Element14

What the source does

• FilesystemDeclared2 observations
• NetworkDeclared5 observations
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

.agents/skills/bom

.agents/skills/datasheets

.agents/skills/digikey

.agents/skills/element14

.agents/skills/emc

r"^[\d.]+\s*[pnuμmkMGR]?[FHΩRfhω]?$"

r"|^[\d.]+\s*[pnuμm]?[Ff]$"

r"|^[\d.]+\s*[pnuμm]?[Hh]$"

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 4790730940af · 15 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisheraklofas GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderaklofas/kicad-happy/skills/element14The exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict4790730940afA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedPushed today
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Search Newark, Farnell, and element14 for electronic components — find parts by MPN or distributor part number, check pricing/stock, download datasheets, analyze specifications. One unified API covers all three…

---
name: element14
description: Search Newark, Farnell, and element14 for electronic components — find parts by MPN or distributor part number, check pricing/stock, download datasheets, analyze specifications. One unified API covers all three storefronts (Newark for US, Farnell for UK/EU, element14 for APAC). Free API key, simple query-parameter auth, no OAuth. Datasheets download directly from farnell.com CDN with no bot protection. Sync and maintain a local datasheets directory for a KiCad project, or use batch MPN-list seeding (`--mpn-list`) for bulk workflows without a project. Use this skill when the user mentions Newark, Farnell, element14, needs parts from a non-US distributor, wants to compare pricing across regions, or needs datasheets from a source that doesn't require complex API auth. For package cross-reference tables and BOM workflow, see the `bom` skill.
---

# element14 / Newark / Farnell — Component Search, Datasheets & Ordering

## Related Skills

| Skill | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| `kicad` | Schematic analysis — extracts MPNs for part lookup |
| `bom` | BOM management — orchestrates sourcing across distributors |
| `spice` | Uses element14 parametric data for behavioral SPICE models |

One API covers three regional storefronts — same catalog, same datasheets, only pricing/stock vary by region:

| Storefront | Region | Store ID |
|------------|--------|----------|
| **Newark** | North America | `www.newark.com` |
| **Farnell** | UK / Europe | `uk.farnell.com` |
| **element14** | Asia-Pacific | `au.element14.com` |

For BOM management and export workflows, see `bom`.

## Key Differences from DigiKey/Mouser

- **Simple auth** — API key as a query parameter, no OAuth flow
- **Free API key** — register at partner.element14.com, courtesy usage allowance
- **Global coverage** — same API covers US (Newark), EU (Farnell), APAC (element14)
- **Unprotected PDFs** — datasheets hosted on farnell.com CDN, download freely with no bot protection
- **Datasheet URL in API response** — `responseGroup=medium` includes `datasheets[].url`

## API Credential Setup

1. **Register** at [partner.element14.com/member/register](https://partner.element14.com/member/register)
   - Free account — just username, email, password. No credit card needed.
   - Provides a "courtesy usage allowance" (2 calls/sec, 1,000 calls/day — sufficient for normal use)
2. **Register an application** — after logging in, go to [My API Keys](https://partner.element14.com/apps/mykeys) and click "Get API Keys"
   - App name: anything (e.g., "kicad-happy")
   - Type: "Desktop application"
   - Users: "1-10"
   - Commercial: No
   - Advertising: No
   - Check "Issue a new key for Product Search API" → select "Basic" tier
   - Agree to Terms of Service and click "Register Application"
3. **Copy your API key** — a 24-character alphanumeric string shown on the My API Keys page
4. **Set the environment variable** `ELEMENT14_API_KEY` before running the scripts:
   ```bash
   export ELEMENT14_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
   ```
   If credentials are stored in a central secrets file (e.g., `~/.config/secrets.env`), load them first:
   ```bash
   export $(grep -v '^#' ~/.config/secrets.env | grep -v '^$' | xargs)
   ```

## Product Search API

**Base URL:** `https://api.element14.com/catalog/products`

All requests use GET with query parameters. Authentication is via `callInfo.apiKey`.

### Search Modes

The `term` parameter supports three search types:

| Mode | Format | Example |
|------|--------|---------|
| **Keyword** | `any:<keywords>` | `term=any:100nF 0402 X7R` |
| **MPN** | `manuPartNum:<mpn>` | `term=manuPartNum:GRM155R71C104KA88D` |
| **Distributor PN** | `id:<sku>` | `term=id:94AK6874` |

### Full Example

```
GET https://api.element14.com/catalog/products
  ?term=manuPartNum:GRM155R71C104KA88D
  &storeInfo.id=www.newark.com
  &resultsSettings.offset=0
  &resultsSettings.numberOfResults=10
  &resultsSettings.responseGroup=medium
  &callInfo.responseDataFormat=JSON
  &callInfo.apiKey=YOUR_KEY
```

### Response Groups

| Group | Fields |
|-------|--------|
| `small` | SKU, displayName, brandName, MPN, attributes |
| `medium` | + datasheets[], prices[], stock |
| `large` | + images, related products, country of origin |
| `prices` | Tiered pricing only |
| `inventory` | Stock levels by warehouse/region |

### Response Format

With `responseGroup=medium`, the response looks like:

```json
{
  "manufacturerPartNumberSearchReturn": {
    "numberOfResults": 5,
    "products": [
      {
        "sku": "94AK6874",
        "displayName": "Murata GRM155R71C104KA88D",
        "translatedManufacturerPartNumber": "GRM155R71C104KA88D",
        "brandName": "Murata Electronics",
        "datasheets": [
          {
            "type": "TechnicalDataSheet",
            "description": "Datasheet",
            "url": "https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/74273.pdf"
          }
        ],
        "prices": [
          {
            "from": 1,
            "to": 9,
            "cost": 0.156
          }
        ],
        "stock": {
          "level": 45000,
          "leastLeadTime": 0,
          "status": 4,
          "statusMessage": "In Stock"
        },
        "attributes": [
          {"attributeLabel": "Capacitance", "attributeUnit": "", "attributeValue": "100nF"},
          {"attributeLabel": "Voltage Rating", "attributeUnit": "V", "attributeValue": "16"}
        ],
        "rohsStatusCode": "YES"
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

Key fields:
- `sku` — Newark/Farnell/element14 part number
- `translatedManufacturerPartNumber` — MPN
- `brandName` — manufacturer
- `datasheets[].url` — **direct PDF URL** (farnell.com CDN, no bot protection)
- `datasheets[].type` — usually `TechnicalDataSheet`
- `prices[]` — tiered pricing with `from`, `to`, `cost`
- `stock.level` — quantity in stock
- `stock.statusMessage` — human-readable availability
- `attributes[]` — parametric specs (label, unit, value)
- `rohsStatusCode` — RoHS compliance (`YES`/`NO`)

### 

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/aklofas/kicad-happy
git -C kicad-happy checkout 4790730940af

Works in

1. 2026-10-15
   !CAUTION B 86 / 100

   first audit · source 4790730940af

Questions about Element14

• github.com/aklofas/kicad-happy/tree/main/skills/element14 — the audited source at commit 4790730940af and every finding aboveObserved · 15 Oct 2026

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