Concepts

Instead of using the KiCAD schematic editor, you write code and then build it into a KiCAD schematic.

typeCAD uses TypeScript. You don’t need an extensive knowledge of TypeScript to get started.

If you’re familiar with any programming language, you can pick up the basics of TypeScript pretty quickly.


Why TypeScript?

One of the long-term goals of typeCAD was to integrate hardware design into the realm of AI. Most AI-based tools understand TypeScript very well and don’t need special training to use it effectively. TypeScript is also relatively simple to learn and use.

KiCAD

The normal flow in KiCAD is:

  1. Create a project and schematic
  2. Add components
  3. Make connections
  4. Layout the board

typeCAD

typeCAD replaces steps 1-3. Instead of clicking and dragging to place components and make connections, TypeScript code is used.

This is how a schematic is created.

import { Schematic } from '@typecad/typecad';
let typecad = new Schematic('typecad');
typecad.create();

That code will create a KiCAD netlist named typecad.net which you can then import into a KiCAD PCB file. No schematic file is created because it’s not needed.

Build

typeCAD projects have a build process. It takes the TypeScript code and turns it into a KiCAD project. The code you write, plus the typeCAD API simply runs itself and the result is the KiCAD project.

Workflow

The new layout becomes:

  1. Create a typeCAD project
  2. Edit the code to add components and make connections
  3. Build it
  4. Import the KiCAD netlist into KiCAD to layout the board



Tooling