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This guide covers building KiCad from source on various platforms using CMake.

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Prerequisites

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Required Dependencies

KiCad requires the following libraries and tools:

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Build Tools

  • CMake 3.22 or higher (3.28.1+ for MSVC ARM builds)
  • C++20 compiler
    • GCC (Linux)
    • Clang (macOS/Linux)
    • MSVC (Windows)
  • SWIG 4.0 or higher (for Python scripting)

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Core Libraries

  • wxWidgets 3.2.0 or higher (gl, aui, adv, html, core, net, base, propgrid, xml, stc, richtext, webview)
  • Boost 1.71.0 or higher (locale, unit_test_framework for QA)
  • OpenGL with GLU
  • GLM 0.9.8 or higher
  • Cairo 1.12 or higher
  • Pixman 0.30 or higher

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Additional Libraries

  • Python 3.6 or higher (interpreter and libraries)
  • libgit2 1.5 or higher
  • CURL
  • ZLIB
  • Zstd
  • ngspice (for circuit simulator)
  • OpenCASCADE 7.5.0 or higher (for STEP support)
  • Protobuf (for IPC API)
  • Freetype 2.11.1+ on MSVC
  • HarfBuzz (font support)
  • Fontconfig (font support)

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Platform-Specific

  • Linux: GTK3, libspnav (3D mouse), Wayland 1.20+ (optional)
  • Windows: Windows SDK
  • macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools

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Quick Start

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Basic Build Commands

# Clone the repository
git clone https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad.git
cd kicad

# Create build directory
mkdir -p build/release
cd build/release

# Configure
cmake ../.. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

# Build (use -j<N> for parallel builds)
make -j$(nproc)

# Install (optional)
sudo make install

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Important CMake Options

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Build Type

-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=<type>
Available types:
  • Release - Optimized build (default)
  • Debug - Debug symbols, no optimization
  • RelWithDebInfo - Release with debug info
  • QABuild - Custom QA build without NDEBUG

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Installation Prefix

-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local  # Default

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Feature Flags

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Python Scripting

-DKICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=ON  # Build wxPython support (default: ON)

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Testing and QA

-DKICAD_BUILD_QA_TESTS=ON      # Build QA tests (default: ON)
-DKICAD_SPICE_QA=ON            # Build spice QA tests (default: ON)

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Optional Features

-DKICAD_SIGNAL_INTEGRITY=ON    # Signal integrity tools (default: ON)
-DKICAD_IPC_API=ON             # IPC API support (default: ON)
-DKICAD_UPDATE_CHECK=ON        # Update checking (default: ON)
-DKICAD_USE_SENTRY=OFF         # Sentry metrics (default: OFF)
-DKICAD_BUILD_I18N=OFF         # Build translations (default: OFF)

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Platform-Specific

# Linux
-DKICAD_WAYLAND=ON             # Wayland support (default: ON on Linux)
-DKICAD_BUILD_FLATPAK=OFF      # Flatpak conventions (default: OFF)

# Windows
-DKICAD_WIN32_DPI_AWARE=OFF    # DPI awareness (default: OFF)
-DKICAD_WIN32_BUILD_PARALLEL_CL_MP=OFF  # Parallel /MP compilation
-DKICAD_WIN32_LTCG=OFF         # Link-time code generation

# macOS
-DKICAD_APPLE_MAKE_RELOCATEABLE_BUNDLE=ON  # Relocatable bundle

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Debugging and Development

# Sanitizers (not compatible with gold linker)
-DKICAD_SANITIZE_ADDRESS=OFF   # Address sanitizer
-DKICAD_SANITIZE_THREADS=OFF   # Thread sanitizer

# Debug options
-DKICAD_STDLIB_DEBUG=OFF       # libstdc++ debug mode
-DKICAD_STDLIB_LIGHT_DEBUG=OFF # Lightweight debug assertions
-DKICAD_USE_VALGRIND=OFF       # Valgrind instrumentation
-DKICAD_BUILD_SMALL_DEBUG_FILES=OFF  # Smaller debug binaries (Linux)

# Profiling
-DKICAD_GAL_PROFILE=OFF        # GAL profiling

# Development tools
-DKICAD_DRC_PROTO=OFF          # DRC prototype tool
-DKICAD_BUILD_PNS_DEBUG_TOOL=OFF  # P&S debug tool

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Compiler Options

-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="<flags>"   # Extra C++ compiler flags
-DCMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE=ON    # Verbose build output
-DUSE_CCACHE=ON                # Use ccache for faster rebuilds
-DUSE_DISTCC=ON                # Use distcc for distributed builds
-DKICAD_USE_PCH=ON             # Precompiled headers (default: ON)

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Variable Initialization

-DKICAD_INIT_VARIABLES=Default  # Options: Default, Off, Zero, Pattern

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Installation Locations

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Linux

Default locations (with CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local): 
/usr/local/bin                  - Binaries
/usr/local/lib/kicad            - Shared libraries
/usr/local/share/kicad          - Data files
/usr/local/share/kicad/demos    - Demo projects
/usr/local/share/kicad/template - Project templates
/usr/local/share/doc/kicad      - Documentation

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macOS

Application bundle structure: 
KiCad.app/
├── Contents/
│   ├── MacOS/           - Executables
│   ├── Frameworks/      - Shared libraries
│   ├── PlugIns/         - KiFace modules
│   └── SharedSupport/   - Data files

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Windows

C:\Program Files\KiCad\
├── bin\                - Binaries and DLLs
├── share\kicad\        - Data files
└── share\doc\kicad\    - Documentation

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Build Examples

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Development Build

cmake ../.. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
  -DKICAD_BUILD_QA_TESTS=ON \
  -DKICAD_STDLIB_LIGHT_DEBUG=ON \
  -DUSE_CCACHE=ON

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Release Build

cmake ../.. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local \
  -DKICAD_BUILD_QA_TESTS=OFF

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Minimal Build (No Python)

cmake ../.. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DKICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=OFF

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Dependencies

If CMake reports missing packages, install the development packages for your distribution: Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt-get install cmake build-essential libwxgtk3.2-dev \
  libboost-dev libboost-locale-dev python3-dev swig libglm-dev \
  libcairo2-dev libpixman-1-dev libgit2-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev \
  zlib1g-dev libzstd-dev libngspice0-dev libocct-dev
Fedora: 
sudo dnf install cmake gcc-c++ wxGTK-devel boost-devel python3-devel \
  swig glm-devel cairo-devel pixman-devel libgit2-devel libcurl-devel \
  zlib-devel libzstd-devel ngspice-devel opencascade-devel

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Build Errors

  • Out of memory: Reduce parallel jobs (make -j2 instead of make -j$(nproc))
  • Compiler version: Ensure you have a C++20 compatible compiler
  • wxWidgets version mismatch: Ensure wxWidgets and wxPython use the same version/toolkit

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Advanced Topics

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Cross-Compilation

For cross-compilation, set the appropriate CMake toolchain file: 
cmake ../.. -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<toolchain-file>

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Custom Python Site Packages

-DPYTHON_SITE_PACKAGE_PATH=/custom/path

-DKICAD_MAKE_LINK_MAPS=ON

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Next Steps

After successfully building KiCad:
  1. Run the test suite: ctest --output-on-failure
  2. Review the code style guidelines
  3. Start making changes and submit merge requests

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