Ki Stack Schematic

ki-stack-schematic

Purpose

This Phase 2 domain skill orchestrates schematic-focused work by composing:

• ki-stack-render
• ki-stack-file-surgery
• ki-stack-verify
• ki-stack-live when schematic-side IPC support is relevant in the environment

Use this skill when the user's intent is clearly about schematics rather than boards.

What it covers

• rendering schematic sheets and full schematics
• schematic ERC
• project text variable workflows
• schematic file discovery and inspection
• proof-oriented schematic change verification

Routing rules

Use ki-stack-render when

• the user wants to see a schematic page or export it
• the task is primarily visual
• the goal is proof, documentation, or comparison

Use ki-stack-file-surgery when

• the schematic-side task is a deterministic file transformation
• the task is project-file or metadata oriented
• no live editor context is required

Use ki-stack-live when

• the environment exposes the needed schematic-side API surface
• the task genuinely benefits from live project/editor state

Use ki-stack-verify after

• schematic changes that could affect electrical correctness
• any schematic edit that needs before/after proof

Phase 1: Orient

1. Confirm the task is schematic-scoped.

2. Identify the relevant .kicad_sch and .kicad_pro files.

3. Probe the environment:

   skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-version
   skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-project-find <root>
   

4. Decide the path:

• render-only
• offline file/proj transform
• live API path if the environment supports it

Phase 2: Inspect

For schematic tasks, inspect the available files and identify page scope before editing.

Helpful checks:

skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-project-find <root>

For project-side text variables, the kicad-python project object exposes:

• get_text_variables()
• set_text_variables()
• expand_text_variables()

If the task is visual, render a baseline artifact first.

Phase 3: Execute

Render/export path

Use:

skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-render schematic-svg design.kicad_sch out_dir
skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-render schematic-pdf design.kicad_sch design.pdf

File-based path

For deterministic project-side edits, modify the relevant files carefully, then verify with render plus ERC.

Live path

Only use the live path if the needed schematic or project APIs are clearly available in the environment. Avoid inventing undocumented live flows.

Phase 4: Verify

For schematic changes, verify with:

1. render after change
2. run ERC
3. report exact artifact and check paths

Preferred ERC command:

skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-erc-json design.kicad_sch erc.json

Common schematic workflows

Workflow: render a schematic for inspection

1. render SVG or PDF
2. if there are multiple pages, scope the output using --pages
3. report the output paths

Workflow: verify a schematic change

1. render before
2. apply change
3. render after
4. run ERC
5. report both artifacts and the ERC result

Workflow: inspect project variables

1. identify the project file
2. use the project API or file-based path to inspect variables
3. verify any variable-driven output by rendering the schematic again

Helper assets

Skills to compose:

• skills/ki-stack/ki-stack-render/SKILL.md
• skills/ki-stack/ki-stack-file-surgery/SKILL.md
• skills/ki-stack/ki-stack-verify/SKILL.md
• skills/ki-stack/ki-stack-live/SKILL.md

References:

• skills/ki-stack/references/render-recipes.md
• skills/ki-stack/references/version-matrix.md

Helpers:

• skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-render
• skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-erc-json
• skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-project-find

Guardrails

• Do not assume the same live API richness on schematics that exists on boards.
• Prefer deterministic render plus ERC workflows.
• If the task is really about symbols or footprints, route to those domain skills.
• If page scope matters, specify it explicitly in the render command.

Completion states

• DONE: schematic task completed and verified
• DONE_WITH_CONCERNS: completed but verification or API support is partial
• BLOCKED: environment or version prevented completion
• NEEDS_CONTEXT: missing schematic path, page scope, or intended outcome