copperheadhq/copperhead

What it solves

Copperhead is an AI agent designed to automate the development of printed circuit boards (PCBs). It bridges the gap between a natural-language product brief and manufacturable hardware files, reducing the manual effort required to design, document, and validate circuit boards while ensuring the design remains consistent across all technical artifacts.

How it works

Copperhead operates as a loop that mimics pair-programming for hardware. It integrates directly with KiCad repositories and follows a strict gated process:

1. Documentation-First: It reads design documents to understand the full context before making changes.
2. Proposal & Edit: The agent proposes changes based on a user prompt, and once validated, it edits the .kicad_sch and .kicad_pcb s-expression files.
3. Propagation: Any change to a part or pin is automatically updated across all related documents and schematics to prevent drift.
4. Verification: It uses kicad-cli to run Electrical Rules Checks (ERC) and Design Rule Checks (DRC). A change is only considered "done" when these tools pass.
5. Traceability: All decisions are logged in an append-only DECISIONS.md file, and every edit is linked to a documented intent.

Who it’s for

It is built for hardware engineers and product developers who use KiCad and want to accelerate their PCB design workflow using AI agents, from initial prototyping to generating supplier-ready Bills of Materials (BOM).

Highlights

• End-to-End Pipeline: Can generate a full package including specs, architecture, part selection, schematics, first-draft layouts, and firmware scaffolds from a single brief.
• Spec-Gated Workflow: Prevents the agent from editing files until a validated change proposal exists.
• Verification-Gated Output: Ensures all mutations are followed by ERC/DRC runs to guarantee technical validity.
• Supplier Integration: Exports drift-checked BOMs directly into formats accepted by JLCPCB, DigiKey, and Mouser.
• MCP Server Support: Provides an experimental Model Context Protocol server to allow other AI agents to interact with the gated pipeline without bypassing safety checks.