KiCad Footprint Generator
Paste a part number or drop the datasheet PDF. Get a .kicad_mod land pattern built to IPC-7351B, with the complete pad table to check against the package drawing. Free, in the browser.
Want more? Do it all in the ProtoFlow app
The web tool is just a taste. In the desktop app you can fine-tune every part, save it straight to your component library, and drop it into KiCad, Altium, EAGLE or Allegro — all in one place.
Symbol
Footprint
Your generated symbol and footprint will appear here.
Generations are AI-assisted, review before production use.
The ProtoFlow KiCad footprint generator is a free browser tool that builds a .kicad_mod land pattern from a manufacturer part number, datasheet PDF, datasheet URL, or a photo of the package drawing. It reads the recommended land pattern from the datasheet and generates pads, courtyard, and silkscreen to IPC-7351B conventions, then shows you the complete pad table so you can verify pitch, pad size, and pin 1 orientation before the part touches a board. It also produces the matching .kicad_sym schematic symbol, linked to the footprint, and the free tier covers 10 generation units a month.
How it works
- Give it the part. Paste the manufacturer part number, or drop in the datasheet PDF, a datasheet URL, or a screenshot of the package drawing.
- The AI reads the land pattern. Package dimensions, pad pitch, pad size, courtyard, and pin 1 position are extracted from the recommended land pattern in the datasheet.
- Verify the pad table. Check the returned pad table against the mechanical drawing — pitch, pad dimensions, courtyard, and pin 1 — then download the .kicad_mod.
A worked example
Input
TPS62840DLCR — a 2 mm × 2 mm SOT-563 buck converter with a 0.5 mm pitch
What comes back
- .kicad_mod footprint with six pads, courtyard, and the pin 1 silkscreen marker
- .kicad_sym schematic symbol with pin names, numbers, and electrical types
- A pad table listing every pad number, position, and size in millimetres
What to verify before you trust it
- Pad pitch matches the datasheet land pattern drawing (0.5 mm here, not the body dimension).
- Pad width and height match the recommended land pattern, not the physical lead size.
- Courtyard leaves the clearance your assembly house expects around the body.
- Pin 1 sits where the datasheet says it does, and the symbol pin numbering matches the pinout table.
Generations are AI-assisted and meant to be reviewed. The full pin and pad tables are shown with every result so you can check the output against the datasheet before it reaches a board.
Why footprints are where boards actually fail
A wrong footprint is one of the very few errors that survives every automated check you run. ERC passes, because the schematic connectivity is fine. DRC passes, because the copper obeys your rules. Gerbers generate cleanly. Then the boards come back from assembly and the part does not fit the pads, or it fits but pin 1 is rotated ninety degrees, and you have paid for a batch of hardware you cannot use.
That is why the pad table matters more than the picture. Generating a footprint saves you the transcription, but the verification step is what makes it safe, and it is the one part that should never be automated away.
What IPC-7351B actually specifies
IPC-7351B is the land pattern standard that defines how a footprint should relate to the physical package: pad geometry, the toe, heel, and side fillets around each lead, and the courtyard clearance that keeps neighbouring parts far enough away to be placed and inspected. It also defines density levels, so the same package has a denser pattern for space-constrained boards and a more generous one for hand assembly.
Footprints from this generator follow those conventions rather than simply copying the package outline. That matters most on fine-pitch parts, where the difference between a pad sized to the lead and a pad sized to the land pattern is the difference between a reliable solder joint and a tombstoned component.
Packages this handles, and where to slow down
It works on the common surface-mount families — SOIC, SOP, SOT, QFP, QFN, DFN, chip passives, and BGA — as well as through-hole parts, and it can work from a scanned datasheet where all you can supply is a screenshot of the outline drawing.
Slow down and check more carefully on three cases: packages with an exposed thermal pad, where the paste-mask aperture matters as much as the copper; connectors with mechanical mounting features that the land pattern drawing shows separately; and any part where the datasheet gives you a package drawing but no recommended land pattern, because then the pattern is being derived rather than read.
Getting the file into KiCad
The generator returns a .kicad_mod file, which is a standard KiCad footprint. Drop it into a .pretty folder in your project or personal library path, and KiCad picks it up through the footprint library table like any other footprint. Nothing to install, no plugin, no account beyond the free tier.
The matching .kicad_sym symbol comes with it and stays linked, so pin 1 on the symbol is pad 1 on the board. If you are working in the free ProtoFlow desktop editor, the generated part opens directly and can be placed into a schematic without the export step at all.
Frequently asked questions
How do I generate a KiCad footprint from a datasheet?
Paste the manufacturer part number or drop the datasheet PDF into the generator above. The AI reads the recommended land pattern — pad pitch, pad dimensions, courtyard, and pin 1 position — and returns a .kicad_mod file plus the full pad table so you can verify it against the mechanical drawing.
Is the KiCad footprint generator free?
Yes. A free signed-in account includes 10 generation units a month, with Pro at 30 and Max at 70. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install and no plugin to add to KiCad.
Are the footprints IPC-7351 compliant?
They follow IPC-7351B land-pattern conventions for pad geometry, courtyard, and toe and heel fillets. Generations are AI-assisted and meant to be reviewed, so you get the complete pad table and any warnings to check against the datasheet before use.
Does it also make the schematic symbol?
Yes. Every generation produces a linked .kicad_sym symbol alongside the .kicad_mod footprint, so pin 1 on the symbol maps to pad 1 on the board. You can also export the same part for EAGLE, Altium, and Allegro.
What should I check before using a generated footprint?
Four things, and they take about two minutes: pad pitch, pad dimensions, courtyard clearance, and pin 1 orientation — each against the recommended land pattern drawing in the datasheet, not the package body dimensions. Then confirm the symbol pin numbering matches the pinout table.
Making one part is the small version of the problem. The free ProtoFlow desktop app generates whole schematics from a plain-English description, imports real LCSC, DigiKey, and Mouser components, runs ERC and DRC, and exports native KiCad projects.
Download for DesktopRelated
Last reviewed: 2026-08-09
