Open a PCB design without installing the CAD tool

What you are usually looking for

Before picking a tool, name the question. A purchaser needs the bill of materials with manufacturer part numbers. A firmware engineer needs the schematic to find which pin drives what. A manufacturer needs the layer stack, the outline and the fabrication files. A reviewer needs all of it, plus the ability to follow a net from the schematic into the copper. Match the format to the question and the revision you need to inspect.

A PDF or a screenshot

If the sender exported one, it opens anywhere and shows the sheets as drawn. It does not provide the editable project or a sortable BOM by itself. A text PDF can be searched, and a well-labelled export can be useful in a review. A screenshot has fewer options. Ask which source revision the export represents; neither changes when the design changes.

A browser viewer for the file

Some viewers open design files in the browser directly. KiCanvas renders KiCad files, including current ones. Altium's free 365 Viewer opens Altium, EAGLE, CircuitStudio and older-format KiCad files that you drag in, plus Gerbers, for the browser session or on a 48-hour link, and a free Altium account keeps an upload permanently. Both are good at what they cover. A standalone viewer or uploaded snapshot is different from a workspace with source history. Altium 365 workspaces also provide project history and comparison; choose the workflow, not just the first preview that opens.

A BoardRepo page

When a board is on BoardRepo, the link opens the whole project in the browser with no CAD install. Public boards need no account; other sharing modes require their access proof. Successfully processed views can include schematic sheets, with components you can click to jump to the same part on the PCB, the PCB by layer, an interactive 3D model, the bill of materials as a table you can filter by reference, value or part number, sort, and download as CSV, and the file tree with retained source files. Generated Gerbers and drill files can be available for supported KiCad boards; for Altium boards, fabrication files are the author's included outputs. Version history sits behind the same link, so you can see which revision you are reading and open an older one.

If you have the zip rather than a link, you can upload it yourself: sign in, upload the project folder as a zip, provided you have permission to store it. Check the files retained by the upload and choose Private or the sharing mode appropriate to its owner. An Unlisted sharing link contains an access token and can be forwarded. Keep your own original files as well as the accepted version downloads.

On a public board, or on your own board once you opt it in, a signed-in reader can also ask questions about the design in plain language with BoardRepo Ask, or connect their own AI assistant to read it. Neither replaces opening the design in its tool before you order. See the assistant workflow guide for the reading context and separately approved personal save permission.

Reading a converted Altium design

An Altium project is converted before it is drawn. The schematic and layout you see are derived from a converted representation, which can omit or alter details. For a decision that costs money, verify the original in Altium Designer, which is kept unchanged beside the converted copy for exactly that purpose.

Browse public boards to see what a page looks like, or upload a project you were sent.

Continue your work

Connect your AI to inspect board context and use separately approved personal saving where available. Use BoardRepo for KiCad to Push and Pull versions from the editor. For a shared organization workspace, contact us about Team.