I’m releasing AmpereBrain, a tool to enhance the KiCad workflow with an AI copilot, streamlined library management, rapid schematic reviews, and automated Git versioning. After working on it for the past few weeks, it’s time to launch this overpowered assistant for electronics design.
Demo:
What it does:
- Automatic Git Versioning: Set your remote repository once. The app handles the commits automatically for your project and libraries as you work.
- Smarter Library Management: Simply drag and drop to add symbols, footprints, or 3D models. AmpereBrain links them, versions the library, and automatically downloads the relevant datasheet.
- Faster Design Reviews: Instantly see a visual
diffbetween schematic versions. Open datasheets or add comments in a single click. - Flexible Simulation Setup: Easily exclude groups of components (like test points or mounting hardware) from a simulation run without needing to edit the schematic itself.
- AI Assistant: It understands your schematics. You can ask questions about a component or get help drafting requirements documents.
- Background Checks: Automatically runs ERC/DRC on each commit to catch errors early.
The Vision
A lot more is possible, but now, it needs feedback. Check the website to join the testing phases. AmpereBrain began - that’s the official story - as an internal tool to answer a simple question: “How can we make our own work in electronics design more efficient and less frustrating?”. The other story is that I wanted to make a proof-of-concept that an LLM could understand and edit a schematics from KiCad. And it took logner than expected, but it works!
I aim to lower the barrier to entry for advanced hardware design. Even better: to bring powerful, modern software development practices—like Git versioning and test-driven development—to every electronics designer, without requiring them to become software developers.
AmpereBrain is a standalone desktop application that works alongside KiCad, using a Python-based digital twin of your project to offer its features without relying on KiCad’s internal plugin system. This architecture provides great flexibility and power.
This release marks the first step, and I’m looking forward to building upon it with the community’s feedback.