KiCad 10 deprecations, removals, and Konnect compatibility watch list

[neusse]

KiCad 10 compatibility, deprecation, and removal audit

Published as Konnect discussion #224.

Research date: 2026-08-15
Konnect revision examined: c74ebb01ee2376c53ce29cefe51a870d69d88130
KiCad baseline: 10.0.5 (released 2026-07-22). KiCad 10.0.0 was released 2026-03-20.

Executive conclusion

There is no single official “everything removed in KiCad 10” page. The defensible list comes from comparing the official KiCad 9 and 10 CLI manuals and command-registration source, then separately checking the IPC API, legacy pcbnew Python bindings, plugin manifests, and file-format writers.

For Konnect, the confirmed KiCad 10 CLI removals are low impact: the singular pcb export gerber command and the deprecated --plot-invisible-text option disappeared, and Konnect uses neither. The repository's claims that KiCad 10 removed sch annotate, pcb sync, and Specctra DSN/SES CLI commands should be corrected: none appears in the official KiCad 8, 9, or 10 CLI command set. They are absent CLI capabilities, not proven KiCad 10 removals.

Freerouting itself does work with KiCad 10 through the KiCad Freerouting ActionPlugin. A live Windows test with plugin version 2.3.0 successfully exported DSN through pcbnew.ExportSpecctraDSN, ran Freerouting, imported the resulting session through pcbnew.ImportSpecctraSES, and refreshed the PCB editor. The defect is narrower: Konnect's MCP autoroute handler is disabled even though its README, registry, and tool description advertise it. This must not be reported as a missing KiCad 10 or Freerouting capability.

The important forward-compatibility issue is KiCad 11: KiCad officially says the legacy SWIG pcbnew Python bindings are removed there. That breaks Konnect's plugin/__init__.py ActionPlugin launcher/settings UI. Konnect's separate executable plugin.json IPC plugin follows the replacement architecture and should remain viable, but it does not by itself reproduce all of the legacy dialog and process-lifecycle behavior.

Discussion-ready findings

Surface	KiCad status	Konnect impact	Recommended disposition
CLI pcb export gerber (singular)	Deprecated in KiCad 9 with an explicit “will be removed in KiCad 10” notice; absent from KiCad 10 command registration. Replacement: pcb export gerbers.	None found: export_gerber already calls plural gerbers.	Record as confirmed removed and already migrated.
CLI --plot-invisible-text	Deprecated/no-op in 9.0.1 and absent from the KiCad 10 exporter interface.	None found.	Record as confirmed removed; unaffected.
CLI pcb export hpgl and sch export hpgl	Still registered in KiCad 10 only as compatibility stubs; they return an error and are documented for future removal. HPGL-only --pen-size and --origin are also deprecated/no-op.	Konnect exposes neither HPGL command.	Record as present but nonfunctional; future removal; unaffected.
CLI sch export bom --include-excluded-from-bom	Deprecated in 10.0 and has no effect.	Konnect uses the supported exclusion/DNP controls, not this flag.	Unaffected.
CLI PCB SVG output mode	The implicit single-file default is deprecated; KiCad says a future default will behave like --mode-multi.	export_svg_pcb passes no mode and treats output as one file. This is a real future behavior risk.	Pass the intended mode explicitly and test both output contracts.
CLI PCB DXF output mode	The implicit default is deprecated in the same way.	Konnect explicitly passes --mode-multi.	Already insulated.
CLI PCB PDF/SVG --layers	KiCad 10 defines one --layers argument containing a comma-separated list.	Konnect emits repeated --layers <layer> arguments for PDF and SVG. Parser behavior was not live-tested here, so this is a contract mismatch, not a confirmed failure. DXF correctly joins layers.	Change PDF/SVG to one comma-separated value or add a KiCad 10 live test first.
CLI sch annotate, pcb sync, Specctra DSN export/SES import	Not listed or registered in the official KiCad 8, 9, or 10 CLI. KiCad 10's in-editor Python API and Freerouting ActionPlugin successfully perform the Specctra exchange.	DEV.md, the autoroute handler, and a manufacturing diagnostic call the CLI operations “removed in v10.” Konnect's MCP autoroute is advertised but always errors; the independently installed KiCad plugin works.	Reword as not available through kicad-cli (not proven removed). Implement a Konnect bridge to the working plugin/API path or label autoroute unavailable; do not describe Freerouting itself as unavailable.
Legacy pcbnew SWIG Python API / ActionPlugin	Deprecated starting in KiCad 9; supported in 9/10; officially removed in KiCad 11.	plugin/__init__.py imports pcbnew, subclasses pcbnew.ActionPlugin, and implements the settings/start-stop UI. It will not load in KiCad 11.	Treat as the highest-confidence scheduled break. Move remaining UI/lifecycle behavior to the executable IPC plugin or another supported UI.
Executable plugin.json IPC action	This is the supported IPC plugin model: the manifest starts an external executable which connects through the IPC API.	plugin/plugin.json already declares bin/konnect.exe. It is architecturally compatible with the replacement model.	Preserve and test on KiCad 11; do not claim it automatically replaces the legacy settings dialog.
IPC RunAction / UI action strings	KiCad's own schema explicitly says TOOL_ACTION names are not an API: names may change or disappear during refactoring.	Konnect implements a generic run_action client method, although no current MCP handler was found calling it.	Keep it out of stable capability claims. If exposed later, version-map and runtime-probe every action string.
IPC TextAttributes.visible	Deprecated since API 9.0.1 because non-field text is always visible.	Konnect still sets it in konnect-ipc/src/builders.rs.	Stop relying on it; safe cleanup/migration debt.
IPC NetCode / Net.code	Deprecated: official schema says net codes are no longer used and clients should use the net name. The fields remain in the KiCad 10.0.5 schema and current development schema, so no KiCad 11 removal is confirmed.	Konnect constructs and resolves codes in builders/client and uses them throughout PCB sync.	Migrate to name-based identity where the API permits; track as deprecated, removal date unknown, not “removed in 11.”
.kicad_pcb S-expression nets	KiCad 10's writer serializes named nets inline on pads, tracks, and zones rather than relying on the legacy top-level ordinal net table.	Konnect has KiCad-10-aware named-net parsing/routing code; add_net intentionally cannot add an empty top-level table entry to a KiCad 10 board.	Consider the known format change largely adapted, but retain round-trip tests because direct S-expression editing is outside the stable IPC contract.

