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Documentation / Chat and AI

Agent Mode

Request a bounded design change, follow its progress, and review the saved result.

What Agent Mode Does

Agent performs supported design work: changing components or connections, editing a drawing, running checks, or generating outputs. Unlike Ask, it can author changes. Unlike Plan, it does not require a separate plan approval before a bounded edit.

Use Ask when you only want analysis, or Plan when you want to review a larger approach first.

Make a Targeted Change

  1. Open the intended project, sheet, or board.
  2. Save work you intend to keep. In a companion host, follow its save/reload procedure before file edits.
  3. Select Agent and a supported model in chat.
  4. State the exact change and what must remain unchanged.
  5. Follow the activity rows and answer any required questions or review prompts.
  6. Inspect the actual saved result and run relevant checks.
On the open filter sheet, change only R1 from 2 kΩ to 1 kΩ.
Preserve its reference, footprint, placement, and pin connections.
Do not change other sheets or update the PCB.
Report the saved value and any check findings.

For a drawing-only task, distinguish presentation from connectivity:

Make this sheet easier to read using more wires and fewer labels.
Keep component identities, values, and pin-to-net connections.
Do not redraw other sheets.

See Schematic drawing for amendment versus intentional redraw.

The Activity Feed

In compatible builds, the chat shows status updates, collapsible reasoning, and activity rows. Open a row to inspect what was read or changed and the returned result.

Longer tasks may have progress cards or a checklist. A task can pause for a question, component review, or approval. Use the matching control; sending “continue” is not a substitute for an unanswered review.

An announced action is not evidence that it happened. Confirm completed tool results and the design itself, not just the final prose.

Review What Changed

For schematic edits, check component identity, values, footprints, and pin-to-net connectivity. Save and review ERC findings.

For board edits, check footprints, approved fixed positions, rotation and board side, copper, and unrouted connections. Save and review DRC findings. A clean rule check does not prove electrical performance or certify manufacturing readiness.

Native .trace_sch, .trace_pcb, and paired .xo files are part of your saved design. Keep them together; use the supported export flow for other formats.

Placement, Routing, and Generated Parts

Use explicit scope for placement and routing: placing, routing, and doing both are different tasks. Trace's advanced layout engine acts on the board as a whole; a request about one part or one net is not permission for a global run. Review preflight, preservation choices, and the displayed budget.

Generating a component is also distinct from accepting it into a library and placing it into a circuit. Review symbol pins, package, footprint, and 3D output using Component Editor.

Chat Tabs and Queued Work

Chat tabs separate conversations, not physical copies of the design. Avoid simultaneous Agent edits or manual edits to the same design while work is in progress. Navigation or actions may be held while an editor is busy.

In compatible builds, queue a follow-up prompt instead of launching a competing edit. Queued prompts retain their mode, model, and attachments; see Chat.

Stopping and Connection Recovery

Use Stop to request that generation stop. Completed edits, saved files, and separately running tasks may remain. Inspect their state; Stop is not undo and does not guarantee no charge.

If Resume is offered, use its reconnect or retained-run continuation rather than posting the original edit again. Some failed or interrupted retained runs can continue; completed or cancelled runs cannot. An uncertain response means you must check the chat and design before retrying.

The Chat guide explains rejected sends, unconfirmed delivery, and queued-message recovery.

Versioning and Undo

Use the supported history and recovery controls for your product and inspect the proposed restoration scope. Do not assume every operation has a one-click CAD rollback.

In Trace Plugin, Undo to this point changes conversation history; it does not restore CAD. Editing a sent message can start another turn, not reverse the previous design work. Host reloads and CAD undo have separate behavior.

Access and Data

Agent requires a supported desktop or connected host, current project permissions, and account access. Available actions differ across Trace desktop, Altium, and KiCad; see Availability and Trace Plugin.

Hosted assistance may receive design context, selected files, screenshots, and tool results. Local editing does not mean no design information is transmitted. AI and advanced layout use are subject to Billing.

Next Steps