A session: from an idea to the cart

A source

This page is a source of edakit – a concept, a prompt or the rules of a session –, shown as it is in the repository. Read it as such; the guides say what edakit does.

For you if you want to see what working with edakit looks like before you install anything. After this page you know what you type, what Claude asks and what is left for you outside the chat.

The board is the walkthrough's: a coin cell, a button and a red LED. Claude's answers are shortened. The full story, with every file, is the walkthrough.

1 Install the tools

You, outside the chat

Once: add the plugin in Claude Code, install uv and ngspice.

2 Start a project

You

A board for my desk: a coin cell, a push button and an LED. Press the button and the LED lights.

Claude

I'll set the project up first. One form, the recommended answer first.

Set up coin-cell-led8 questions

A PCB or a development board?

A PCB

Drawn in?

EasyEDA Pro (recommended)

Who makes it?

JLCPCB, top side assembled, SMD only

How many sets?

5

A budget?

none

What is it for, and where?

for myself, in the EU

The requirements?

now

Firmware?

none

Claude

Here is every file and key, each with the answer behind it. Write them?

You

ok

ran edakit.toml, hardware/graph.json, docs/decisions.md written

3 Say what it must do

Claude

"The LED lights" – from what current on? I suggest at least 1 mA.

You

fine

Claude

Down to which cell? I suggest a used CR2032 at 2.5 V, the end voltage Rayovac rates its capacity to.

You

yes

Claude

Two needs and two requirements are drafted in hardware/requirements.toml. R-1: while SW1 is pressed, D1 carries at least 1 mA, from a fresh cell down to 2.5 V. Only you accept them.

You

accept

4 Design the circuit

ran edakit block add led · edakit part search · edakit check · edakit sim

Claude

The block's green LED needs 2.6 to 3.1 V. A used cell gives it 0.4 mA, and R-1 asks for 1 mA. I took a red one, C84256: 1.22 mA from a used cell, 10.7 mA from a fresh one. Two findings are left for you.

5 Decide on what was found

Two findings, one to confirm3 questions

PATH.reverse: a CR2032 put in upside down reaches R1 and D1. Protect against it?

1. No protection (recommended): D1 blocks, 3.2 V against its rated 5 V.
2. A Schottky diode in series: it costs 0.3 V, the margin a used cell needs.

No protection

LIM.i: held down, SW1 draws 10.7 mA from a fresh cell. It is rated 3 mA continuous, 15 mA in pulses.

1. Accept it: a press is short (recommended).
2. A pulse limit per load.

Accept it

I decided myself: the red LED instead of the block's green one. Confirm?

yes

Claude

Written to docs/decisions.md, each with its reason and date.

6 Settle parts and cost

ran edakit stock · edakit cost

One part needs you1 question

JLCPCB places the holder BT1 only in Standard assembly: 52.60 USD for five boards instead of 20.65.

1. You solder BT1 by hand: two SMD tabs, five holders in the LCSC cart (recommended).
2. Standard assembly.
3. A Lian Xin holder Economic places. Its drawing does not say which pad is plus.

I solder it

7 Draw and hand over

ran edakit schematic draw

The drawn schematic

Claude

A checked circuit and its drawing. That is enough to wire it by hand. Stop here, or on to a board?

You

a board

8 Have it reviewed

Claude

Two reviewers check it now, each in a session of its own: the electrical one and the regulatory one. The regulatory review is support, not legal advice.

You, outside the chat

Start each reviewer in a new session when Claude asks.

ran electrical-reviewer: 5 notes · regulatory-reviewer: 4 notes, none blocking

Two notes need you, the rest Claude fixed2 questions

Who uses the board? The cell comes out by hand, and a swallowed coin cell burns.

1. Adults at a desk, out of reach of small children (recommended).
2. Children: then a holder that needs a tool.

Adults at a desk

R-2, dark while nobody presses, has no number. At most 1 µA from the cell?

yes

Claude

Fixed. Both reviewers looked again, found one more slip, and signed.

9 Lay out the board

You, outside the chat

Install EasyEDA Pro. Create the project by hand: File → New → Project, "coin-cell-led". †

† Not with KiCad: there edakit writes the project itself. EasyEDA's interface cannot create one yet; we reported it to EasyEDA (issue #45), and the click goes once it is fixed. The other click, Design → Import Changes, is gone since 2026-11-01: we reported it too (issue #46), and edakit now writes what the import set.

You, outside the chat

Start a new session and type /edakit:pcb-round.

Claude

The board's size and shape? And what must stay where a person touches or looks?

You

Round, please.

Claude

Ø 44 mm. The cell nearly in the middle, 10 mm above it to lever it out. Button, LED and resistor below.

The placement plan

ran placed · routed with Freerouting · ground poured · labels · DRC clean · pcb-reviewer signed

The board

10 Order the board

You

Release it and put it into the JLCPCB cart.

ran edakit gate --eda: RELEASED

The order1 question

Ship to which country, and how?

your answer

ran /edakit:cart: every field set and read back, the quote checked against the estimate. Stopped at the cart.

You, outside the chat

Check D1's cathode in JLCPCB's preview, then order and pay.

You, outside the chat

When the boards arrive: solder BT1, test each board against the list.

Your part: 8 messages typed, 15 answers in 5 forms, 6 things done outside the chat.