Board and KiCad

The Board tab shows the KiCad layout generated from your .zen source: footprints, tracks, vias, zones, the board outline and unrouted connections. You can inspect it, make small edits, run checks, view it in 3D, and hand it to KiCad. Open it from the Add tab (+) menu under Workspaces, or with View on board from a selected schematic part.

When the Board tab is empty

Title	Meaning	What to do
Board is not synced yet	No pcb/ workspace, or no .kicad_pcb layout yet	Click Ask agent to sync board, or ask the agent to generate the PCB layout.
KiCad schematic imported	You imported a KiCad schematic without a layout	Ask the agent to generate the KiCad board layout.

When the project qualifies, the empty state also offers Import KiCad (see below).

The board files live in the board's layout/ folder, for example pcb/layout/main.kicad_pcb and main.kicad_pro. The Board tab and the Schematics tab show the board selected in pcb/pcb.toml. If your project has more than one board, ask the agent to work on the other one by naming its .zen or .kicad_pcb file.

The 2D view

The header has the view switch (2D PCB / 3D Viewer), View BOM, an Export artifacts button, Open KiCad, and, once DRC has passed with no errors, Manufacture. See Manufacturing and ordering for the BOM, exports and ordering.

Navigate

• Mouse wheel zooms around the pointer.
• Drag empty space to pan. In View mode you can drag over parts to pan; a click still selects.
• Fit board in the footer fits the whole board.
• The grid selector sets 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 (default) or 1 mm.

Layers

Each layer the board uses has a chip at the top of the canvas (for example F Cu, B Cu, F Silk, Edge Cuts). Click a chip to hide or show that layer. The Layers tab in the side panel has the same list as checkboxes with KiCad names (F.Cu, B.Cu, F.SilkS, Edge.Cuts).

Tools and side panel

The Tools panel on the left (collapsed at first) has:

Tool	Key	Use
View / pan	H	Default. Pan and click to inspect.
Select / move	V	Select and drag footprints, text and routes.
Route		Draw a track between pads.
Board outline		Draw the board outline on Edge.Cuts.
Add text		Click to place a silkscreen label.
Copy screenshot		Copy the current view as a PNG to the clipboard.

The side panel has Components (reference, side and value of every footprint), Layers, Properties and DRC tabs.

Select a component

Click a footprint to select it. The bar at the bottom shows:

• Ref · Value opens the Properties tab.
• Add to chat (key A) attaches the part to your next message.
• View in schematic jumps to the same part in the Schematics tab.
• Datasheet, when one is known.

Selection is one item at a time.

Edit the board by hand

Every edit is written straight to the .kicad_pcb file. The footer shows "Saving…" while it writes, and a short confirmation such as "Moved U1" or "Updated board outline" appears.

Edit	How
Move a footprint	Drag it in Select / move mode.
Rotate	R / Shift+R (±90°), or Rotate 90° in the footer.
Set exact position, rotation or side	Properties > Selected Footprint: X, Y, Rotation, Layer (Top / Bottom flips the part), then Apply Changes.
Edit a track or via	Select it, change width, layer or position in Properties, then Apply Changes, or Delete Route.
Draw a track	Route tool: click a pad to start, click to add corners, click a pad to finish. Tab switches 45°/90° bends, V places a via, Backspace steps back, Enter saves, Esc cancels. Pick the Trace layer and Width in the bar above the canvas.
Board outline	Board outline tool: click corners, click the first corner or press Enter to close. Rectangular outlines can be edited by X, Y, width and height (Apply Outline). With no outline, Generate Outline creates one around the components.
Silkscreen text	Add text, then edit content, position, size and layer (Top Silk, Bot Silk, Drawing).
Undo / redo	Undo / Redo in the footer, or ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z and ⇧⌘Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z (Ctrl+Y).

Public projects opened by link allow only View and Select.

Board checks

The DRC tab combines KiCad's design-rule check with the manufacturing (DFM) check from the Manufacturing tab.

• Running. DRC runs when you first open the tab and again shortly after the board changes. Run DRC / Run again runs it on demand. Save pending edits first if the button is disabled.
• Summary. The header reads, for example, "3 Errors, 5 Warnings" or "No DRC violations". The footer shows the same DRC summary next to Footprints, Tracks, Unrouted and the board size.
• Filters. All, Errors, Warnings, DFM and Unconnected, each with a count. Clicking Unrouted in the footer opens the list filtered to connectivity.
• Groups. Findings are grouped as Design rules, Connectivity, Schematic parity and Manufacturing (DFM). Ignored checks collapse into "N checks ignored" at the bottom.
• Markers. Errors are marked red and warnings amber on the board. Hover a marker for its message, click it to open the finding.
• Locate. Each affected item has a Show on board button that zooms to it, pulses a target and selects the item. Use the up and down arrow keys to step through findings.
• Send to chat. Add to chat on a finding attaches the rule, message, board file and affected items, so you can ask "Fix this clearance error without moving U3."

