# Seve - I need someone to write a guide on impor...
Channel: #contributor
Source: https://discord.com/channels/1233487248129921135/1523718730335387862
Started: 2026-07-06T15:54:15.057000+00:00
Last activity: 2026-07-10T03:15:21.350000+00:00
## Seve — 2026-07-06T15:54:14.637000+00:00
I need someone to write a guide on importing from Ultra Librarian to tscircuit
## techmannih — 2026-07-06T16:53:58.400000+00:00
yea i will take a look
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T02:18:51.110000+00:00
Im back!!!
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T02:19:04.151000+00:00
for UltraLibrarian files, do we want the same direct import flow as .kicad_pcb files?
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T02:19:25.113000+00:00
Like the user imports the UL file and tscircuit handles it directly internally, without asking the user to run any separate converter?
## Seve — 2026-07-09T02:19:45.252000+00:00
UL isn't a file
## Seve — 2026-07-09T02:19:58.514000+00:00
try to just put yourself in the situation of a user that is trying to use a UL chip
## Seve — 2026-07-09T02:20:18.068000+00:00
research what the user needs to do, then improve the user experience by fixing bugs
## Seve — 2026-07-09T02:20:34.869000+00:00
they should be able to e.g. download the kicad mod file from UL then import it as the footprint
## Seve — 2026-07-09T02:20:48.052000+00:00
but what if they want the schematic symbol? Help guide this process and plan for new product features
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T02:23:45.086000+00:00
Yea, I'll research it.
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T03:16:58.796000+00:00
process is too long,
Visit UltraLibrarian, search for the part number, select the footprint variant, and click Download. Before downloading, the user needs to sign in or create an UltraLibrarian account. After logging in, choose the KiCad v5/v6 format, download the ZIP, extract it, and use the .kicad_mod file as the footprint.
then use that kicad_mod file in tsicircuit as, but it is not working right now, may be due to kicad's v5/v6 but I will check it and confirm
```
import kicadMod from "./footprint.kicad_mod"
export default () => {
return (
)
}
```
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T03:17:19.327000+00:00
Yeah, I think we'll also need the schematic symbol and the STEP file, since the KiCad download only provides the footprint as a .kicad_mod file.
## Seve — 2026-07-09T03:20:24.883000+00:00
Yes we cant change the requirement to login to UL, but loading the symbol and footprint should work
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T03:22:14.439000+00:00
Yeah, I’ll check and fix why the .kicad_mod file from UL is not working
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T03:22:50.356000+00:00
from where we should get the symbol? 🤔
## Seve — 2026-07-09T03:55:40.750000+00:00
Does UL give a download that supports it
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T03:58:47.678000+00:00
No, We can preview them in UL, but it doesn't provide a downloadable schematic symbol or STEP file. It only provides the footprint (.kicad_mod) for download.
Attachment: image.png — https://community.tscircuit.com/media/1524625845065486386
## Seve — 2026-07-09T03:59:02.185000+00:00
It should
## Seve — 2026-07-09T03:59:04.607000+00:00
Look more
## Seve — 2026-07-09T03:59:41.908000+00:00
What is in the kicad download? There is not a symbol?
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T04:00:34.079000+00:00
No, only kicad_mod
Attachment: image.png — https://community.tscircuit.com/media/1524626291230380052
## Seve — 2026-07-09T04:00:46.452000+00:00
What is lib
## Seve — 2026-07-09T04:01:04.198000+00:00
What does the import guide say?
## Seve — 2026-07-09T04:01:21.383000+00:00
Maybe it is sometimes footprint only but id be surprised…
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T04:03:53.724000+00:00
Yes, I found the .kicad_sym file when downloading the KiCad v6. It isn't included in the KiCad v5 download.
## Seve — 2026-07-09T04:04:19.636000+00:00
:/ k try to be accurate…
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T04:04:34.309000+00:00
It renders on the help guidelines.
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T05:00:17.629000+00:00
thats the reason we're seeing an empty PCB view is that we don't support modules yet. We need to add support for them.
Attachment: image.png — https://community.tscircuit.com/media/1524641321321758841
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T05:00:31.016000+00:00
i think that is due to kicad v5
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T05:01:33.741000+00:00
in the kicad old version , (module ...) root support missing
## Seve — 2026-07-09T05:27:41.136000+00:00
In kicadts, its ok to add a way to convert kicad5 to kicad6, but we will not directly support kicad5- is this a kicad5 issue?
## Seve — 2026-07-09T05:28:27.501000+00:00
Any kicad code for kicad5 must be completely separate from kicadts- ideally in a different module. kicadts can call that module to upgrade kicad5 to kicad6 before parsing
## Seve — 2026-07-09T05:29:39.960000+00:00
We should also add a note in the readme that we will not support kicad5, and support is best effort using kicad5-to-kicad6 module conversion (we can create that module)
## Seve — 2026-07-09T05:30:24.534000+00:00
We do not want kicad5 support in kicadts, we should use a separate conversion process
## Seve — 2026-07-09T05:30:32.296000+00:00
The reason why is it makes the code shitty
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T05:30:36.581000+00:00
Yes, this issue is caused by the missing (module ...) syntax, which is used in the older KiCad 5 format uses a different format.
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T05:33:49.362000+00:00
Yeah, that makes sense. We can add it directly in kicad-to-circuit-json without touching kicadts.
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T06:32:16.676000+00:00
<@757706909351411845> RE: we need to support for .kicad_sym file as symbol={symbolKicadFile} as a custom symbol
## Seve — 2026-07-09T16:41:14.500000+00:00
yes that makes sense
## Seve — 2026-07-09T16:41:25.131000+00:00
which means you need to add support for providing a symbol as circuit json
## Seve — 2026-07-09T16:41:33.337000+00:00
`symbol={circuitJsonForSymbol}`
## techmannih — 2026-07-09T19:02:20.050000+00:00
No, I think we dont need to provide it as Circuit JSON because Circuit JSON is used inside ``.
I think we just need to add `symbol={symbolKicadFile}` inside ``, the same way we do for `footprint`.
Attachment: Screenshot_from_2026-07-10_00-30-17.png — https://community.tscircuit.com/media/1524853228020305921
## Seve — 2026-07-09T20:27:57.940000+00:00
that is not how that works
## Seve — 2026-07-09T20:28:16.561000+00:00
`kicadMod` is a circuitJson file when imported
## Seve — 2026-07-09T20:28:27.771000+00:00
in the code above, `kicadMod` is circuit json
## Seve — 2026-07-09T20:28:45.441000+00:00
it turns into circuit json via the import loader, likely in tscircuit/eval
## techmannih — 2026-07-10T01:32:09.372000+00:00
yea, I was thinking the same before. but docs were just confusing me a bit with kicadMod name, so I wasn't sure
## techmannih — 2026-07-10T01:43:24.367000+00:00
https://github.com/tscircuit/props/pull/718
## Seve — 2026-07-10T03:15:21.350000+00:00
nice