KiCad Library Manager (KiLM)

A command-line tool for managing KiCad libraries across projects and workstations.

Features

• Automatically detect KiCad configurations across different platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Add symbol and footprint libraries to KiCad from a centralized repository
• Set environment variables directly in KiCad configuration
• Pin favorite libraries for quick access in KiCad
• Create timestamped backups of configuration files (only when changes are needed)
• Support for environment variables
• Dry-run mode to preview changes
• Compatible with KiCad 6.x and newer

Installation

From PyPI

pip install kilm

Using pipx (recommended for CLI tools)

pipx installs the tool in an isolated environment while making it available globally:

# Install pipx if you don't have it
python -m pip install --user pipx
python -m pipx ensurepath

# Install kilm
pipx install kilm

Using uv (faster Python package installer)

uv is a fast Python package installer and resolver:

# Install uv if you don't have it
curl -sSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install kilm using uv
uv pip install kilm

From source

git clone https://github.com/barisgit/kilm.git
cd kilm
pip install -e .

Usage

Initialize a Library

The first step is to initialize your KiCad library. This creates metadata for your library and registers it in the configuration:

# Initialize the current directory as a KiCad library
kilm init

# Initialize with a custom name
kilm init --name my-kicad-library

# Initialize with a description
kilm init --description "My custom KiCad library"

# Initialize with a custom environment variable
kilm init --env-var MY_CUSTOM_LIB

Note: Metadata for configurations is saved in ~/.config/kicad-lib-manager/

Add a 3D Models Library

You can add multiple 3D model libraries, each with its own environment variable:

# Add the current directory as a 3D models library
kilm add-3d

# Add a specific directory
kilm add-3d --directory ~/path/to/3d-models

# Add with a custom name and environment variable
kilm add-3d --name my-3d-models --env-var MY_CUSTOM_3D_VAR

View Configured Libraries

You can view all configured libraries with:

# List all configured libraries
kilm config

# List only GitHub libraries (symbols/footprints)
kilm config --type github

# List only cloud libraries (3D models)
kilm config --type cloud

# Show detailed information
kilm config --verbose

Configure KiCad

With libraries initialized, you can set up KiCad to use them:

# Set up using the current libraries
kilm setup

# Set up all configured libraries
kilm setup --all-libraries

# Set up specific libraries by name
kilm setup --symbol-lib-dirs "main-lib,project-lib" --threed-lib-dirs "my-3d-models"

# Preview changes without making them (dry run)
kilm setup --dry-run

# Show verbose output for debugging
kilm setup --verbose

Using Environment Variables (Legacy Method)

You can still use environment variables if preferred:

# For Bash/Zsh
export KICAD_USER_LIB=~/path/to/your/kicad-libraries
export KICAD_3D_LIB="~/path/to/your/kicad-3d-models"

# For Fish
set -U KICAD_USER_LIB ~/path/to/your/kicad-libraries
set -U KICAD_3D_LIB "~/path/to/your/kicad-3d-models"

# For Windows PowerShell
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KICAD_USER_LIB", "C:\path\to\your\kicad-libraries", "User")
[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("KICAD_3D_LIB", "C:\path\to\your\kicad-3d-models", "User")

Managing Pinned Libraries

KiCad has a feature to pin libraries as favorites for quick access. You can manage these pinned libraries with:

# Pin all libraries from your library directory
kilm pin

# Pin specific libraries
kilm pin --symbols MySymbolLib AnotherLib --footprints MyFootprintLib

# Unpin specific libraries
kilm unpin --symbols LibToUnpin --footprints FootprintToUnpin

# Unpin all libraries
kilm unpin --all

List Available Libraries

kilm list

Check Current Configuration

kilm status

This will show:

• kilm configuration details
• KiCad configuration directory location
• Environment variables set in KiCad
• Pinned libraries
• Currently configured symbol and footprint libraries

Custom Library Descriptions

The tool will look for a file called library_descriptions.yaml in your library directory with the following format:

# Symbol library descriptions
symbols:
  LibraryName: "Custom description for the library"
  
# Footprint library descriptions
footprints:
  LibraryName: "Custom description for the library"

Automatic Updates

For automatic library updates, you can create a Git hook in your project:

1. Create a script in your project called update_library.sh:

   #!/bin/bash
   echo "Updating KiCad libraries..."
   (cd $KICAD_USER_LIB && git pull)
   kicad-lib-manager setup --dry-run
   echo "If the changes look good, run 'kicad-lib-manager setup' to apply them."

2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x update_library.sh

3. Add a Git hook to run it automatically:

   mkdir -p .git/hooks
   cat > .git/hooks/post-merge << 'EOL'
   #!/bin/bash
   ./update_library.sh
   EOL
   chmod +x .git/hooks/post-merge

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Update Libraries

You can update all configured GitHub-based libraries with a single command:

# Update all configured GitHub libraries
kilm update

# Preview updates without making changes
kilm update --dry-run

# Show detailed output during update
kilm update --verbose

This will perform a git pull on all configured symbol and footprint libraries that are Git repositories, ensuring they're up-to-date with their remote sources.

Add Git Hooks

You can add a Git post-merge hook to automatically update your KiCad libraries whenever you pull changes:

# Add hook to current Git repository
kilm add-hook

# Add hook to a different repository
kilm add-hook --directory ~/path/to/repo

# Overwrite existing hook if present
kilm add-hook --force

The hook will automatically run kilm update after every git pull or git merge operation, keeping your libraries up-to-date. If you want to automatically detect new libraries and add them to KiCad as well modify hook in .git/post-merge to run kilm setup (more risky).