About Boardreadyops
BoardReadyOps is a local-first validation and release workflow for KiCad PCB teams. Its CLI and GitHub Action combine design checks, manufacturing artifact handling and auditable release evidence, with optional signing when configured.
Key features
- 01KiCad DRC and ERC report checks
- 02BOM, pinmap and manufacturing output validation
- 03Generate fabrication files through kicad-cli
- 04Package findings and checksums as release evidence
- 05Machine-readable plans and CI report formats
Use cases
- 01Blocking a PCB release when validation finds issues
- 02Generating and preparing manufacturing release artifacts
- 03Reviewing hardware changes in pull requests
- 04Giving coding agents structured repair steps
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/oaslananka/boardreadyops-full:v1Local servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.
ghcr.io/oaslananka/boardreadyops-full:v1stdioTools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEBoardReadyOps
The trust layer between KiCad commits and manufacturing release.
Local-first, policy-as-code hardware review gate for KiCad PCB teams. Explains what changed in every PR, why it matters for fabrication, and packages auditable release evidence. Manifests can be signed and verified when a signing key is configured.
Repository Maturity · OpenSSF Evidence · Governance · Roadmap · Support
BoardReadyOps checks KiCad projects, can generate manufacturing artifacts, and packages findings and checksums into a release evidence bundle. Signing is optional; checksums and self-reported source fingerprints do not independently prove that the exported Gerber/Excellon files came from the reviewed commit. See the source-to-export provenance contract and issue #771. The CLI and GitHub Action support JSON, SARIF, Markdown, HTML, JUnit, and workflow annotation output.
- Does NOT replace KiCad DRC/ERC: Uses native
kicad-cliDRC/ERC checks alongside BOM lifecycle, footprint consistency, pinmap contracts, and vendor preflights. - Does NOT have to replace KiBot: Works standalone or alongside KiBot/artifact automation tools, adding governance, PR hardware diff, optionally signed evidence manifests, and handoff packages.
- Local-first source handling: CLI commands and target-repository GitHub Actions workflows process KiCad source in your own environment. Hosted features can retain run metadata, normalized findings, and links; review the documented data-handling and execution boundaries before enabling them.
Generate → Validate → Decide → Package → Optional Attestation → Review → Handoff
Installation
npm i -g boardreadyops
Repository-prepared version: [email protected]. This is the package version
in this source revision, not evidence that it has been published.
Check npm and
GitHub Releases for the
latest publicly available version. Verify the selected release's binaries,
SHA256SUMS, SBOM, and runtime compatibility before installation. See
release channel verification
for historical verified snapshots and outstanding follow-ups.
Runtime Support
BoardReadyOps supports Node.js 24 LTS only. Earlier Node major versions are no longer supported or CI-tested. Node.js 26 Current is tracked but not supported in engines.node or CI until it reaches LTS and dependency validation is added.
KiCad CLI compatibility is CI-tested on KiCad 10.0, with 10.0.6 as the latest verified patch. KiCad 9.0 remains the minimum supported line but is upstream EOL and no longer CI-tested. The machine-readable policy and generated support table live in docs/support-matrix.md.
Install Via Script
Linux and macOS release binaries are installed with the checksum-verifying shell
installer when the selected GitHub Release includes the matching binary asset
and SHA256SUMS:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops/main/install.sh | sh
Windows x64 release binaries use the same release asset and checksum flow:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops/main/install.ps1 | iex
The installers download the release asset plus SHA256SUMS before placing
boardreadyops on the local command path. Binary asset availability depends on
the release; check the latest release
for the current asset matrix. A Homebrew
formula template for the same binary assets lives at Formula/boardreadyops.rb;
it is populated with published macOS and Linux checksums from SHA256SUMS.
The installers have been verified against the latest release which includes
the full binary matrix, SHA256SUMS, and SBOM. Tap publication remains a
maintainer follow-up.
Positioning
BoardReadyOps provides two usage modes:
End-to-end pipeline — use boardreadyops generate to produce Gerbers, drill files, BOMs, CPL/position files, and PDFs via kicad-cli, then boardreadyops release prepare to validate, package evidence, and emit a signed release decision.
Validation-only gate — use KiBot or another generator to produce fabrication outputs, then use BoardReadyOps to validate those outputs exist, match the KiCad project, satisfy vendor/profile expectations, and can support a repeatable release decision.
See Release readiness and KiBot integration for the pipeline split approach, and the roadmap for v2 features.
Quick Start
# Validate existing manufacturing outputs
boardreadyops check .
boardreadyops plan . --format json > build/agent-plan.json
# Generate artifacts and prepare a full release
boardreadyops generate . --profile jlcpcb
boardreadyops release prepare . --profile jlcpcb --output build/release
# Verify a release bundle and create a vendor handoff package
boardreadyops release verify build/release
boardreadyops handoff create build/release --profile jlcpcb
# Optional: export actual Gerber/Excellon bytes as an unsigned, locally verified ZIP
# Requires KiCad CLI 10, exactly one PCB project and a clean checkout; ignore build/ in Git
boardreadyops release archive . --reviewed-source-sha "$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
The release archive command verifies local source and output bytes and reports the resulting ZIP checksum. It does not produce a trusted workflow attestation, a cryptographic signature, vendor sign-off, or a cloud delivery link.
npx boardreadyops --help also works when npm can resolve the package.
