Purdue ROV KiCad Board Template

This is the central base template for starting any new hardware board project at Purdue ROV.

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⚡ Recommended Daily Workflow: 1-Click KiCad Launcher

To ensure your local library is always 100% up-to-date with new parts added by teammates without ever needing to run manual Git commands:

🎯 Double-Click LAUNCH_KICAD.bat to Start Work

• Windows: Double-click LAUNCH_KICAD.bat in your project folder.
• Mac / Linux: Double-click LAUNCH_KICAD.sh (or run ./LAUNCH_KICAD.sh in terminal).

What this script does for you automatically:

1. Auto-Fetches Central Library Parts (0.5 seconds): Silently connects to purdue-rov-kicad-lib on GitHub and pulls any new symbols, footprints, or 3D models added by teammates while you were away.
2. Eliminates Missing Symbol Question Marks: Guarantees you never open KiCad with outdated or missing component definitions.
3. Launches KiCad: Immediately opens your .kicad_pro project in KiCad.

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🔄 How Automated Library Syncing Works

Even if you are working solo on your board repository and rarely run git pull, your central component library stays updated automatically through 3 layers of protection:

1. 🚀 On KiCad Launch (LAUNCH_KICAD.bat): Pulls the latest library symbols & footprints before opening your project.
2. 🔄 On Git Commit (.githooks/pre-commit): Automatically fetches latest library commits right before completing any commit, updating your project's submodule pointer automatically.
3. ☁️ In GitHub Cloud (auto-update-submodule.yml): GitHub Actions automatically syncs the library submodule on daily schedule or whenever new library parts are published.

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🚀 How to Start a New Project

1. Click the "Use this template" button at the top of the GitHub repository.
2. Name your new repository (e.g., thruster-control-board) and click Create repository.
3. Clone your repository locally using the recursive flag:

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/purduerov/YOUR-BOARD-REPO.git

   [!TIP] Forgot --recursive or seeing missing symbol question marks? Run:

   git submodule update --init --recursive

4. Configure local Git clean filters and auto-sync hooks:
   • Windows (PowerShell): .\setup_git_filters.ps1
   • Linux / macOS: ./setup_git_filters.sh

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🧪 Local One-Click Validation (Docker Jobset)

Test your board locally with a single command to generate outputs inside Docker:

• Windows: .\run_validation.ps1
• Linux / macOS: ./run_validation.sh

Outputs generate in Generated_Outputs/ (Schematic PDF, Interactive BOM, Gerbers).

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➕ Adding New Parts to the Central Library

To add a new component downloaded online (SnapEDA, DigiKey, Ultra Librarian, LCSC, etc.):

1. Open libs/purdue-rov-kicad-lib and double-click IMPORT_PART_WIZARD.bat (or IMPORT_PART_WIZARD.sh).
2. Use the 1-Click Desktop GUI / Downloads Watcher to import, validate, and push to master!