KiCad export: start a board with AI, finish it in KiCad
Cherry Blossom's AI agent drafts the board, and KiCad is where you take over. The export is an editable KiCad project with the schematic, the PCB and the project file, zipped in a folder that opens straight in KiCad.
Draft a compact board with an STM32F4, a USB-C connector, a microSD slot, an 8-channel ADC and a 20-pin header, as small as it will go. I will finish the routing myself in KiCad.
To get a KiCad project out of Cherry Blossom, describe the board, let the agent build it, then open Export in the toolbar and choose KiCad project. You get a zip holding a .kicad_sch schematic, a .kicad_pcb board and a .kicad_pro project file that share one name, so the folder opens as a project. You can include the 3D models the footprints reference, so the board shows up in KiCad's 3D viewer.
This fits people who want an AI to do the first draft and a person to do the last mile: fine placement, hand routing, your own design rules, or keeping the design in the tool your team already uses.
It is a one-way trip. Cherry Blossom cannot import KiCad files, so once you edit the board in KiCad, those changes stay in KiCad. If you want to work in KiCad from the start, KiCad on its own is the better tool.
Where it fits
- You want an AI to draft the board and a person to finish it.
- You need fine placement, hand routing or your own design rules.
- Your team already keeps its designs in KiCad.
- You want the design in open files you can keep in git.
Where it doesn’t
- You plan to draw and route the whole board yourself.
- You need edits made in KiCad to come back into Cherry Blossom.
- You want an assistant inside a KiCad project you already have.
- The board is ready as it is, so you can order it directly.
How it works
Build the board
Describe it in the chat and let the agent build it. The export needs a finished build to convert.
Open Export
Use the labelled button in the toolbar and choose the KiCad category. Turn on 3D models to pack the meshes each footprint references into the zip.
Download and unzip
The zip holds one folder named after the board, with the .kicad_sch, .kicad_pcb and .kicad_pro files inside.
Open it in KiCad
Open the .kicad_pro file and edit the schematic and layout like any KiCad project. Run KiCad's DRC with your rules, and plot Gerbers there if you want KiCad to make them.
Why export an AI-drafted board to KiCad?
Cherry Blossom's viewers are read-only. You change a board by asking the agent, which is quick for "swap this regulator" and slow for "nudge this trace half a millimetre". KiCad is a free, open source ECAD where you can do that nudging yourself, and the export is how a board moves from one to the other.
It also means the design is never locked in. The board underneath is open Circuit JSON, and the KiCad project is a second open format you can keep, share or version in git.
What is in the KiCad export?
.kicad_sch
What it holdsThe schematic: symbols, nets and reference designators
.kicad_pcb
What it holdsThe board: footprints, copper, silkscreen and traces
.kicad_pro
What it holdsThe project file that ties the two together
3D models (optional)
What it holdsThe meshes the footprints reference, for KiCad's 3D viewer
| File | What it holds |
|---|---|
| .kicad_sch | The schematic: symbols, nets and reference designators |
| .kicad_pcb | The board: footprints, copper, silkscreen and traces |
| .kicad_pro | The project file that ties the two together |
| 3D models (optional) | The meshes the footprints reference, for KiCad's 3D viewer |
The same Export dialog also has Gerbers with drill files, a CSV BOM, pick-and-place, GLB, glTF and STEP models, SVG and PNG images, and the Circuit JSON itself.
When is another path better than exporting to KiCad?
If you plan to draw and route the whole board yourself, start in KiCad and skip the AI draft; our KiCad alternative page compares the two ways of working. If you want an assistant inside KiCad itself, KiCad MCP servers connect a general AI assistant to a KiCad project you already have.
If you only want the board routed, KiCad autorouter covers routing tools that read KiCad boards. And if the board is ready as it is, you do not need KiCad at all: download the Gerbers or order it through PCBWay straight from Cherry Blossom.
What does it cost?
KiCad is free. The export is included in Cherry Blossom with no separate charge. Pro is $20 a month with 4M AI credits and 600 AI actions a day. Ultra is $140 a month with 32M credits and the frontier models. Usage past the allowance is $5 per 1M credits, only if you turn it on. The AI is included, with no API key and no per-seat licence.
The honest limits. Cherry Blossom is an early beta. You change a board by asking the agent, not by dragging traces yourself, so fine manual layout happens after a KiCad export. It is not a circuit simulator, it has no real-time multi-user editing, and it is not built for high-speed or RF sign-off.
Questions
Yes, you can export an AI-generated PCB to KiCad with Cherry Blossom. You describe the board in plain English, an AI agent writes and builds it, and then Export in the toolbar offers a KiCad project. The download is a zip with one folder holding a .kicad_sch schematic, a .kicad_pcb board and a .kicad_pro project file, so it opens in KiCad as a normal, editable project. You can choose to include the 3D models the footprints reference, so the board appears in KiCad's 3D viewer. From there you can move parts, route traces by hand and run KiCad's DRC with your own rules. The trip is one way: Cherry Blossom cannot import KiCad files, so edits you make in KiCad stay in KiCad. The same dialog also exports Gerbers, a BOM, pick-and-place files and STEP models.
No. Cherry Blossom cannot import KiCad, Altium, EAGLE or other design files. The KiCad export goes one way, from Cherry Blossom to KiCad.
Because Cherry Blossom's views are read-only and you change the board by asking the agent. For fine placement, hand routing or your own design rules, KiCad gives you direct control.
No. You can download Gerbers with drill files, a BOM and pick-and-place files directly, or send the board to PCBWay once it passes DRC. KiCad is only needed if you want to edit the board by hand.
Other use cases
Describe your board. See what comes back.
Schematic, layout and a verification gate, in the browser. Exports to Gerbers and KiCad.
