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Using the Server From Your Assistant

What to ask for once the server is wired into your AI client, and what to expect back. Everything here is identical across clients — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Google Antigravity, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and the rest — because the assistant drives the same 34 tools over the same protocol. Wiring a client up is covered, per client, in CLIENT_SETUP.md; the tools themselves are in TOOLS.md.

The assistant does the engineering (IPC-7351B land patterns, pin placement, symbol geometry) and the server does the file I/O, so a prompt describes the part, not the primitives — see AI_WORKFLOW.md for how the assistant gets from one to the other, and AGENT_GUIDE.md for the conventions the server itself tells it.

Example Workflows

1. Create a single footprint

Create an IPC-7351B compliant 0603 chip resistor footprint and save it to
./MyLibrary.PcbLib

The assistant will:

  1. Calculate the land pattern using IPC-7351B
  2. Generate pad coordinates, silkscreen, and courtyard
  3. Call write_pcblib to create the file

2. Create a matching schematic symbol

Now create a matching schematic symbol for the 0603 resistor and save it to
./MyLibrary.SchLib. Use designator "R?" and link it to the RESC1608X55N footprint.

3. Analyse an existing library

Read ./ExistingLibrary.PcbLib and describe the footprints it contains.
What silkscreen style does it use?

The assistant will:

  1. Call read_pcblib to read the library
  2. Analyse the primitives
  3. Describe the styling conventions

4. Match an existing style

Extract the style from ./CompanyLibrary.PcbLib and create a new 0805 capacitor
footprint that matches the same style conventions.

The assistant will:

  1. Call extract_style to analyse the existing library
  2. Apply the same track widths, pad shapes, and layer usage
  3. Create a style-matched footprint

5. Create a complete component library

Create a chip resistor library with footprints and symbols for:
- 0201, 0402, 0603, 0805, 1206, 2010, 2512

Use IPC-7351B nominal density. Save to ./ChipResistors.PcbLib and
./ChipResistors.SchLib

The assistant will batch-create all components using IPC-7351B calculations.

6. Create from datasheet specifications

Create a footprint for a QFN-24 package with:
- Body: 4mm x 4mm
- 24 pins, 0.5mm pitch
- Thermal pad: 2.5mm x 2.5mm
- Use IPC-7351B nominal density

Save to ./ICs.PcbLib

7. Edit what is already there

In ./Passives.PcbLib, widen pad 1 of RESC1608X55N to 1.0 mm and move every
Top Overlay track of that footprint to Mechanical 13.

The assistant will use update_pad, update_primitive or batch_update rather than rewriting the footprint; the rest of the library is left byte for byte as it was.

Example Prompts

Basic component creation

Create an 0805 chip capacitor footprint with IPC-7351B nominal land pattern.

Create a 2-pin polarised capacitor schematic symbol.

Working with existing libraries

List all components in ./MyLibrary.PcbLib

Read ./Passives.SchLib and show me the pin configuration for the RESISTOR symbol.

Style matching

Analyse the silkscreen style in ./ExistingLib.PcbLib - what line width does it use?

Create a new footprint matching the style of ./CompanyStandard.PcbLib

Batch creation

Create a complete SMD inductor library with sizes: 0402, 0603, 0805, 1008, 1206

Create schematic symbols for all footprints in ./Passives.PcbLib

Tips for Best Results

1. Be specific about standards

Use IPC-7351B nominal density (not maximum or minimum)

2. Specify layer preferences

Put silkscreen on Top Overlay, courtyard on Top Courtyard layer

3. Request style analysis first

First analyse ./ExistingLib.PcbLib, then create new components matching that style

4. Provide datasheet details

When creating custom packages, provide:

  • Body dimensions (L x W x H)
  • Pin pitch
  • Pin count and arrangement
  • Thermal pad dimensions (if applicable)

5. Use append mode for incremental building

Add an 0402 resistor footprint to the existing ./Passives.PcbLib (append mode)

6. Ask for validation

Run validate_library on ./Passives.PcbLib and fix anything it reports

When Something Goes Wrong

These are the problems that show up after the client is connected. A server that does not appear in the client at all, or will not start, is a wiring problem — CLIENT_SETUP.md § Troubleshooting has that checklist.

"Access denied" error

The target path is outside the server's allowed_paths. Add the directory to your config.json (see README.md § Configuration) — or, for the Claude Desktop extension, to its Library folders setting — and restart the client.

Library won't open in Altium

The files are verified against Altium Designer 24 (the project's golden fixtures are AD24-authored, and a corpus of hand-drawn AD24 libraries round-trips byte for byte); older versions that read the same library format should work but are untested. The format is binary-compatible across platforms, so a library generated on Linux or macOS opens on Windows. Check the file was created (non-zero size) and ask the assistant to run validate_library on it.

Style extraction shows unexpected values

extract_style analyses every primitive in the library. A library with mixed styles reports several values for a property; ask for the dominant one, or analyse a single footprint with read_pcblib.

The assistant's call was refused

Every tool refuses an argument or JSON key it does not document, naming the accepted ones (Unknown field 'widht'. Allowed fields are: […]), and refuses a malformed primitive rather than dropping it — so the file is never half-written. The message is meant for the assistant; it will normally correct itself. errors.md lists every error shape.

Platform Notes

Windows is the primary platform, since Altium Designer runs there: generate libraries straight into your Altium project folder. In JSON configuration every \ is written \\.

Linux and macOS generate the same files — the format is binary-compatible — so use a shared folder, cloud sync or version control to move them to the Windows machine that runs Altium.

The server validates every file path against allowed_paths, so the assistant cannot read or write outside the directories you list; keep that list to your library folders (SECURITY.md).

Next Steps

  • CLIENT_SETUP.md — wiring for every MCP client
  • TOOLS.md — every tool, parameter and example
  • AI_WORKFLOW.md — the IPC-7351B workflow and symbol conventions
  • AGENT_GUIDE.md — the unit and pin-geometry conventions; worth pasting into a project brief
  • ARCHITECTURE.md — technical details; scripts/samples/ holds Altium-authored example libraries