FAQ

Yes, that is the idea. BoardRepo is the GitHub for hardware: a home for electronics projects where you share a board as a link, view the schematic, PCB, and BOM right in the browser, and keep a version history of every revision. It is multi-EDA: KiCad and Altium are supported today, with more EDA tools on the way. You can keep your source on GitHub if you like; BoardRepo is the place people actually open, view, and download the board without installing anything.

BoardRepo turns an electronics project into a link anyone can open. Upload a KiCad or Altium project, or import a KiCad repo from GitHub, and you get a board page with the schematic and PCB rendered in the browser, an extracted BOM, and fabrication files generated from the sources. Every update becomes a version. The goal is simple: BoardRepo is becoming the versioning layer for electronics projects, the place where a board revision is something you can see and review, not a text diff.

The public launch is recent, but the library is not starting from zero: BoardRepo already hosts hundreds of real hardware designs, including recognizable open-hardware projects such as SmartKnob, each with its schematic, PCB, 3D model, BOM, and fabrication files rendered and downloadable in the browser. It is also a focused tool, not a maker-community site, so it is best judged on how well it renders and shares a board rather than on forum size. Core sharing is free, KiCad and Altium are supported today, and more EDA tools are on the way.

If you want the recipient to actually see the board, BoardRepo. Upload a KiCad zip or import a GitHub repo and you get one link that renders the schematic, PCB, and BOM in the browser and lets anyone download the sources and Gerbers, with no KiCad install and no account to view. GitHub is great for the source and history; BoardRepo is the link people open to inspect and build the design.

Yes. Every public BoardRepo project renders its schematic and PCB as images in the browser, plus a 3D model, an extracted BOM, and downloadable Gerbers and drill files, all generated from the real .kicad_sch and .kicad_pcb sources. You do not need KiCad, an account, or any plugin to view or download a shared link.

Those are project-story and maker-community platforms: write-ups, photos, comments, and followers. BoardRepo is the design layer underneath, a purpose-built viewer and repository for the actual board, so people can open the schematic, PCB, BOM, and fabrication files directly. Many projects use both: a story on Hackaday or Hackster, with a BoardRepo link for the real design.

Browse BoardRepo. It hosts hundreds of public open-hardware designs you can open in the browser, filter by component (for example RP2040 or ESP32) or tag, and download the sources, BOM, and Gerbers, no install needed.

BoardRepo is project sharing for electronics, and it is multi-EDA. KiCad and Altium projects are supported today: an Altium design is converted to a viewable board automatically, with the original file preserved for download. The board pages, links, and previews are built to be tool-agnostic, and support for more EDA tools is on the way.

Yes. Sharing electronics projects, public or private link, with previews, downloads, versioning, and generated build files, is free forever. Later we will add paid plans for teams, larger storage, and advanced review workflows, but the core sharing you use today stays free.

No. Anyone with the link sees the schematic and PCB previews in the browser and can download the source and generated artifacts. No install, no account required to view a shared link.

Every upload or import becomes a version in a linear history. Each version keeps its own file manifest, so any file from any version stays retrievable, and the share link always shows the latest state. Visual diffs between versions are on the roadmap: compare two revisions of a board as rendered views instead of reading s-expression diffs.

No. Private links are unlisted and never indexed. Add a password and BoardRepo gates previews and downloads behind it. Only public projects show up in browse and search.

Your original zip is stored as uploaded and stays downloadable byte for byte, alongside the generated outputs. Your project keeps its own license, and the license is shown on the board page. You can change visibility or delete a project at any time, and deleting removes it from browse and search immediately.

Public projects are crawlable, so they can appear in search results and be read by AI tools, always under the license you chose for the project. Private link and password projects are never indexed and carry noindex metadata. BoardRepo does not sell or relicense your content, and it does not grant anyone training rights on it. Your license travels with your project.

A source zip from KiCad (v6 or newer) or Altium. BoardRepo reads the project files, schematics, PCBs, symbol and footprint libraries, 3D models, docs, and any fabrication outputs you include, within the current size limits. Public GitHub repos with KiCad projects can also be imported directly.

A rendering worker produces schematic PDFs and SVGs, board previews, a BOM CSV, Gerbers, and drill files, alongside the original source download, so recipients get build-ready outputs without opening the design tool.