Stale results

After you change the board, the panel says "Board modified. Run again to re-verify." and hides the markers until the next run. DFM findings go stale separately: when the board has changed since the manufacturing check, the line reads "Board changed since the manufacturing check. Check the board again in Manufacturing." and no DFM findings are listed.

From the Manufacturing tab, Show on board on a finding opens the Board tab on the DFM filter at that location.

3D view

Click 3D Viewer. While it loads you see "Loading 3D board...".

• Controls: Top, Bottom, Isometric and Fit (key F). Left-drag orbits, right-drag pans, the wheel zooms. The board turns slowly until you touch it.
• Board color: green, blue, red, black, white, purple or yellow solder mask.
• Pick parts: click a component to select it; A adds it to chat and Esc clears the selection.
• Missing models: parts without a usable 3D model are drawn as dashed footprint outlines and listed under "footprint previews".
• Screenshot: Copy 3D screenshot.
• Live edits: when you move parts, the view updates in place ("Updating 3D layers…") without a full reload.

The 3D model is exported by KiCad 10 on your machine when it is installed, and in the cloud otherwise, so the view works without KiCad. If the export fails, use Retry 3D preview.

With local KiCad 10, the 3D model is prepared in the background while you look at the 2D board and kept in .embedr-board/3d/ next to the board, so opening 3D on an unchanged board is quick.

Import a KiCad design

Start from the home page (Import KiCad) to create a new project, or from the Board tab's empty state to import into a project whose PCB workspace is empty or still the starter.

1. Choose a .kicad_pro or .kicad_sch file (in the browser, choose the folder that contains the design).
2. If the folder has several designs, pick one under Design to import. For a new project, enter a Project name.
3. Click Create imported project or Import into project.

A project file brings in the schematic and the PCB when they pass validation. A schematic alone is converted to .zen with its netlist, and you generate the layout later. The import writes pcb/pcb.toml, a README.md, the generated .zen board file and validation reports into pcb/; firmware and other files are untouched. Importing on desktop needs KiCad 10.

If the workspace already has design files, the import is refused: import into a new project instead.

Open in KiCad

Open KiCad opens the board in the KiCad application. It needs KiCad 10 (10.0.3 or newer) on this computer and is not available in the browser, where you can download the board files instead. In the Schematics tab, Export to KiCad does the same for the schematic.

Use KiCad for anything the Board tab does not cover, then come back: Embedr reads the saved .kicad_pcb.

Agent board edits

The agent edits boards with dedicated tools for tracks and vias, copper zones, geometry and keepouts, markings, design rules and placement. Rows read, for example, PCB tracks and vias, PCB copper zones, PCB geometry or Manual PCB placement.

Larger edits are previewed first:

1. The agent runs the edit as a preview. The row reads "Previewed: …" with the number of findings to review, the DRC result, and whether it ran on local KiCad or in the cloud.
2. It inspects the preview (often with a PCB screenshot).
3. It applies exactly that preview with Apply previewed board edit, without running KiCad again. The row reads "Applied: …".

A preview is refused if the board, its rules or the preview files changed in between. Before each change a backup is kept under .embedr-board/backups/ next to the board.

Good requests:

• "Move J1 to the left edge, connector facing out, and lock it."
• "Add a GND pour on both layers and refill zones."
• "Run DRC and fix the clearance errors around U2 without moving parts."

Local KiCad 10 or the cloud

Settings → Local tools (desktop) shows whether KiCad 10 is installed (Check) and, under Where tools run, lets you choose for KiCad:

• Local when available — board edits, checks, exports and routing use KiCad 10 on this machine when it is installed, otherwise the cloud.
• Always cloud — always use the cloud.

Opening boards in KiCad and importing KiCad designs always use your local KiCad. In the browser, board work always runs in the cloud. See Settings and privacy.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key	2D view	3D view
H	View / pan tool
V	Select / move tool; places a via while routing
A	Add selected part to chat	Add selected part to chat
R / Shift+R	Rotate selected footprint ±90°
F		Fit board
⌘Z / Ctrl+Z	Undo
⇧⌘Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z / Ctrl+Y	Redo
Enter	Finish a route or close an outline
Tab	Switch bend style while routing
Backspace / Delete	Step back, or delete the selected route
Esc	Cancel, clear selection, return to pan	Clear selection
↑ / ↓	Step through findings in the DRC tab

The canvas must have focus; shortcuts are ignored while you type in a field.