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.
| Format | Input Files | Description |
|---|---|---|
| IPC-2581 | .xml |
IPC-2581 XML files (RevA, RevB, RevC) from any compliant EDA tool |
| Cadence TCFX | .tcfx |
Constraint XML exported from Cadence Allegro: physical and spacing rules, net classes, stackup, regions |
| Cadence Allegro | .brd |
Native board files, exported in place to the two formats above (Windows only, requires a Cadence SPB installation) |
macOS / Linux:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IntelligentElectron/pcb-lens/main/install.sh | bashWindows (PowerShell):
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IntelligentElectron/pcb-lens/main/install.ps1 | iexWhy 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:
- Binary - For CLI usage and manual MCP client configuration
- 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\ |
The server checks for updates on startup. To update manually:
pcb-lens --updateFor developers who prefer npm:
npm install -g @intelligentelectron/pcb-lensOr use with npx (no installation required):
npx @intelligentelectron/pcb-lens --helpRequires Node.js 20+.
To update:
npm update -g @intelligentelectron/pcb-lensAfter installing the MCP with one of the methods above, you can connect it to your AI agent of choice.
- Download the Claude Desktop app
- Open Claude Desktop and go to Settings (gear icon)
- Under Desktop app, click Extensions
- Click Advanced settings
- In the Extension Developer section, click Install Extension...
- 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
- macOS:
The extension will be available immediately in your conversations.
Install Claude Code, then run:
claude mcp add --scope user pcb-lens -- pcb-lensInstall OpenAI Codex, then run:
codex mcp add pcb-lens -- pcb-lens| 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 |
The server can emit OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs for every tool call — a span, the tool.calls/tool.duration/tool.errors metrics, and a correlated log record — so you can see which tools are used, how long they take, and what fails. It is vendor-neutral and speaks OTLP, working with any compatible backend (OpenTelemetry Collector, Jaeger, Tempo, Prometheus, Honeycomb, Datadog, a managed cloud service, etc.).
Disabled by default, with zero overhead. Turn it on purely with the standard OTEL_* environment variables — point OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT at your backend (and optionally set OTEL_SERVICE_NAME); no code changes. Telemetry never affects tool results.
See docs/observability.md for the full signal reference, configuration, and integration guide.
See docs/ for API documentation and response schemas.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.
Created by Valentino Zegna
This project is hosted on GitHub under the IntelligentElectron organization.
Apache License 2.0 - see LICENSE