KiCad-Master-Lib

An attempt to make a master KiCad library for symbols and footprints as well as their associated 3D models and a collection of design blocks.

This is mainly to help manage the libraries used by FEAST (https://feastorg.github.io) in a single place for easy updating and sharing across projects.

If you are looking for KiCad-Hierarchical-Designs, that repository has been archived and all relevant content has been moved here under kmlib-local/blocks/.

Hopefully this prevents me from going completely insane. - CKB

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/feastorg/KiCad-Master-Lib.git

Then set KICAD_MASTER_LIB to wherever you cloned it, and add the committed tables to your KiCad configuration:

Table	Registers
kmlib.fp-lib-table	51 footprint libraries
kmlib.sym-lib-table	46 symbol libraries
kmlib.design-block-lib-table	10 design-block libraries

Every URI in those tables is written relative to ${KICAD_MASTER_LIB}, so a clean clone resolves every symbol, footprint and design block with no dependence on a developer's global KiCad configuration. That is what makes designs in this ecosystem reproducible from source.

Regenerate the tables after adding or removing a library:

python3 scripts/gen_lib_tables.py

See docs/getting_started.md for setup instructions or visit feastorg.github.io/kicad-master-lib for full documentation.

Layout

kmlib-local/     first-party FEAST symbols, footprints, 3D models, design blocks
vendor/          upstream libraries, vendored (see vendor.yaml)
scripts/         library table generation, vendoring, drift detection

Vendored upstream libraries

Upstream libraries live under vendor/, pinned in vendor.yaml.

vendor.yaml is the manifest: upstream URL, tracked ref, pinned commit, and licence for each. The pin moves forward deliberately, by a human, after review — never automatically.

Library	Licence
SparkFun-KiCad-Libraries	CC-BY-4.0
OPL_Kicad_Library (Seeed)	CC-BY-SA-4.0
digikey-kicad-library	CC-BY-SA-4.0, with an exception — see its LICENSE.md
arduino-kicad-library	CC-BY-SA-4.0

Tracking upstream

A daily upstream-drift workflow asks each upstream whether it has moved past our pin and opens one tracking issue per drifted library, linking the upstream diff. Nothing is ever synced automatically.

Check drift yourself at any time:

python3 scripts/check_drift.py

Integrate a drifted library after reviewing its issue:

python3 scripts/vendor_sync.py <name> --check   # preview the upstream commits
python3 scripts/vendor_sync.py <name>           # three-way merge, then review and commit

Local modifications to vendored trees are preserved. vendor_sync.py replays your copy onto the commit we last vendored, then lets git three-way merge the new upstream on top — so local fixes survive a sync. A genuine conflict is reported and the pin is left unadvanced until you resolve it. Prefer upstreaming a fix over carrying it here.

Cloning without 3D models (CI, or slow links)

A full checkout is ~356 MB, of which ~283 MB is 3D models. ERC, DRC, netlist generation and schematic generation never read a 3D model — only 3D renders and STEP export do.

Excluding them drops the checkout to ~73 MB, with all 51 footprint and 46 symbol libraries still present:

git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/feastorg/KiCad-Master-Lib.git
cd KiCad-Master-Lib
git sparse-checkout set --no-cone '/*' \
    '!*.step' '!*.STEP' '!*.stp' '!*.STP' '!*.wrl' '!*.WRL'

Exclusion is by file extension rather than by directory on purpose: some upstreams keep 3D models loose in product folders rather than under *.3dshapes/.

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CC0-1.0 license is for this repo ONLY. Vendored libraries under vendor/ retain their own licences — see vendor.yaml and each library's own licence file.