Ryan Malloy f01c44d807 Implement the freeroute CLI (DSN in, SES out, JAR-flag-compatible)
The pyproject declared a freeroute script but freeroute.cli was missing, so the
entry point was broken. Add it: reads a Specctra .dsn, routes (rip-up on by
default), writes SES. Accepts FreeRouting-compatible -de/-do flags so it can be
dropped in wherever 'java -jar freerouting.jar' was called.
2026-07-12 13:44:41 -06:00

freeroute

A native Python PCB autorouter — a Java-free port of the FreeRouting engine.

Why

kicad-mcp currently autoroutes by shelling out to freerouting.jar, which drags in a JVM dependency. freeroute reimplements the routing engine in pure Python so the toolchain needs no Java at all.

The contract

The entire integration surface is two Specctra files:

board.dsn  ──▶  freeroute  ──▶  board.ses
(unrouted)                       (routed session: traces + vias)

kicad-cli already exports .dsn and imports .ses, so freeroute is a drop-in replacement for the JAR step — nothing else in the pipeline changes.

Status

Pre-alpha. Under active development. See docs/PORTING_PLAN.md for the architecture and porting roadmap.

Usage (target)

freeroute board.dsn -o board.ses

Development

uv sync
uv run pytest
uv run ruff check src/ tests/

License

GPL-3.0-or-later, matching the FreeRouting source it is ported from.

Description
Native Python PCB autorouter — a Java-free port of the FreeRouting engine (Specctra DSN in, SES out)
Readme GPL-3.0 391 KiB
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