GitHub Action
name: BoardReadyOps
on:
pull_request:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
boardreadyops:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
contents: read
pull-requests: write
security-events: write
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
- uses: oaslananka/boardreadyops@9bc8a075d885ad1182e2ad4fcd4c9160f8160c94 # v1.31.2
with:
config: boardreadyops.yml
mode: enforce
fail-on: high
The examples pin the reviewed v1.31.2 release commit for reproducibility.
The floating v1 alias is convenient for opt-in automatic minor/patch updates,
but it moves as stable releases are published.
SARIF upload requires security-events: write. Pull request comments require pull-requests: write.
Use the full container action when a workflow should carry KiCad CLI inside the BoardReadyOps runtime instead of installing KiCad separately:
- uses: oaslananka/boardreadyops/apps/container@9bc8a075d885ad1182e2ad4fcd4c9160f8160c94 # v1.31.2
with:
config: boardreadyops.yml
require-kicad: "true"
mode: enforce
The same image can run as a CLI:
docker run --rm ghcr.io/oaslananka/boardreadyops-full:v1 --help
The v1 and latest container tags resolve to the most recent release
image. Check the release channel verification
for the current digest and manifest list.
Reproducible demos
Explore the checked-in golden demo source before connecting a repository. The broken board has five findings and blocks release; the fixed board resolves them.
boardreadyops run examples/golden-demo/broken
boardreadyops run examples/golden-demo/fixed
These are reproducible source fixtures, not externally hosted pull requests. See the golden demo walkthrough for the expected evidence and decisions.
CLI
boardreadyops run --json build/findings.json --sarif build/findings.sarif.json .
boardreadyops check .
boardreadyops check manufacturing.jobset-outputs .
boardreadyops plan . --format json
boardreadyops doctor
boardreadyops schema config
boardreadyops plan is the machine-readable workflow for coding and hardware agents. It emits JSON actions with finding evidence, fix steps, safe-auto-fix flags, and verification commands so agents can repair KiCad, BOM, pinmap, manufacturing-output, or release metadata issues without scraping human reports. See Agent Planning Output.
The npm package exposes the boardreadyops binary from the committed CLI bundle in dist/cli/index.cjs.
Configuration
Create boardreadyops.yml:
version: 1
mode: warn
projects:
- path: .
pinmap: firmware/pins.yml
bom: bom/board.csv
variants:
- name: production
bom: bom/prod.csv
rules:
bom.missing-mpn:
enabled: true
severity: high
ignore-refs: ["TP*", "FID*"]
bom.variant-consistency:
enabled: true
manufacturing.jobset-outputs:
enabled: true
manufacturing.outputs-present:
enabled: true
required: [gerber, drill, position, pdf]
fail-on: high
report:
sarif: build/boardreadyops.sarif.json
json: build/boardreadyops.findings.json
markdown: build/boardreadyops.report.md
html: build/boardreadyops.report.html
The config schema is committed at schemas/config.schema.json.
Supported Checks
- KiCad DRC and ERC report normalization.
- BOM completeness, lifecycle, DNP consistency, variant consistency, and footprint mismatch checks.
- Pinmap format, collision, unmapped pin, and net label checks.
- Manufacturing output, drill coverage, fab note, panel sanity, layer stackup, and jobset checks.
- Design outline and copper balance checks.
- Release revision, version format, tag, and changelog checks.
Local Development
corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
corepack pnpm run lint
corepack pnpm run typecheck
corepack pnpm run test
corepack pnpm run build
corepack pnpm run verify:dist
corepack pnpm run docs
The repository intentionally versions dist/action/index.cjs and dist/cli/index.cjs so the GitHub Action and npm package can run without a consumer build step.
Roadmap
BoardReadyOps is evolving from a validation gate into a full hardware release OS. See docs/ROADMAP.md for the milestone plan, the Public Roadmap Project for current execution, and issue #191 for roadmap sequencing.
Links
- Repository: https://github.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops
- Issues: https://github.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops/issues
- Public Roadmap: https://github.com/users/oaslananka/projects/21
- Roadmap sequencing: https://github.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops/issues/191
- Security advisories: https://github.com/oaslananka/boardreadyops/security/advisories/new
License
Current project-authored source is licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. Commercial use requires a separate written license; see Commercial Licensing. Earlier MIT releases retain the MIT rights that applied when they were published; see Licensing.
Third-party notices are generated in NOTICE. The full container image redistributes KiCad under its applicable GPL terms and preserves the KiCad license text inside the image.
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