KiCad Datapack Builder
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(2)A GitHub Action plus a library of KiBot configs for building complete KiCad datapacks — drawings, gerbers, BOM, pick-and-place, 3D STEP, Blender renders, panels, and visual diffs — on every push.
In your KiCad project repo, drop a workflow at .github/workflows/build-pcb.yaml:
name: Build PCB datapack
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
submodules: recursive
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
repository: Cimos/kibot-config
path: kibot-config
- uses: Cimos/kibot-config@main
with:
config: kibot-config/build-pcb-kibot.yaml
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: pcb-datapack
path: output/Add an options.yaml at the root of your repo with your KiBot preflight overrides — see Cimos/Mad_RP2040 for a working example.
your-kicad-project/
├── your-project.kicad_pro
├── your-project.kicad_sch
├── your-project.kicad_pcb
├── options.yaml # required — preflight, filters, variants
├── panelization.yaml # optional — only if using build-panel
└── .github/
└── workflows/
└── build-pcb.yaml
The action derives the project name from the first *.kicad_pro it finds at the repo root, so there's an implicit assumption of a single top-level KiCad project.
Point the action's config: input at one of these:
| Config | What it builds |
|---|---|
build-pcb-kibot.yaml |
Drawings (schematic + PCB PDFs), gerbers per fab preset, BOM, pick-and-place, KiCost, stencils |
build-3d_model-kibot.yaml |
3D STEP export (simple + full) |
build-2d_images-kibot.yaml |
4× Blender renders (top/bottom × angled/straight) |
build-video-kibot.yaml |
Rotating-PCB Blender frame sequence |
build-diff-kibot.yaml |
KiRi + git-based PCB/SCH visual diffs |
build-panel-kibot.yaml |
Drawings for an already-panelised board |
Reference workflow templates for each live in .github/actions/ of this repo — copy them into your own repo's .github/workflows/ to wire up multi-job builds.
Cimos/Mad_RP2040 is a real KiCad project using kibot-config end-to-end. Browse its .github/workflows/ and options.yaml to see how the pieces fit together.
I've chosen a permissive license so the community can use this freely. If you build something with it, I encourage you to open-source your project in return.
KiCad Datapack Builder is not certified by GitHub. It is provided by a third-party and is governed by separate terms of service, privacy policy, and support documentation.