Ki Stack Symbols

ki-stack-symbols

Purpose

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

• ki-stack-render
• ki-stack-file-surgery
• ki-stack-verify

Use it when the user's intent is specifically about symbols or symbol libraries.

What it covers

• symbol rendering
• symbol library inspection
• symbol-side offline edits and regeneration workflows
• symbol verification through exports

Routing rules

Use ki-stack-render when

• the user wants to inspect or compare a symbol visually
• the task is to export symbol artifacts

Use ki-stack-file-surgery when

• the symbol task is a deterministic library or file transform
• preserving file structure and tokens matters

Use ki-stack-verify after

• any symbol edit that should be proven visually

Phase 1: Orient

1. Confirm the task is symbol-scoped.
2. Identify the .kicad_sym file and exact symbol name.
3. If the symbol name is missing, stop and ask for it or search the library contents first.

Phase 2: Inspect

The most useful first step is usually rendering the target symbol.

Canonical command:

skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-render symbol-svg library.kicad_sym out_dir --symbol Device:R

If the task is an offline edit, inspect the relevant library files before mutation.

Phase 3: Execute

For symbol work in v1, prefer deterministic offline workflows over speculative live APIs.

Common execution path:

1. identify the symbol library file
2. render the baseline symbol
3. apply the symbol-side change offline
4. render the symbol again
5. report before/after artifacts

Phase 4: Verify

The main proof for symbol tasks is visual and export-based.

Prefer:

1. render before
2. change symbol
3. render after
4. report both artifact paths

If the task affects downstream library behavior, note any limits in verification.

Common symbol workflows

Workflow: inspect a symbol visually

1. render the symbol as SVG
2. convert to PNG if a raster artifact is needed
3. report the artifact path

Workflow: verify a symbol edit

1. render before
2. apply edit
3. render after
4. report the before/after paths and any file-level transform used

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

References:

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

Helpers:

• skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-render
• skills/ki-stack/bin/kicad-svg-to-png

Guardrails

• Do not assume a symbol name if the user did not specify one.
• Prefer export-based proof over prose description.
• If the task is really about footprints or schematics, route to those skills.

Completion states

• DONE: symbol task completed and visually verified
• DONE_WITH_CONCERNS: completed but verification is partial
• BLOCKED: file, symbol name, or tooling issue prevented completion
• NEEDS_CONTEXT: symbol library path or symbol identifier is missing