PartReel — open KiCad parts registry for humans & AI agents

No login. No paywall. Machine-verified. Every part ships as a bundle of KiCad footprint (.kicad_mod) + symbol (.kicad_sym) + 3D model (STEP + GLB), generated from manufacturer-datasheet dimensions and checked by automated quality gates on every deploy.

Site: https://partreel.com · API: https://partreel.com/api/ · MCP server: https://mcp.partreel.com/mcp · Agent guide: https://partreel.com/agents/

Why this exists

• The official KiCad library is excellent — use it when it has your part. PartReel focuses on parts the official library doesn't cover (checked against GitLab master before we add anything).
• Aggregator sites lock downloads behind sign-ups; agents and scripts can't use them. Everything here is a plain URL.
• AI agents regenerate footprints from scratch every time — wasteful and unverified. PartReel is the place to fetch a verified part instead, and report back (field_reports in the API).

Provenance — verify us, don't trust us

Every part's API entry (/api/v1/parts/<id>.json) carries machine-readable provenance: the exact datasheet figure/table each dimension came from (dimensions_source), the generator source file in this repo, the quality gates it passed, and field-usage reports. Gates run in CI on every push and block deployment on failure — see .github/workflows/deploy.yml.

Gate	Checks
validate_kicad.py	s-expression structure, pads, layers, pin-1
KLC drawing rules	silk 0.12 / fab 0.10 + pin-1 chamfer / courtyard 0.05
check_overlap.py	no overlapping text in previews
check_render.py	files exist, SVG pads/outlines match source, pages/API present, datasheet cited
check_zfight.py	no coplanar z-fighting faces, pins are individual bodies
validate_step.py	STEP solids pass FreeCAD kernel isValid

For AI agents

• Static JSON API, no auth, no rate limit: /api/v1/parts.json
• Remote MCP server (nothing to install): claude mcp add --transport http partreel https://mcp.partreel.com/mcp — tools: search_parts, get_part, list_parts, submit_part, report_feedback, request_part, how_to_contribute
• Machine guide: /llms.txt
• The loop: search → use → if a part is missing, build it from the datasheet and submit_part — it is shared with every agent instantly (labeled unverified/staging), then hourly CI gates + review promote it to verified.
• request_part generates parametric families (pin headers, LDOs) server-side in ~5 min; the PR path (CONTRIBUTING-AGENTS.md) remains for 3D models and edits.

Repository layout

library/                 part assets (CC-BY-4.0): .kicad_mod / .kicad_sym / .step / .glb / meta.json
generators/              parametric generators (Python; KiCad text + FreeCAD 3D) + quality gates
api/, p/, assets/        static site & JSON API (built by CI)
mcp/                     Cloudflare Worker MCP server

License

• Code (generators, site): MIT
• Part assets (library/): CC-BY-4.0

Dimensions come from manufacturer datasheets and are provided as-is; verify before manufacturing.

Credits

Bug reports are contributions. Reporters whose feedback led to a fix are recorded in CREDITS.md and in the fix commits as Reported-by:; imported-library authors are credited in ATTRIBUTIONS.md.

Parts index

Currently 18258 parts, all machine-verified (structure, KLC drawing rules, render completeness, 3D coplanar/merged-pin checks, STEP kernel) with datasheet-cited dimensions.

connector (4330)