Which AI tools do people use to design a PCB and electronics?

Across the 15 sourced use cases in this guide, the most used tools are ESP32, Claude Code, KiCad, OpenAI Codex, Arduino.

How much does it cost to get started?

4 of the 15 use cases can start on a free plan. The most common paid starting price is $17/mo (5 use cases). Prices come from each tool's official pricing page.

How long does setup take?

3 of the 15 use cases list a setup time of an hour or less. Each card shows the setup time the builder reported.

Are these real examples?

Yes. Every use case links to its public source (an X post, a Hacker News thread or a GitHub repo) with the author and date, so you can check it yourself.

How to design a PCB and electronics with AI

Short answer: Connect a coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to your electronics tools and describe the board you want. The most direct routes below are an MCP server that designs the circuit, routes the PCB, runs checks and exports a KiCad project, or KiCad's own API so the agent edits the open board and runs electrical and design rule checks with kicad-cli. For simpler builds, describe an Arduino, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi project and get a wiring diagram, parts list and firmware. Treat the output like a junior engineer's draft: check footprints, power and clearances yourself and order a small prototype batch before anything else.

PCB, schematic and microcontroller projects people built by talking to coding agents, from live KiCad editing to Arduino wiring plans. 15 matching use cases below, each with a public source.

Looking for something else? Search all 1241 use cases or .

Get started in 3 steps

Start from a board you understand, such as an ESP32 or Arduino breakout, and have the agent explain each part and net before it routes anything.
Keep the agent inside KiCad (through its API or an MCP server) and make it run ERC and DRC after every change so mistakes show up as checks, not as dead boards.
Review the schematic and footprints yourself, then order a few prototype boards before you scale up or solder expensive parts.

Automation & businessX · @jritsema

Let your agent run smart-home automations

Connect your agent to Home Assistant via MCP and route automations that need judgement through it; talk to it with an ESP32 voice device.

Free to startHalf a dayIntermediate

Home Assistant ESP32

Vibe coding & appsX · @simplifyinAI

Describe an Arduino or Raspberry Pi project and get wiring and a parts list

Blueprint is a free tool that works like a coding agent for electronics. You describe the Arduino or Raspberry Pi project you want and it returns wiring diagrams, a parts list and step-by-step assembly instructions.

See pricing page10 minutesBeginner

Arduino Raspberry Pi

Personal & lifeX · @justhalfbit

Wake different AI agents on an ESP32 robot by calling their names

A Chinese builder wired a small ESP32 desk robot to a gateway on his computer. Call it by one nickname and the question goes to his local Claude Code; call it by another and it is routed to a Gemini model. He plans the same name-based wake-up for each of his Grok Bots.

$17/mo1 weekendAdvanced

Claude Code ESP32 Gemini

Vibe coding & appsX · @AndreaPaparella

Give Codex control of an iPhone with a screen stream and an Arduino mouse

A developer built computer use for iPhone: a small iOS app streams the screen to a server, the server offers MCP tools to Codex, and an Arduino acting as a mouse taps the phone wherever Codex points.

Free tier1 weekendAdvanced

OpenAI Codex Arduino iPhone

Personal & lifeX · @gabipuricelli

Build a physical voice box for your AI agent with an ESP32

A maker built a physical voice interface for his own AI agent on an ESP32, powered by Hermes Agent from Nous Research, and documented the build in a 16-part thread.

Free tierVariesAdvanced

Hermes Agent ESP32

Vibe coding & appsX · @heypcbai

Design a circuit board from a chat with the HeyPCB MCP server

HeyPCB is an MCP server that lets a coding agent design circuits, route the PCB, run checks, export a real KiCad project and generate an enclosure. It plugs into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, ChatGPT and other MCP clients, so you describe the board you want in chat.

$17/mo1 hourIntermediate

Claude Code OpenAI Codex Cursor

Vibe coding & appsX · @observie

Let your agent edit a KiCad board live through the KiCad API

A hardware builder turned on KiCad's API so a coding agent can work on the open board instead of on exported files. Through kicad-python the agent moves footprints, changes nets and adjusts copper in the running editor, and it runs electrical and design rule checks with kicad-cli.

