KiCad Plugin Installation Guide

The PCB Auto Router KiCad plugin allows you to perform automatic routing directly in KiCad. This guide will help you complete the installation process.

Requires KiCad 9.0 or higher.

Step 1: Install PcbAutoRouter Main Program

Windows Installation

  1. Visit the official website homepage and download the Windows version .exe installer.
  2. Double-click the downloaded .exe file.
  3. If the system shows "Windows protected your PC", click "More info" → "Run anyway".
  4. Follow the installation wizard to complete the installation (default path is recommended).
  5. PcbAutoRouter will start automatically after installation is complete.

Browser blocking the download? Click the "Downloads" icon in the top-right corner of the browser, then click "Keep" or "Allow" on the blocked file.

Linux Installation

Run the following commands in the terminal:

sudo dpkg -i pcbautorouter_*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f
sudo dpkg -i pcbautorouter_*.deb

Alternatively, you can double-click the .deb package in the file manager and install through the software center.

Step 2: Install Plugin in KiCad

Manual Plugin Installation

  1. Visit the official website and download the KiCad plugin ZIP file.
  2. Open KiCad, click menu: Tools → Extension and Plugin Manager.
  3. In the opened window, select Install from File....
  4. Select the downloaded ZIP file and click "Open".
  5. Wait for installation to complete, then restart KiCad.

After installation, the PCB Auto Router shortcut icons will automatically appear in the toolbar.

Step 3: Verify Plugin Installation

  1. Restart KiCad.
  2. Open or create a new PCB project.
  3. You should see the PCB Auto Router shortcut icons in the KiCad PCB editor toolbar.
  4. There are four icons in the toolbar:
  5. First icon: Auto-set rules
  6. Second icon: Full board routing
  7. Third icon: Single net routing
  8. Fourth icon: Plugin settings

Quick Start

Prepare PCB Design

  1. Complete schematic design and update PCB in KiCad.
  2. Place all components and assign Footprints.
  3. Set routing rules (trace width, clearance, via size, etc.).

Start Automatic Routing

  1. (Optional) Click the first icon in the toolbar to auto-set routing rules. If you skip this step, existing rules in KiCad will be used.
  2. Click the second icon to start full board routing, or click the third icon to route a specific net.
  3. PcbAutoRouter will launch and automatically handle the routing.
  4. When complete, the PCB design will be automatically updated.
  5. If you need to adjust settings, click the fourth icon to open plugin settings.

FAQ

Rule exceeds limit?

This is usually caused by via size being too large, clearance being too large, or trace width being too thick. PcbAutoRouter strictly follows DRC rules during routing. If rules are not set properly, many areas may fail to route.

Solution:

  1. Manually check if the routing rules in your PCB are reasonable.
  2. Click the first icon "Auto-set rules" in the toolbar to let the plugin automatically adjust rules based on your design.
  3. If you confirm that the current rules meet your requirements, you can click the "Continue routing" button to ignore the warning and proceed with routing.

It's recommended to use the auto-set rules feature first, as this can significantly improve routing success rate.

Get Help

  • Check the help documentation for the PcbAutoRouter main program.
  • Visit the official website forums or community for support.
  • Make sure both KiCad and PcbAutoRouter are updated to the latest version.