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File Upload Guide

Pinscope needs two files from your EDA tool to review a design:

  • A PADS-PCB ASCII netlist (.asc) — the circuit's connectivity.
  • A Bill of Materials (CSV or XLSX) — mapping each reference designator to a manufacturer part number.

If your EDA tool exports the netlist with a .net or .NET extension, just rename it to .asc before uploading — the file format is identical.

Example files

New to Pinscope? Here's a complete set of files from Phil's Lab' KiCad 9 TI MSPM0 tutorial you can download and upload as a starter project:

The BOM below shows the shape Pinscope is looking for.

The BOM

Pinscope auto-detects BOM columns by header name. After upload you'll confirm which column holds designators and which holds part numbers, so the exact header names don't matter — only that these columns exist.

Required

  • Designator / Reference — one row per part, or grouped references like C1,C2,C5 in a single row (Pinscope expands these automatically).
  • Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) — the full orderable part number. Pinscope uses this to look up datasheets, so 10uF 0805 on its own is not enough — it needs e.g. GRM21BR61C106KE15L.

Recommended

  • Value or Comment — passive values (10uF, 4.7k, 8MHz). Used for passive value resolution and mismatch detection when the MPN can't be matched.
  • Footprint — used to enrich the design graph.

CSV and XLSX both work. For XLSX, the first worksheet is used.

The Netlist

Pinscope expects a PADS-PCB ASCII netlist. It looks like this:

*PADS-PCB*
*PART*
U1 LQFP48
C1 0402
...
*NET*
*SIGNAL* GND
U1.1 U1.48 C1.2
*SIGNAL* VCC
U1.24 C1.1
...
*END*

If your file starts with *PADS-PCB* and ends with *END*, you're good. Reference designators may contain spaces (e.g. CV GND) — Pinscope resolves them against your BOM.

Exporting from your EDA tool

KiCad (7.x / 8.x / 9.x)

Netlist

  1. Open the schematic in eeschema.
  2. File → Export → Netlist…
  3. Select the PADS tab → Export Netlist.
  4. Save, then rename the resulting .net file to .asc.

BOM

  1. In eeschema: Tools → Generate BOM…
  2. Use the built-in bom_csv_grouped_by_value_with_fp plugin (or similar) — it produces a CSV with Reference, Value, Footprint, and any custom MPN field on your symbols.
  3. If your symbols don't have an MPN field yet, add one via Edit → Edit Symbol Fields before generating the BOM.

Altium Designer

Netlist

  1. In the Schematic Editor: Design → Netlist for Project → PADS.
  2. The .NET file lands in Project Outputs for …. Rename to .asc.

BOM

  1. Reports → Bill of Materials.
  2. In the template, include Designator, Manufacturer Part Number (or your equivalent parameter), Comment (= value), and Footprint.
  3. Export → CSV or Excel.

EasyEDA / EasyEDA Pro

Netlist

  1. EasyEDA Std: File → Export → PADS-PCB Netlist (.asc).
  2. EasyEDA Pro: Design → Output → Netlist → PADS-PCB.

BOM

  1. Fabrication → BOM → export CSV.
  2. Confirm the Manufacturer Part Number column is populated — it comes from the LCSC supplier data or from a custom MPN attribute you've set on each part.

Autodesk Eagle

Netlist

  1. In the schematic editor: File → Run ULP → pads-pcb.ulp (or File → Export → Netlist → PADS in newer builds).
  2. Save as .asc.

BOM

  1. File → Export → Bill of Materials → CSV.
  2. Ensure your parts carry an MPN or MFR_PART attribute so the column ends up in the export.

OrCAD Capture / Allegro Design Entry

Netlist

  1. Tools → Create Netlist → format PADS-PCB (.asc).
  2. Save to the project output directory.

BOM

  1. Tools → Bill of Materials → configure columns to include Reference, Manufacturer Part Number, and Value.
  2. Export CSV.

Troubleshooting

  • "No components found" — your netlist is missing the *PART* section. Re-export specifically in PADS-PCB format (not Spice, Protel, or a generic text netlist).
  • "No ground net found" — your netlist has no net named GND, VSS, AGND, DGND, or similar. If you exported a sub-sheet, re-export the top sheet instead.
  • Unresolved parts after the pipeline runs — a BOM row has no MPN, or the MPN wasn't found on DigiKey. Add the MPN, or rely on Pinscope's value fallback (fills in from the Value / Comment column).
  • .NET vs .asc — same format, just rename the file before uploading.

Still stuck? Contact us with your netlist and BOM attached and we'll take a look.