KonnectCAUTION
AI-assisted PCB design for KiCAD 10. Native KiCAD plugin — a single Rust binary exposing 217 schematic, layout, routing, placement, design-review, and manufacturing tools to Claude, or the LLM of your choosing
Overview
From the repository's own README, as read at the audited commit. Badges and raw HTML are left out.
AI-assisted PCB design for KiCAD 10. Konnect is a native KiCAD plugin — a single Rust binary — that lets Claude and other AI assistants design schematics and PCBs through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
226 tools across 21 on-demand toolsets. Schematic capture, PCB layout and routing, ERC/DRC, design-review audits, JLCPCB part search, reference circuits, and a full manufacturing export pipeline — with bundled skills and agents that teach Claude KiCAD conventions out of the box.
Status: beta. The core toolchain is tested and working, but this is a young release and it wants real-world mileage and review. Issues and PRs are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md and the naming conventions.
## Add realtime research to KiCAD MCP and Konnect. Introducing Nimrod **Nimrod** is our web-research MCP server: quality-scored Google search, clean webpage extraction, and deep multi-source research. Design the board with Konnect while Nimrod pulls live parts availability, datasheets, and errata — no more guessing from year-old training data - Works with claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code, and any MCP client - 1 credit = 1 search · extraction always free · free 50-credit trial, no card - Official MCP Registry: `ai.orchis/nimrod`
Why Konnect exists
Konnect is the successor to KiCAD-MCP-Server, a Python/TypeScript project that proved AI-driven PCB design works — and, in the process, showed exactly where that architecture runs out of road. Konnect was built to fix those specific problems:
The call path was too long. In the original server, a single tool
83016057adf2OBSERVED · 2026-09-19Exposed tools (36)
18 read · 15 write · 3 destructive. Blast radius: 3 tools can delete or overwrite — an agent that can be talked into calling a tool can be talked into calling this one.
| Tool | Risk | Description |
|---|---|---|
add_mounting_hole | write | |
align_components | read | |
config | read | User preferences, project rules, design rules, fab constraints — call load_user_config at session start |
create_footprint | write | |
design_review | read | AI-powered design audits: decoupling, connections, power rails, DFM, BOM health |
edit_component | write | |
edit_footprint_pad | write | |
editor_navigation | read | Observe and semantically navigate exact KiCad editor, document, sheet, selection, and cross-probe context |
integration | read | JLCPCB parts database, local Freerouting MCP routing, datasheet URLs |
library | write | Search, register, and author symbol and footprint libraries — create symbols and footprints, edit pads, graphics, metadata and 3D models |
load_toolset | read | |
manufacturing | read | Design-to-fab pipeline: export Gerber+BOM+positions package, validate for fab house, estimate cost |
pcb_board | write | Board outline, layers, zones, mounting holes, board text, SVG logo import |
pcb_components | write | Place, refresh, move, rotate, flip, align, duplicate and repair PCB footprints; inspect pads; inspect and edit a placed footprint |
pcb_export | read | Gerber, PDF, SVG, 3D model, BOM, Specctra DSN, pick-and-place, DRC, DXF/GenCAD/IPC-2581/ODB++ |
pcb_routing | read | Traces, vias, copper pours, net classes, differential pairs, and strict Specctra SES import |
place_component | read | |
place_component_array | read | |
placement | read | Placement quality and automation: score with named deductions, plan decoupling rows and BGA fanouts, first placement, force-directed refinement |
project | write | Create, open, save, rename, snapshot KiCAD projects, and launch the live schematic viewer |
register_footprint_library | read | |
run_drc | write | |
sch_analysis | read | Net connectivity, pin queries, trace paths, overlap/orphan detection |
sch_batch | destructive | Bulk add, edit, delete, and move schematic elements in one call |
sch_bus | read | Buses, bus entries, and fanning a group of pins out onto a bus |
sch_components | destructive | Add, edit, move, rotate, and delete schematic symbols, and set the page size |
sch_export | write | Export schematic to SVG/PDF/PNG/netlist, run ERC, and synchronize a live PCB |
sch_hierarchy | destructive | Hierarchical sheets: add/edit/move/delete/duplicate a sheet, hierarchy and page-numbering queries, import/add/edit/delete sheet pins, pin/label sync validation |
sch_wiring | read | Wires, net labels, power symbols, junctions, no-connects, pin-to-pin connections |
set_footprint_graphics | write | |
set_footprint_metadata | write | |
set_footprint_models | write | |
templates | read | Reference circuit library: USB-C, LDO, buck converter, STM32, I2C, LED — verified component values |
update_footprints_from_library | write | |
update_pcb_from_schematic | write | |
verification | read | DRC, design rules, layer constraints, clearance checks, KiCAD UI control (ERC is in sch_export) |
Trust audit
CAUTIONgrade B · trust 81/100 Install with care. The audit found things worth knowing before you trust its output.
