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eda-review: review KiCad and Altium PCB designs (ERC/DRC, BOM sourcing, JLCPCB DFM) over MCP
Server has 15 tools with basic schemas and descriptions, but significant gaps limit production readiness. Most tools lack parameter descriptions beyond the parameter name itself. Descriptions are present but generic (avg ~100 chars, below the 194-char baseline). No output schemas documented. Error handling is absent, tools return raw exceptions rather than actionable recovery guidance. Tool naming is reasonable (verb_noun pattern), but parameter documentation is severely underdeveloped. The 'ctx' parameter appears in 8 tools with only 'MCP context for progress reporting' as description, vague and unhelpful for LLM reasoning.
Analyze a KiCad project's Bill of Materials. This tool will look for BOM files related to a KiCad project and provide analysis including component counts, categories, and cost estimates if available.
Identify circuit patterns in a KiCad project's schematic.
Analyze connections in a KiCad schematic. This tool provides detailed analysis of component connections, including power nets, signal paths, and potential issues.
Export a Bill of Materials for a KiCad project. This tool attempts to generate a CSV BOM file for a KiCad project. It requires KiCad to be installed with the appropriate command-line tools.
Extract netlist from a KiCad project's schematic. This tool finds the schematic associated with a KiCad project and extracts its netlist information.
Extract netlist information from a KiCad schematic. This tool parses a KiCad schematic file and extracts comprehensive netlist information including components, connections, and labels.
No output schemas documented. Tools return unstructured responses; LLMs cannot predict field names or types for downstream chaining. Violates pattern:response-shaper.
Parameter 'ctx' (present in 8 tools) has only generic description 'MCP context for progress reporting'. LLMs cannot determine what to pass or why it's needed. Violates pattern:tool-description.
Inferred effective spec: <=2025-11-25.
| Scored | Grade | Overall | Spec posture | Rubric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-23 | D | 53 | <=2025-11-25 | v2 |
Generate a thumbnail image of a KiCad PCB layout using kicad-cli.
Generate a thumbnail of a KiCad project's PCB layout (Alias for generate_pcb_thumbnail).
Get the DRC check history for a KiCad project.
Get the structure and files of a KiCad project.
Identify common circuit patterns in a KiCad schematic. This tool analyzes a schematic to recognize common circuit blocks such as: Power supply circuits (linear regulators, switching converters), Amplifier circuits (op-amps, transistor amplifiers), Filter circuits (RC, LC, active filters), Digital interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART), Microcontroller circuits, And more
Find and list all KiCad projects on this system.
Open a KiCad project in KiCad.
Run a Design Rule Check on a KiCad PCB file.
Basic validation of a KiCad project.
No error handling or recovery guidance. Tools will fail silently or return raw exceptions. LLMs have no actionable next steps on failure. Violates pattern:recovery-guide.
Tool 'get_drc_history_tool' has awkward name ending in '_tool'. Should be 'get_drc_history'. Naming inconsistency with other tools. Violates pattern:tool naming conventions.
Tool 'generate_project_thumbnail' is marked as alias for 'generate_pcb_thumbnail' but both are registered separately. Duplicate functionality confuses LLM tool selection. Violates pattern:tool composition.