KiCad-Library

The parts catalogue of the OpenDrone hardware line: every symbol, footprint and 3D model here is used on a board that has been through a real assembly run, so it is sourced, footprinted and reflow-proven. Its job is lookup, not enforcement. Board repos keep their own local libraries and nothing requires a part to live here first.

Repository layout

Path	Contents
symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym	41 symbols, one library, nickname OpenDrone
footprint/OpenDrone.pretty/	143 footprints
3dmodel/	244 model files (129 STEP, 115 WRL). Footprints reference the WRL set; the STEP set is the MCAD counterpart
PARTS-USED.md	Every LCSC part used on a manufactured board, and which boards use it
tools/build-parts-index.py	Regenerates PARTS-USED.md; --check audits membership
tools/build-pcm.py	Builds the KiCad PCM package and repository metadata
pcm/	The PCM repository files KiCad reads

Usage

As a KiCad package (easiest). Preferences > Plugin and Content Manager > Manage repositories, add:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/OpenDrone-hw/KiCad-Library/main/pcm/repository.json

Install "OpenDrone KiCad Library" from the Libraries tab. KiCad places the content in its third-party directory and registers the libraries with a PCM_ prefix.

In a board repo. Every repo started from hardware-template carries this library as the git submodule hardware/KiCad-Library, pinned to a commit, with the project's OPENDRONE_LIB text variable pointing at it. Parts place straight from the OpenDrone library; git submodule update --remote pulls a newer catalogue in. How to set that up and update it is in the org CONTRIBUTING.

As a checkout. Clone the repo, then in KiCad set a path variable OPENDRONE_LIB (Preferences > Configure Paths) to the checkout directory. Footprint 3D paths resolve through it. Add the libraries per project or globally:

(lib (name "OpenDrone")(type "KiCad")(uri "${OPENDRONE_LIB}/symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym")(options "")(descr "OpenDrone parts catalogue"))
(lib (name "OpenDrone")(type "KiCad")(uri "${OPENDRONE_LIB}/footprint/OpenDrone.pretty")(options "")(descr "OpenDrone parts catalogue"))

Path contract (do not break)

Footprint 3D model paths are written as ${OPENDRONE_LIB}/3dmodel/<file>. Board repos define OPENDRONE_LIB as a project text variable, checkouts as a KiCad path variable, and tools/build-pcm.py rewrites the prefix to the KiCad third-party directory when packaging. Keep new footprints on the same form.

Updating the library

1. Edit here, following the rules.
2. Commit, push, PR to main.
3. After a merge that changes library content, rebuild and publish the package: python3 tools/build-pcm.py <version>, commit pcm/, then gh release create pcm-v<version> dist/OpenDrone-KiCad-Library_<version>.zip.

Rules

Membership. A symbol, footprint or 3D model belongs here only if it is used on a board whose repo is at status-alpha or beyond. Alpha means the board was manufactured, so everything here has been through a real assembly run. Parts that exist only on a planned or in-progress design do not qualify, however good they look on paper. When a board reaches alpha, its parts join.

Check before you trust it. python3 tools/build-parts-index.py --check reports every symbol whose part is on no manufactured board, every symbol with no LCSC number, and every manufactured part still missing from the library. Run it after any change here and after any board reaches alpha.

Authoring. Edit symbols and footprints in the KiCad editors, or scripted via kicad-skip or the pcbnew API; never text-edit .kicad_sym or .kicad_mod files. Footprint references inside symbols use the OpenDrone: nickname, the LCSC part number property is named LCSC, and 3D model paths follow the path contract. Do not add a symbol for every value of a passive: PARTS-USED.md already answers which resistors and capacitors we use. Validate before opening a PR:

kicad-cli sym export svg symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym -o /tmp/symcheck
kicad-cli fp upgrade /tmp/fpcheck   # on a copy of footprint/OpenDrone.pretty

# every OpenDrone: footprint ref in the symbol lib resolves to a committed .kicad_mod
comm -23 <(grep -o '"OpenDrone:[^"]*"' symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym | tr -d '"' | sed 's/OpenDrone://' | sort -u) \
         <(ls footprint/OpenDrone.pretty | sed 's/\.kicad_mod$//' | sort)
# prints nothing when clean. kicad-cli does not flag a dangling footprint ref, so run this too

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Licensed under CERN-OHL-S-2.0, the same license as the boards. See LICENSE.

Revisions

• 2026-08-15: library nickname and files renamed Incutec to OpenDrone (symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym, footprint/OpenDrone.pretty). PCM package 1.1.0. Board repos now carry the library as a pinned submodule from the template.
• 2026-08-14: pruned to the membership rule: 41 symbols, 143 footprints, 244 models remain, all on manufactured boards or awaiting an LCSC number. 3D paths recontracted from the removed submodule layout to ${OPENDRONE_LIB}. First PCM package published. tools/bump-all.sh deleted with the submodule model.
• 2026-08-04: library assembled by merging the per-project board libraries: 105 symbols, 195 footprints, full 3D model set. LCSC property unified to LCSC, verified FC redraws adopted (ESP32-C3FH4, SX1281IMLTRT). tools/bump-all.sh fixed to commit via pathspec.
• 2026-06-29: initial Incutec.kicad_sym from the OpenRX lineage (21 symbols).