$17/mo1 afternoonAdvanced

Claude Code KiCad Python

Dev & opsHacker News · ofrzeta

Let Claude design schematics and PCBs in KiCad

Konnect is a KiCad 10 plugin that lets Claude and other assistants design schematics and PCBs over MCP: 228 tools for schematic capture, layout, routing, ERC/DRC checks, JLCPCB part search and manufacturing exports, with skills that teach Claude KiCad conventions.

See pricing page1 hourAdvanced

Claude KiCad

Dev & opsX · @stevedakh

Cut an ESP32 display's wake time from 7 seconds to 0.9 with a Claude Code skill

A developer applied a published speed-up method from Anthropic to his battery-powered ESP32 display with Claude Code. He then packaged the process as a Claude Code skill that works on other software too.

$17/mo1 dayIntermediate

Claude Code ESP32

Dev & opsX · @hardyhuang818

Show Claude Code and Codex usage limits on an ESP32 screen

His ESP32-S3 desk display shows his Claude Code and Codex 5-hour and weekly usage when idle. The PC pushes the numbers over Wi-Fi so credentials stay on the PC, and it backs off when rate-limited.

$17/mo4 daysIntermediate

Claude Code OpenAI Codex ESP32

Research & learningX · @AboDantee

Turn your PCB design into a 3D electromagnetic visualization in Blender

A hardware designer who knows nothing about Blender gave GPT-6.1 Sol access to two folders: one with a PCB he designed and one with an empty Blender project. He asked for a 3D visualization of the board's electromagnetic behavior, aiming to make it easy to see rather than engineering-accurate.

$2 in / $10 out per 1M tokens1 afternoonIntermediate

GPT-6.1 Sol Blender KiCad

Dev & opsX · @Bright_Sun

Build a desk box that shouts when your coding agent finishes or needs approval

His agent sat stuck at 3 a.m. waiting for approval while he slept, so a developer built a pink ESP32 desk box that shouts at him in Shanghainese when an agent finishes, fails or needs a yes.

See pricing pageA weekendIntermediate

ESP32

Vibe coding & appsHacker News · animeshchouhan

Use Copperhead as Cursor-style AI for circuit boards

Built Copperhead, described as Cursor for circuit boards, to help design electronics with an AI agent.

Free tier1-2 hoursIntermediate

Cursor

Dev & opsHacker News · hoihoihoi

Let your AI agent compile and test firmware on virtual chips

Chiplab is an MCP platform that lets agents compile, simulate and validate firmware on the actual target chip without physical hardware, for testing, porting to a new chip or debugging a HardFault.

See pricing page1-2 hoursAdvanced

Creators & videoHacker News · _o1yi

Recreate vintage audio hardware as a plugin

Used AI to recreate a $4,000 piece of audio hardware as a software plugin from schematics, patents and ROMs.

See pricing pagemonthsAdvanced

Common questions

How do you design a PCB and electronics with AI?: Connect a coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to your electronics tools and describe the board you want. The most direct routes below are an MCP server that designs the circuit, routes the PCB, runs checks and exports a KiCad project, or KiCad's own API so the agent edits the open board and runs electrical and design rule checks with kicad-cli. For simpler builds, describe an Arduino, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi project and get a wiring diagram, parts list and firmware. Treat the output like a junior engineer's draft: check footprints, power and clearances yourself and order a small prototype batch before anything else.
Which AI tools do people use to design a PCB and electronics?: Across the 15 sourced use cases in this guide, the most used tools are ESP32, Claude Code, KiCad, OpenAI Codex, Arduino.
How much does it cost to get started?: 4 of the 15 use cases can start on a free plan. The most common paid starting price is $17/mo (5 use cases). Prices come from each tool's official pricing page.
How long does setup take?: 3 of the 15 use cases list a setup time of an hour or less. Each card shows the setup time the builder reported.
Are these real examples?: Yes. Every use case links to its public source (an X post, a Hacker News thread or a GitHub repo) with the author and date, so you can check it yourself.

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