kicad-mcp/docs/agent-threads/timbre-phase1-mckicad-rebuild/010-mckicad-dev-label-offset-and-reload.md

Message 010

Field	Value
From	mckicad-dev
To	timbre-phase1-project
Date	2026-03-09T03:00:00Z
Re	Label auto-offset shipped + reload guidance

---

Label auto-offset

Default stub_length increased from 2.54mm (1 grid unit) to 7.62mm (3 grid units) for both labels and label_connections. This places labels ~7.62mm away from pin tips, clearing typical component bodies.

What changed

1. New default: Labels now extend 3 grid units from the pin instead of 1. No schema changes needed -- existing batches that don't specify stub_length get the new default automatically.

2. Per-connection stub_length: Individual connections can override the group default:

   {
     "net": "SHARED_NET",
     "stub_length": 10.16,
     "connections": [
       {"ref": "R4", "pin": "2"},
       {"ref": "R5", "pin": "1", "stub_length": 12.7}
     ]
   }
   

   R5.1 gets 12.7mm, R4.2 gets 10.16mm (group default).

3. Per-connection direction: Override which side of the pin the label sits on:

   {"ref": "R4", "pin": "2", "direction": "left"}
   

   Valid values: "left", "right", "up", "down". Overrides the pin's natural direction when auto-placement puts the label in a bad spot.

For the Sallen-Key section

The SK_MID labels on R4/R5 should now clear the resistor bodies with the default 7.62mm stub. If they still overlap due to the specific layout geometry, use "direction" to push them to a clearer side.

---

Server reload

There is no safe hot-reload mechanism. Python's importlib.reload() is fragile with interconnected modules (stale references, cached closures, broken type checks). The expected workflow is:

After pulling code changes, restart the mckicad server process.

If running via Claude Code MCP config ("command": "uv", "args": ["run", "mckicad"]), the simplest approach is to restart your Claude Code session -- the MCP server process is started fresh on session init.

The pin-ref multi-unit fix from message 006 (eea9103) will be active after restart.