PCB Lens MCP Server

The PCB Lens MCP Server gives AI agents the tools to query and review your PCB layouts, enabling physical design review through natural conversations.

It works with any board layout in IPC-2581 format, exported from any EDA tool that supports the standard.

Supported Formats

| Format | Input Files | Description | |--------|------------|-------------| | IPC-2581 | .xml / .cvg | IPC-2581 XML files (RevA, RevB, RevC) from any compliant EDA tool |

Native Install (Recommended)

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IntelligentElectron/pcb-lens/main/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IntelligentElectron/pcb-lens/main/install.ps1 | iex

Why use the native installer:

• No dependencies — standalone binary, no Node.js required
• Auto-updates — checks for updates on startup
• Signed binaries — macOS binaries are notarized by Apple

The installer downloads two files:

1. Binary - For CLI usage and manual MCP client configuration
2. Claude Desktop extension (.mcpb) - For easy Claude Desktop integration

| Platform | Install Directory | |----------|-------------------| | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/pcb-lens/ | | Linux | ~/.local/share/pcb-lens/ | | Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\pcb-lens\ |

Update

The server checks for updates on startup. To update manually:

pcb-lens --update

Alternative: Install via npm

For developers who prefer npm:

npm install -g @intelligentelectron/pcb-lens

Or use with npx (no installation required):

npx @intelligentelectron/pcb-lens --help

Requires Node.js 20+.

To update:

npm update -g @intelligentelectron/pcb-lens

Connect the MCP with your favorite AI tool

After installing the MCP with one of the methods above, you can connect it to your AI agent of choice.

Claude Desktop

1. Download the Claude Desktop app
2. Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings (gear icon)
3. Under Desktop app, click Extensions
4. Click Advanced settings
5. In the Extension Developer section, click Install Extension...
6. Navigate to your install directory and select pcb-lens.mcpb:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/pcb-lens/pcb-lens.mcpb
   • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\pcb-lens\pcb-lens.mcpb

The extension will be available immediately in your conversations.

Claude Code

Install Claude Code, then run:

claude mcp add --scope user pcb-lens -- pcb-lens

OpenAI Codex

Install OpenAI Codex, then run:

codex mcp add pcb-lens -- pcb-lens

Gemini CLI

Install Gemini CLI, then run:

gemini mcp add --scope user pcb-lens pcb-lens

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Download VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "pcb-lens": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "pcb-lens"
    }
  }
}

Then enable it in Configure Tools (click the tools icon in Copilot chat).

Supported Platforms

| Platform | Binary | |----------|--------| | macOS (Universal) | pcb-lens-darwin-universal | | Linux (x64) | pcb-lens-linux-x64 | | Linux (ARM64) | pcb-lens-linux-arm64 | | Windows (x64) | pcb-lens-windows-x64.exe |

Documentation

See docs/ for API documentation and response schemas.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.

About

Created by Valentino Zegna

This project is hosted on GitHub under the IntelligentElectron organization.

License

Apache License 2.0 - see LICENSE