach the summary, failing-fixtures file, and required CLI snapshots. |
| 4 | compare-contracts | Shared contract | pending | Compare KiCad 11 command, report, and IPC semantics with the 10.0.5 baseline. |
| 5 | verify-extension | KiCad Studio | pending | Run unit, integration, accessibility, build, package, and cross-repository gates. |
| 6 | verify-swig-guard | KiCad MCP Pro | pending | Confirm the production pcbnew / SWIG guard remains clean. |
| 7 | update-support-policy | KiCad Studio | pending | Update compatibility metadata only after all canaries pass. |
| 8 | regenerate-docs | KiCad Studio | pending | Regenerate the support matrix, dashboard, testing strategy, and release notes. |
| 9 | publish-decision | Shared contract | pending | Record the reviewed secondary/primary promotion decision and rollback boundary. |
Promotion Rule
KiCad 11 may move to a secondary or primary support line only after the official RC or stable artifact is identified, the owning KiCad MCP Pro CLI/IPC canary and this repository's cross-product gates pass, critical snapshots are attached, the SWIG guard remains clean, and the support matrix plus changelog are updated in the same reviewed change.