About KiCad
KiCad is an open source software suite for Electronic Design Automation (EDA). The programs handle Schematic Capture, and PCB Layout with Gerber output. The suite runs on Windows, Linux and macOS and is licensed under GNU GPL v3.
Mission Statement
The goal of the KiCad project is to provide the best possible cross platform electronics design application for professional electronics designers. Every effort is made to hide the complexity of advanced design features so that KiCad remains approachable by new and inexperienced users, but when determining the direction of the project and the priority of new features, the needs of professional users take precedence.
Project Governance
The KiCad project is governed by a technical committee made up of the members of the lead development team. Most decisions are made by a consensus of the technical committee. When a consensus cannot be reached the final decision is made by the project leader.
History
KiCad was first released in 1992 by its original author, Jean-Pierre Charras. It has been in continual development since then and is now managed by the KiCad Development Team.
The name of KiCad comes from the first letters of a company of Jean-Pierre Charras' friend "Ki" being combined with "Cad". But it now has no meaning other than being the name of the software suite. Mentioned by Jean-Pierre in an email.
Lead Developers
Roberto Fernandez Bautista |
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Jean-Pierre Charras |
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Jon Evans |
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Seth Hillbrand |
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Ian McInerney |
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Thomas Pointhuber |
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Mark Roszko |
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Wayne Stambaugh (Project Leader) |
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Mikolaj Wielgus |
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Tomasz Wlostowski |
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Jeff Young |
Developers Emeriti
John Beard |
Dick Hollenbeck |
Alexis Lockwood |
Brian Sidebotham |
Orson (Maciej) Sumiński |