The parts catalogue of the OpenDrone hardware line: every physical symbol links to an exact, committed datasheet, and every symbol, footprint and 3D model here is used on a board that has been through a real assembly run. Its job is lookup, not enforcement. Board repos pin this repository and keep only parts that have not yet qualified in their local libraries.

Repository layout

Path	Contents
`symbol/OpenDrone.kicad_sym`	54 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
`datasheet/`	Exact component PDFs, deduplicated by document and tracked by `manifest.json`
`PARTS-USED.md`	Every LCSC part used on a manufactured board, and which boards use it
`ALTERNATES.md`	Second sources for the FETs and gate drivers, grouped by land pattern and pinout
`tools/build-parts-index.py`	Regenerates `PARTS-USED.md`; `--check` audits membership
`tools/check-datasheets.py`	Verifies symbol coverage, paths, PDF signatures and SHA-256 hashes
`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> and symbol datasheet fields as ${OPENDRONE_LIB}/datasheet/<file>.pdf. Board repos define OPENDRONE_LIB as a project text variable, checkouts as a KiCad path variable, and tools/build-pcm.py rewrites both prefixes to KiCad's third-party directories when packaging. Keep new library items on those forms.

Updating the library

Edit here, following the rules.
Commit, push, PR to main.
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. Every reusable, datasheet-bearing component used on a board whose repo is at status-alpha or beyond belongs here. 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 ICs, semiconductors, sensors, connectors and other non-generic parts join; ordinary R/C/L/LED primitives remain in KiCad's standard libraries.

Datasheets. Every custom symbol for an orderable physical component maps to one exact PDF in datasheet/manifest.json; a family PDF may serve several symbols and is stored once. Set its Datasheet field to ${OPENDRONE_LIB}/datasheet/<file>.pdf. Virtual/interface symbols require an explicit manifest exemption. Generic R/C/L primitives stay in KiCad's standard libraries and do not get custom symbols or datasheet entries here. Product repositories do not duplicate these PDFs.

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, every intentionally unpromoted generic primitive, and every datasheet-bearing manufactured part still missing from the library. Missing non-generic parts fail the check. 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
python3 tools/check-datasheets.py

# 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. Third-party PDFs retain their publishers' copyrights and notices.

Revisions

2026-09-01: exact component PDFs moved into the shared catalogue, linked through OPENDRONE_LIB, hash-checked by a manifest and included in PCM builds. The alpha-board audit then promoted every remaining datasheet-bearing part: 54 symbols now map 53 physical components to 46 deduplicated PDFs, with one virtual exemption. The membership check fails when a future manufactured non-generic part is missing; 71 ordinary R/C/L/LED primitives remain outside the catalogue by design.
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).