kiutils-rs

Pure-Rust, lossless KiCad S-expression document API for agent workflows. Designed for parse -> typed edit -> write with minimal diff noise and explicit forward-compat surfaces.

Why this crate (for AI agents and automation)

Capability	`kiutils-rs`	Python `kiutils`	`KicadModTree`	KiCad IPC Rust API (`kicad-api-rs-official`)
File round-trip target	First-class (`WriteMode::Lossless`)	SCM-friendly goal, with known round-trip caveats in docs	Generator-centric (creates footprints; not general file parser API)	Runtime IPC API (different problem)
Unknown/future syntax	Exposed as typed unknown carriers (`UnknownNode`, `UnknownField`)	Known issues document format/ordering caveats in some cases	Focused on scripted footprint construction	N/A for S-expression file editing
Architecture for tooling	3 layers (`kiutils-sexpr` -> `kiutils-kicad` -> `kiutils-rs`)	Single Python package/dataclass stack	Tree-based node generator framework	IPC client binding
Public tests/docs signal	Integration tests assert byte-equal lossless writes across formats	Project tests exist; changelog tracks format fixes over time	README/docs emphasize footprint generation workflows	README states docs are not yet available

Source evidence:

This workspace architecture: https://github.com/Milind220/kiutils-rs/blob/main/README.md
Lossless/unknown round-trip tests: https://github.com/Milind220/kiutils-rs/blob/main/crates/kiutils_kicad/tests/integration.rs
Python kiutils known issues: https://github.com/mvnmgrx/kiutils/blob/master/docs/misc/known-issues.rst
Python kiutils changelog: https://github.com/mvnmgrx/kiutils/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
KicadModTree repository README: https://github.com/pointhi/kicad-footprint-generator/blob/master/README.md
Official KiCad Rust IPC README: https://github.com/Milind220/kicad-api-rs-official/blob/main/README.md

V1 API scope

.kicad_pcb
.kicad_mod
fp-lib-table
sym-lib-table
.kicad_dru
.kicad_pro

Compatibility target:

Primary: KiCad v10
Secondary: KiCad v9

Quickstart

use kiutils_rs::{PcbFile, WriteMode};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut doc = PcbFile::read("input.kicad_pcb")?;
    doc.set_generator("kiutils-rs-agent")
        .set_generator_version("0.1.0")
        .upsert_property("Owner", "EDA-Agent");
    doc.write_mode("output.kicad_pcb", WriteMode::Lossless)?;
    Ok(())
}

Crate package name: kiutils-rs Rust import path: kiutils_rs

kiutils-rs 0.1.3

kiutils-rs

Why this crate (for AI agents and automation)

V1 API scope

Quickstart