Getting Started

Use this guide to install pcb, create a board repository, validate its Zener source, and generate a KiCad layout.

Requirements

macOS or Linux. Windows support is experimental; use WSL2 for the most stable Windows environment.
Git, which pcb new board uses to initialize a repository.
KiCad 10.x for layout generation and editing. pcb build does not require KiCad.

The pcb launcher downloads and runs the pcbc toolchain selected by each project. Run the installer for your platform:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diodeinc/pcb/main/install.sh | bash

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diodeinc/pcb/main/install.ps1 | iex"

The installer adds pcb to your user PATH when necessary. Restart the shell if the command is not available, then verify the installation:

pcb --version

Install from source

Install Rust, then clone the repository and run the local installer:

git clone https://github.com/diodeinc/pcb
cd pcb
./install.sh --local

Replace the example repository URL with the project repository URL:

pcb new board Blinky github.com/your-org/blinky
cd Blinky

pcb new board creates pcb.toml, Blinky.zen, and a Git repository. The generated design is empty but valid.

Validate the board source and generate its netlist:

pcb build Blinky.zen

A successful build exits without validation errors.

Generate the KiCad files without opening KiCad:

pcb layout --no-open Blinky.zen

This command writes the generated board under layout/.

If the shell cannot find pcb after installation, restart the shell or source the environment file printed by the installer.
If pcb layout cannot find KiCad, install kicad-cli and pcbnew. Set KICAD_CLI or KICAD_PCBNEW if either executable is outside its default platform path.
Run pcb help or pcb help <command> for the complete CLI reference.