Crate kicad_ipc_rs 

KiCad IPC RS

Async-first, pure-Rust IPC bindings for KiCad’s official API. Production-focused Rust API surface, typed models, and a blocking wrapper for sync callers.

Why this crate?

Capability	kicad-ipc-rs	Official Python bindings (kicad-python)	Official Rust bindings (kicad-rs)
Rust-native client API	✅ Yes	❌ Python package	⚠️ Development preview
Async-first API design	✅ KiCadClient	⚠️ App-managed event-loop model	⚠️ Development preview
Blocking support for sync apps	✅ feature = "blocking"	✅ Native Python sync usage	⚠️ Development preview
Wrapped KiCad command coverage (current proto snapshot)	✅ 56/56 command wrappers	Unknown	Unknown
Maintainer focus	✅ This crate is actively maintained for Rust users	✅ Official KiCad Python package	⚠️ Preview status

Evidence and references:

• kicad-python package: https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad-python
• kicad-rs package (states “development preview with no docs yet”): https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad-rs
• Coverage matrix and runtime notes: https://github.com/Milind220/kicad-ipc-rs#kicad-v10-rc11-api-completion-matrix

Quickstart (async)

use kicad_ipc_rs::KiCadClient;

#[tokio::main(flavor = "current_thread")]
async fn main() -> Result<(), kicad_ipc_rs::KiCadError> {
    let client = KiCadClient::connect().await?;
    client.ping().await?;
    let version = client.get_version().await?;
    println!("KiCad: {}", version.full_version);
    Ok(())
}

Quickstart (blocking)

use kicad_ipc_rs::KiCadClientBlocking;
let client = KiCadClientBlocking::connect()?;
let version = client.get_version()?;
println!("KiCad: {}", version.full_version);

Architecture layers:

• transport
• envelope
• command builders
• high-level client

Re-exports

pub use crate::client::ClientBuilder;

pub use crate::client::KiCadClient;

pub use crate::error::KiCadError;

pub use crate::model::board::ArcStartMidEndNm;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardEditorAppearanceSettings;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardEnabledLayers;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardFlipMode;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardLayerClass;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardLayerGraphicsDefault;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardLayerInfo;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardNet;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardOriginKind;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardStackup;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardStackupDielectricProperties;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardStackupLayer;

pub use crate::model::board::BoardStackupLayerType;

pub use crate::model::board::ColorRgba;

pub use crate::model::board::DrcSeverity;

pub use crate::model::board::GraphicsDefaults;

pub use crate::model::board::InactiveLayerDisplayMode;

pub use crate::model::board::NetClassBoardSettings;

pub use crate::model::board::NetClassForNetEntry;

pub use crate::model::board::NetClassInfo;

pub use crate::model::board::NetClassType;

pub use crate::model::board::NetColorDisplayMode;

pub use crate::model::board::PadNetEntry;

pub use crate::model::board::PadShapeAsPolygonEntry;

pub use crate::model::board::PadstackPresenceEntry;

pub use crate::model::board::PadstackPresenceState;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbArc;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbBoardGraphicShape;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbBoardText;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbBoardTextBox;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbDimension;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbField;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbFootprint;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbGroup;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbItem;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbPad;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbPadType;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbTrack;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbUnknownItem;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbVia;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbViaLayers;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbViaType;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbZone;

pub use crate::model::board::PcbZoneType;

pub use crate::model::board::PolyLineNm;

pub use crate::model::board::PolyLineNodeGeometryNm;

pub use crate::model::board::PolygonWithHolesNm;

pub use crate::model::board::RatsnestDisplayMode;

pub use crate::model::board::Vector2Nm;

pub use crate::model::common::CommitAction;

pub use crate::model::common::CommitSession;

pub use crate::model::common::DocumentSpecifier;

pub use crate::model::common::DocumentType;

pub use crate::model::common::EditorFrameType;

pub use crate::model::common::ItemBoundingBox;

pub use crate::model::common::ItemHitTestResult;

pub use crate::model::common::MapMergeMode;

pub use crate::model::common::PcbObjectTypeCode;

pub use crate::model::common::RunActionStatus;

pub use crate::model::common::SelectionItemDetail;

pub use crate::model::common::SelectionSummary;

pub use crate::model::common::SelectionTypeCount;

pub use crate::model::common::TextAsShapesEntry;

pub use crate::model::common::TextAttributesSpec;

pub use crate::model::common::TextBoxSpec;

pub use crate::model::common::TextExtents;

pub use crate::model::common::TextHorizontalAlignment;

pub use crate::model::common::TextObjectSpec;

pub use crate::model::common::TextShape;

pub use crate::model::common::TextShapeGeometry;

pub use crate::model::common::TextSpec;

pub use crate::model::common::TextVerticalAlignment;

pub use crate::model::common::TitleBlockInfo;

pub use crate::model::common::VersionInfo;

Modules

client

High-level async client and request/response convenience methods.

commands

Low-level command payload builders.

envelope

Envelope helpers for command/response packing and unpacking.

error

Error types returned by this crate.

model

Stable data models used by typed client APIs.

transport

IPC transport implementation details.

Constants

KICAD_API_VERSION