V2.14

Plugin directory fix

• The directory edition (lite/) has no install-dialog options; its defaults live in kipcb settings, and Claude saves new ones when you ask.

V2.13

Plugin directory fix

• The repository download is now exactly the repository: no files are left out of it, as Claude's plugin directory requires.

V2.12

A tidier repository, and an edition for Claude's plugin directory

• The plugin now lives in plugin/, so the README shows near the top of the repository page. Installing and updating work as before (viaduct@viaduct).
• New lite/ edition for Claude's plugin directory: the same skills and reviewer agent with no code. On first use it asks, then downloads the matching kipcb engine from this repository's release into ~/.viaduct/engine/.
• kipcb settings --save updates your defaults (the directory edition uses it, since it has no startup script).

V2.11

A clearer README, with the demo video

• The README is reorganised: what it does, commands, a three-step install, an example, privacy, limits and docs. A thumbnail at the top opens the demo video.
• The startup script no longer reads KIPCB_* environment variables; kipcb doctor still honours custom install paths.
• The circuit-reviewer subagent lists its tools as a plain list, and a screenshot no longer carries an embedded colour profile.

V2.10

New website address: viaduct-pcb.github.io

• The plugin's homepage and the README now point to the new address. The old one redirects there.

V2.9

Startup script the plugin directory can read

• The startup script no longer builds commands from variables or writes script lines out of strings: it calls Python by name and copies a shipped launcher (scripts/statusline-launcher.sh) for the status bar. Same behaviour.
• The status line runs a small file (scripts/statusline.py) instead of inline Python.
• Removed embedded metadata text from a README image.

V2.8

Ready for Claude's plugin directory

• The knowledge base now ships as small files (data/knowledge/) instead of one 1 MB file, so every file fits the directory's size limits. Answers from kipcb ref and layout learning are unchanged.
• New "Network access" section in the README listing everything Viaduct fetches or sends, and what the startup script does.
• The startup script is rewritten so every command can be read on its own (same behaviour); the status bar setup moved into scripts/statusline_setup.py.

V2.7

What a board will cost, a 3D model for its enclosure, and tighter decoupling around dense chips.

Update

claude plugin marketplace update viaduct
claude plugin update viaduct@viaduct

What changed

• Cost estimate. kipcb cost <project> (and a one-line summary after
  the manufacturing files) estimates JLCPCB's price for 5, 10 and 100
  boards: bare boards, Economic PCBA assembly and parts at live prices. It
  names the priciest parts and the extended parts that add a loading fee,
  so you can swap them before ordering. /viaduct:fab reports it. The
  numbers are estimates without shipping; the live quote is the real price.
• STEP 3D model. The manufacturing files now include <name>.step, the
  assembled board for designing an enclosure in Fusion 360, Onshape,
  FreeCAD or SolidWorks.
• Fix: decoupling caps on small local rails go first. A capacitor from a
  chip's supply pin to ground now claims its spot right after the chip,
  however small the rail. The RP2040's core-voltage (DVDD) caps used to go
  after the crystal parts had taken the room and ended up 5-8 mm from their
  pins; now they sit at them, which also lets larger boards and 4-layer
  RP2040 boards pass preflight.
• Fix: spreading parts out on a roomy board no longer pushes one chip's
  decoupling caps apart.
• The website moved to
  virajrungta.github.io/viaduct.

V2.6

The plugin is now Viaduct.

Same plugin, new name: commands are now /viaduct:design, /viaduct:review,
/viaduct:inquiry and /viaduct:fab, the repo is
virajrungta/viaduct, and there's a
website at virajrungta.github.io/viaduct-site.

Move to the new name

The plugin and marketplace were renamed, so plugin update can't carry an
existing install across. Remove the old one and install Viaduct (your settings
are asked again; your boards and learned data are kept):

claude plugin uninstall pcb@pcb-claude-plugin
claude plugin marketplace remove pcb-claude-plugin
claude plugin marketplace add virajrungta/viaduct
claude plugin install viaduct@viaduct

What changed

• New name and logo. Commands, the reviewer agent
  (viaduct:circuit-reviewer), docs and messages all say Viaduct. The
  kipcb engine and your spec files are unchanged.
• Website with install steps, example boards and what's next.

V2.5

4- and 6-layer boards, with the layer count chosen for you.

V2.5 builds boards with more than 2 layers, with solid inner ground and
power planes, and can decide the layer count itself.

Update

claude plugin marketplace update pcb-claude-plugin
claude plugin update pcb@pcb-claude-plugin

What changed

• Two modes for layers. Pick 2, 4 or 6 yourself (in the spec or the
  plugin's default setting), or leave it on Auto, the new default. Auto
  chooses from the design's complexity and says why (LAYERS: in
  kipcb check and the run report). It picks 4 layers for BGAs, high-speed
  interfaces (Ethernet PHYs, DDR, HDMI, USB 3, MIPI) or when a clear majority
  of similar real routed boards use 4+ layers; otherwise 2, which is cheaper.
• Real stackups. On 4 layers, In1.Cu is a solid GND plane and In2.Cu a
  plane for the main supply rail; on 6, In1.Cu GND and In4.Cu power with two
  signal layers between. board.planes picks other nets, and {} keeps
  every inner layer for signals. kipcb places the via from each SMD pad to
  its plane itself, since the autorouter doesn't.
• Auto stays conservative for fine-pitch chips. Boards with 0.4 mm QFNs
  like the RP2040 currently route more completely on 2 layers, so auto
  keeps them there; you can still ask for 4.
• Fix: auto-shrink no longer pushes decoupling caps away from their
  pins. A smaller board is only accepted if every cap stays as close to its
  pin as it was at the starting size (the RP2040 board is back to 62 x 45 mm,
  preflight clean).
• Fix: the autorouter no longer steals focus from your browser or editor
  on macOS while it runs.
• Fix: the unrouted-board safety net stops early when a larger board
  doesn't route better, and keeps the nearly-routed board when a larger
  rebuild places or routes worse, instead of ending with nothing routed.