Programme-driven place and route
The layout is the result of a programme, not of hours with a mouse. Change the intent, run it again, and the board follows.
A desktop app for circuit board layout
CopperWorks places and routes your board by running a programme.
No dragging or nudging parts. Claude reads your datasheets and app notes and
writes their design intent as a .lay programme. CopperWorks runs it on
your computer and routes the board while you watch, then tests the finished
board with real physics.
A programme in the app
// From the microcontroller's crystal app note: crystal and load capacitors
// within 3 mm of the pins, legs with no vias, other nets kept away.
Programme {
Section { id: crystal
part Y1|C1|C2 -> place.satellites { reach: 3mm } then house.lock
net XIN|XOUT -> tiers.direct then rules.quiet then house.lock
}
Section { id: rest
all -> route.route then repair.complete
}
Test { id: release
net XIN|XOUT -> si.coupling { limit: 1mm }
net XIN|XOUT -> si.capacitance { combine: "series"; limit: 2pF;
source: "app note: stray load under 2 pF" }
}
}The demo of this programme routing a board, step by step, goes here.
From datasheet to a tested board
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Read the spec
Claude reads the datasheets and app notes and pulls out what the layout must do.
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Write the programme
That intent becomes
.lay: which parts go where, which nets route how, and in what order. -
Watch it route
CopperWorks runs the programme and routes the board live. Step forward and back to see each decision.
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Certify the result
The certification lab built into the app tests the finished board and gives a go or no-go, with the results behind it.
What it does
Spec-driven design
Connect Claude, or another AI, over MCP. It turns a datasheet's layout guidance into steps and tests, and each test can name the requirement it stands for.
A certification lab, in the software
When routing finishes, CopperWorks checks the board on your own machine with real physics: coupling between nets, stray capacitance against a budget, and more, well beyond a design rule check. Nothing is sent anywhere to be tested.
Ready for manufacture
Metrics and algorithms find manufacturing risks, such as etch defect tolerance, and remedy them, for example with copper thieving.
An open format: EDX
CopperWorks speaks EDX, a free and open design exchange format. Import and export with other design tools, starting with KiCad.
A desktop app
CopperWorks runs on your computer, not in the browser. Mac first, Windows straight after, Linux later.
Who it's for
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Software engineers designing boards
Lay out a board reliably without becoming a layout expert. It's a programme, so it works the way you already do.
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Makers ordering from low-cost fabs
More capable routing for your own boards, free for personal use.
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Teams with fragile manual layout
Put layout and its checks into a CI flow, like the rest of your software.
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Teams with Claude and no clear job for it
Give it real work: reading the specs and writing the programme for your next board.
Every tool, free for personal use
There is no feature paywall. The lab and the manufacturing tools are free for non-commercial use like everything else. Businesses buy a commercial licence, which adds the CI package and headless deployment, on this site with no sales call.