{"slug": "kicadroutingtools", "name": "KiCadRoutingTools", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 3, "warners": 0, "score": 2.937, "rising": 3.0, "first": "2026-09-17", "latest": "2026-10-16", "why": "by leaning on KiCadRoutingTools, it looks like there\u2019s actually very little token usage at the routing stage", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "by leaning on KiCadRoutingTools, it looks like there\u2019s actually very little token usage at the routing stage", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/drandyhaas/kicadroutingtools", "official_url": "https://github.com/drandyhaas/KiCadRoutingTools", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["KiCadRoutingTools"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 801883729, "item_id": 50117733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50117733", "by": "rutierut", "date": "2026-10-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have tried KiCadRoutingTools[1] as well which does seem to create routes that make more sense.", "excerpt": "After the OAI demo, like many others, I tried to use KiCAD through computer-use. This doesn't produce great results. I have found the best results through a mix of Happy[0], this repo, and computer use to fill in the blanks. It is _really_ good at the stackup and part config, but creates some absolutely terrible routes. It will snake tiny traces through some SMD pins even though there is plenty of space available out", "context": "", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI-assisted PCB design for KiCad 10"}, {"id": 796289473, "item_id": 49768092, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49768092", "by": "tonyarkles", "date": "2026-09-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "by leaning on KiCadRoutingTools, it looks like there\u2019s actually very little token usage at the routing stage", "excerpt": "As a quick WIP update: - The first board, which I had already done manual schematic capture, floor planning, and some routing on (but then I lost steam and it\u2019s been sitting at 90% for 6 months) was finished quite readily by Opus + KiCadRoutingTools. - A second significantly more complex board that has been sitting at the \u201cI\u2019ve done a bunch of planning in Obsidian but haven\u2019t started schematic capture yet\u201d stage\u2026 Fab", "context": "", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "This PCB is brought to you by Fable 5"}, {"id": 795792178, "item_id": 49737011, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49737011", "by": "Rival67", "date": "2026-09-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "However checkout EDA tools", "excerpt": "I've been working on several PCB projects, and agents are very helpful for automating many parts of the workflow. They're excellent for schematics. Complex routing, though, is still a human's job for now; I've watched Freerouting fall on its face many times. If you're doing six-layer high-speed DDR routing, AI won't solve that for you today. However checkout EDA tools https://github.com/l3wi/claude-eda/ https://githu", "context": "works on several PCB projects", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "This PCB is brought to you by Fable 5"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "Rival67", "context": "works on several PCB projects", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49737011", "date": "2026-09-17"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["pcb routing"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49695689", "title": "This PCB is brought to you by Fable 5", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50085553", "title": "AI-assisted PCB design for KiCad 10", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 801883729, "item_id": 50117733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50117733", "by": "rutierut", "date": "2026-10-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have tried KiCadRoutingTools[1] as well which does seem to create routes that make more sense.", "excerpt": "After the OAI demo, like many others, I tried to use KiCAD through computer-use. This doesn't produce great results. I have found the best results through a mix of Happy[0], this repo, and computer use to fill in the blanks. It is _really_ good at the stackup and part config, but creates some absolutely terrible routes. It will snake tiny traces through some SMD pins even though there is plenty of space available out", "context": "", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI-assisted PCB design for KiCad 10"}, {"id": 796289473, "item_id": 49768092, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49768092", "by": "tonyarkles", "date": "2026-09-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "by leaning on KiCadRoutingTools, it looks like there\u2019s actually very little token usage at the routing stage", "excerpt": "As a quick WIP update: - The first board, which I had already done manual schematic capture, floor planning, and some routing on (but then I lost steam and it\u2019s been sitting at 90% for 6 months) was finished quite readily by Opus + KiCadRoutingTools. - A second significantly more complex board that has been sitting at the \u201cI\u2019ve done a bunch of planning in Obsidian but haven\u2019t started schematic capture yet\u201d stage\u2026 Fab", "context": "", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "This PCB is brought to you by Fable 5"}, {"id": 795792178, "item_id": 49737011, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49737011", "by": "Rival67", "date": "2026-09-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "However checkout EDA tools", "excerpt": "I've been working on several PCB projects, and agents are very helpful for automating many parts of the workflow. They're excellent for schematics. Complex routing, though, is still a human's job for now; I've watched Freerouting fall on its face many times. If you're doing six-layer high-speed DDR routing, AI won't solve that for you today. However checkout EDA tools https://github.com/l3wi/claude-eda/ https://githu", "context": "works on several PCB projects", "use_case": "PCB routing", "switched_from": "", "story": "This PCB is brought to you by Fable 5"}]}