Evidence and source notes

CLI commands and options

The KiCad 9 CLI manual marks singular pcb export gerber for removal in 10 and marks --plot-invisible-text deprecated/no-op. The KiCad 10 CLI manual documents the surviving command surface, the nonfunctional HPGL stubs, and the deprecated BOM flag. The KiCad 10 CLI registration source registers plural gerbers but not singular gerber.

The absence finding for annotation, PCB synchronization, and Specctra exchange is based on all three official command inventories: KiCad 8, KiCad 9, and KiCad 10, plus the KiCad 9 and KiCad 10 registration source. This establishes “not in the documented CLI since at least KiCad 8,” not that no older release ever had a similarly named command.

These CLI absences must not be confused with GUI capabilities. KiCad's PCB editor retains the Specctra implementation in the KiCad 10 specctra_import_export source; PCB update from schematic is likewise an editor workflow. The issue is lack of a kicad-cli entry point for Konnect's current headless workflow, not lack of routing support in KiCad 10.

That distinction was verified locally on 2026-08-15. The KiCad 10 PCM installation at Documents/KiCad/10.0/3rdparty/plugins/app_freerouting_kicad-plugin contains Freerouting 2.3.0. Its log records two successful DSN-mode cycles against PIC16F88_HDLG2416_Clock.kicad_pcb: DSN export succeeded, Freerouting completed, SES import succeeded, and the KiCad UI refreshed. The project directory also contains multiple DSN/SES routing artifacts from the earlier board workflow. This is direct evidence that the installed ActionPlugin is a functioning fallback and a candidate integration path.

The SVG and DXF mode warnings are explicit in the KiCad 10 SVG exporter source and DXF exporter source. The common PCB exporter defines --layers as a single comma-separated list in command_pcb_export_base.cpp. The HPGL error behavior is implemented in the KiCad 10 PCB HPGL and schematic plot sources.

Python, plugins, and IPC

KiCad's API and bindings overview records the SWIG deprecation, and the official kicad-python project states the concrete compatibility boundary: legacy SWIG is present in KiCad 9 and 10 and removed in KiCad 11.

KiCad's add-on developer documentation describes executable plugin.json actions and also records an important architecture constraint: in KiCad 9 and 10 the IPC API is GUI-only and does not expose plotting/export, so invoking kicad-cli for those jobs is the intended fallback rather than a deprecated design.

The official IPC evolution rules say deprecated protobuf fields are retained for at least the current major version and may be removed at a later major release, but not a bug-fix release. The exact deprecations are in the KiCad 10.0.5 TextAttributes schema and Net schema. NetCode remains present in the current development schema, so a specific removal release cannot yet be claimed.

Typed protobuf stability does not extend to editor action names. The official RunAction schema comment explicitly warns that these names are unstable and intended for low-level prototyping.

File format

The official PCB file-format documentation explains the date-versioned header and cautions third-party writers about format ownership. For the KiCad 10 net representation, the authoritative primary evidence is the KiCad 10 PCB S-expression writer, which writes named nets on pads, tracks, and zones.

