DeepPCB KiCad Plugin Release
DeepPCB is now available as a KiCad plugin!
KiCad users, this one is for you.
Starting today, you can route boards with DeepPCB without leaving KiCad. We built a native plugin that lives right inside your editor, connects to our routing engine, and sends the results back into your project.
No file exports, no browser tabs, no workflow interruption.
This is a first release. The plugin is in beta, we are iterating quickly, and more of DeepPCB will land in it soon.
Why a KiCad plugin?
KiCad has become the go-to EDA tool for a growing number of hardware and electrical engineers, from hobbyists building their first board to professionals shipping production designs. We have been supporting KiCad through .kicad_pcb and .kicad_pro file uploads since day one, but the workflow required a detour: export your design, upload to the DeepPCB web app, download when done, and import back.
That round trip works, but it breaks the flow.
We kept hearing the same thing from KiCad users: “I love DeepPCB, but I wish I could access it directly within my editor.” So we fixed that.
How it works
The plugin installs through the KiCad Plugin Manager. Setup takes about a minute:
- Open the KiCad Plugin and Content Manager and install DeepPCB
- Add your API key, which you can get from app.deeppcb.ai/integration
- Select a timeout, and start routing
That is it. Your board gets sent to the DeepPCB routing engine and every revision comes back directly into KiCad. You stay in your editor the entire time.
New to DeepPCB? Create a free account at deeppcb.ai, check out the starter kit, and see what DeepPCB does. When you’re ready, you can follow the three simple steps just above.
What you get
This release focuses on PCB routing. The same reinforcement learning engine that powers DeepPCB’s cloud platform now works as a single click inside KiCad. Everything you would expect from DeepPCB applies here:
- Multi-layer and multi-plane support up to 8 layers and 1,200 airwires
- Net class awareness so your power nets get the track widths and priorities they need
- DRC-clean results
- Differential pair routing for high-speed signals
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
- And more!
If you have used DeepPCB through the web app before, the output is identical. The only difference is where you trigger it from.
Stay in KiCad
The biggest win here is not a new feature. It is removing friction.
PCB designers know the cost of context switching. Every time you leave your editor to run an external tool, you lose focus. You have to manage file versions, remember where you left off, and mentally rebuild the state of your design when you come back.
With the plugin, routing becomes part of your KiCad workflow. Open your board, start routing, watch the traces appear. Your design stays in one place. Your focus stays in one place.
What is Next
This is our first release of the KiCad plugin, and it is focused on routing. We are already working on bringing more of DeepPCB into it, including PCB placement from schematics files and our agentic design assistant, which lets you set up boards and capture constraints in natural language.
In the meantime, we want to hear from you. Try the plugin, route a board, let us know how it goes. Your feedback shapes what we build next.