| Layer | What it checks | Result |
|---|---|---|
| L0 | Provenance & inventory | PASS |
| L1 | Static analysis of the code | WARN |
| L2 | Instruction surface (what it tells the agent) | PASS |
| L3 | Class-specific surface | WARN |
| L4 | Behavioural (sandbox) | SKIPPED |
What the source does
- Filesystem
- declared (15 observation(s))
- Network
- declared (9 observation(s))
- Shell
- none-observed
- Dependencies
- pinned
- Secrets in source
- none-found
Findings (18)
"--api_server-endpoints=http://127.0.0.1:37864",
"--mcp_server-endpoints=http://127.0.0.1:37964",
assert!(arguments.contains(&"--api_server-endpoints=http://127.0.0.1:37864"));
assert!(arguments.contains(&"--mcp_server-endpoints=http://127.0.0.1:37964"));
address: "http://127.0.0.1:32123".to_string(),
sch_batch, sch_components, sch_hierarchy
streamable-http
board_only_footprint.ipc.bin
board_only_shared_reference.ipc.bin
issue_474_copper_zone_0.ipc.bin
issue_474_r1.ipc.bin
issue_474_zone_0.ipc.bin
tar czf ../../../${{ env.BINARY_NAME }}-${{ github.ref_name }}-${{ matrix.target }}.tar.gz ${{ env.BINARY_NAME }}const CARRY: &str = include_str!("../../tests/fixtures/no_connect_carry_kicad10.kicad_sch");include_str!("../../tests/fixtures/annotate_duplicates.kicad_sch"),include_str!("../../tests/fixtures/rotate_junctions_kicad10.kicad_sch"),let source = include_str!("../../tests/fixtures/socket_kicad10.kicad_mod");You are a senior hardware design reviewer. Your job is to find every supported issue before fabrication and to distinguish direct evidence from heuristics. Exact requirements and datasheets decide whe
Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.
83016057adf2full audit observations/trust-audit/mcp-server/mixelpixx__konnect.json · Report an issue / request a re-scanAudit history
Every audit this server has had. A grade with a past is a grade somebody is still checking.
| Date | Source | Verdict | Grade | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-19 | 83016057adf2 | CAUTION | B | 81 | first audit |
Questions
What is the Konnect MCP server?
AI-assisted PCB design for KiCAD 10. Native KiCAD plugin — a single Rust binary exposing 217 schematic, layout, routing, placement, design-review, and manufacturing tools to Claude, or the LLM of your choosing
What tools does Konnect expose?
36 in total: 18 read-only, 15 that write, and 3 that can delete or overwrite (sch_batch, sch_components, sch_hierarchy). Every one is listed on this page with its risk.
Is Konnect safe to connect to an agent?
With care. The audit graded it B (81/100) and found 18 things worth knowing before you trust this server, listed below with the exact line each was found on. Separately from the audit: 3 of its tools can destroy data, so scope the token you give it to what you actually need.
What credentials does Konnect need?
No credential environment variables were found in its source, so it appears to need none.
How does Konnect run?
It speaks streamable-http, so it runs as a service you connect to over the network.
How current is this page?
The grade is for one exact copy of the source (83016057adf2), read on 2026-09-19. The repository is watched and re-audited when it changes.