Known gaps and proposed watch list

• KiCad 10 and its Freerouting plugin were exercised live, but the repeated---layers behavior and complete Konnect CLI export suite were not. A Windows KiCad 10.0.5 smoke test should still cover every CLI wrapper Konnect registers.
• Official manuals document public CLI behavior but do not provide a historical ledger of every internal or UI action. “Absent” is therefore intentionally separate from “removed.”
• No official source found promises that deprecated IPC NetCode fields will be removed in KiCad 11. Watch each major-release schema diff rather than assigning an unsupported deadline.
• Direct .kicad_sch/.kicad_pcb editing has no protobuf-style compatibility guarantee. Diff the official writers and run open/save/DRC/ERC round trips for every KiCad major release.
• KiCad 11 IPC adds capabilities beyond the KiCad 9/10 GUI-only API, but that is an addition, not a KiCad 10 removal; it should be evaluated separately when Konnect declares KiCad 11 support.

Official release references: KiCad 10.0.0, 2026-03-20 and KiCad 10.0.5, 2026-07-22.

[mixelpixx]

This is the most useful thing anyone has written about Konnect's KiCad-version exposure, mainly because of the distinction you drew and held to throughout: absent from the CLI is not the same as removed in KiCad 10. I checked each finding against the source and acted on the ones that were cheap and unambiguous.

Corrected immediately — we were stating something false

You are right and Konnect was wrong in three places:

• DEV.md:381 — "3 CLI commands removed in KiCAD v10 (specctra DSN/SES, pcb sync)"
• manufacturing.rs:321 — a fix hint saying pcb sync "was removed in v10"
• the autoroute handler's own error message

Fixed in f6bfb37. This mattered more than pedantry: "removed in KiCAD 10" reads to a user as "Freerouting does not work on KiCad 10", which your live ActionPlugin run disproves. The refusal now says which layer lacks the capability and points at the two paths that do work — the PCM ActionPlugin and the PCB editor's own Specctra import/export.

--layers, and where it led

CONFIRMED, and it turned out to be the answer to a defect reported in a different thread. export_pdf and export_svg_pcb (cli.rs:489, :501) push --layers once per layer; export_dxf (:585) joins with commas — and its doc comment states the belief that produced the bug:

Unlike pdf/svg, DXF's --layers takes a single comma-separated value rather than a repeatable flag

Backwards, per command_pcb_export_base.cpp. In discussion #239 the same reporter had board PDF and board SVG failing with kicad-cli exited with 1 and empty stderr while every other export succeeded, and snapshot_project returning a PCB PDF path that did not exist — that call goes through the same export_pdf and discards the result with let _ =.

Filed as #250 (with the SVG mode default) and #252. Not fixed this round; the round was scoped to a data-corruption bug and two fail-open verdicts.

I also took your point about the CLI wrapper suite never having been swept end to end. That is in #250 as the actual remedy — a KiCad 10.0.5 pass over every wrapper Konnect registers, rather than fixing the two we happen to have caught.

autoroute and Freerouting discovery

CONFIRMED on all three counts and filed as #253: the tool is advertised in the README, the registry description, tool-directory.md and its own schema, its handler unconditionally errors, and find_freerouting_jar probes the process's cwd plus two hardcoded Unix paths — so a PCM install on Windows is invisible no matter what Java is available.

Your evidence that the 2.3.0 ActionPlugin round-trips DSN/SES on a KiCad 10 board is what makes the third part of that issue worth doing rather than dropping. I have not committed to which of the three parts lands; the immediate safe change is capability-aware discovery so a client can find out before calling.

Compatibility watch list

Filed as #257, verbatim where you had it right:

• KiCad 11 removes the SWIG pcbnew bindings. plugin/__init__.py imports pcbnew and subclasses ActionPlugin; it will not load. plugin/plugin.json already declares the executable IPC action and is architecturally fine, but does not by itself reproduce the settings dialog or the process lifecycle. This is the one with a real deadline and it needs a plan before KiCad 11, not after. It also touches Plugin leaks orphan konnect server processes: PID file only tracks the last one #103, whose ownership model is partly built around the legacy spawn path.
• TextAttributes.visible — set at builders.rs:430. Worth noting for anyone who fixes it: client.rs:1466 uses the modern Field.visible and must not be changed with it.
• NetCode — recorded as deprecated with no removal release, per your point that it is still in the current development schema. Watch each major diff rather than assigning a deadline.
• RunAction — kept out of stable capability claims. No handler calls it today.

Your recommendation to diff the official writers and run open/save/DRC/ERC round trips at every KiCad major release is the right shape for the file-format half, and I have written it into that issue as a release-checklist item rather than a one-off.

The one thing I would push back on slightly

Nothing, on the technical content. But it is worth recording for anyone reading later that this audit's real value was methodological: it separated four different claims that all sound like "KiCad removed it" — deprecated-and-still-present, removed-and-already-migrated, present-but-nonfunctional-stub, and never-existed — and Konnect's docs had collapsed the last one into the second. That is the kind of error that survives indefinitely because it sounds plausible and nobody re-derives it.

Thank you for the citations. Being able to click straight to kicad_cli.cpp for each claim is why this took an afternoon to act on instead of a week.