Library Conventions | KiCad EDA

Version 3.0.41

Library maintainer rules & guidelines

S6.2 Symbol fields and metadata filled out as required

  1. Reference field is selected appropriately for the symbol and is visible

  2. Value field contains the name of the symbol and is visible

  3. Footprint field contains footprint link for fully specified symbols and must be invisible

    1. The footprint field must be empty for generic symbols

  4. Datasheet entry is filled out, and is invisible

    1. For generic symbols, the datasheet field should be a tilde (~)

  5. The symbol contains no other custom fields

Additional documentation is provided via two other fields:

  1. Description field contains comma-separated device information

    1. For symbols with a default footprint, the simplified footprint name should be appended to the description e.g. SOIC-8

    2. Part name should not be duplicated in the description field

  2. Keywords field contains space-separated keyword values. These values are used to assist in part searching and should be selected to assist end-users in finding suitable parts

    1. Keywords should contain typical aliases for words, Example: Description contains Operational amplifier ⇒ keywords should contain opamp.

    2. Keywords should not include filler words. Example positive negative instead of positive and negative

    3. Any single word which already appears in the description field, should not be included in the keywords field. Example: Description = 50mA Low-Dropout voltage regulator, QFN-16 ⇒ Keywords could include LDO but not regulator or QFN

    4. In case phrases (multiple words which belong together) are used in the keywords, the must not be separated by spaces, but by a dash. Example: voltage-regulator instead of voltage regulator

    5. Words which are prefixes of other words from either the Keywords or Description field should not appear in the keywords. Example: Description = FPGA with Brown-Out detection, QFN-16 ⇒ Keywords could include brownout but not brown