Use the Component Editor to prepare a part that is not available in your libraries. Generation, approval, installation, and placement are separate outcomes; a compatible build can approve eligible parts automatically.
Before You Start
Open the intended project, sign in for hosted generation, and select an available chat model when requested. Current compatible pickers use GPT Astra, GPT Sol, Trace Genie 2.0, and Trace Genie 2.0 Flash; the choices in your build may differ.
Have the exact manufacturer part number and package suffix ready. A datasheet or manufacturer package drawing is especially important for pinouts, exposed pads, and custom shapes. Generation uses hosted assistance; attaching a document submits it for that task.
Generate and Review a Part
- Click Component Editor on the native workbench's top bar to open its tab.
- Enter the exact part number or describe the required part. Add package and symbol requirements in Notes.
- Supply a datasheet link, use Attach PDF…, or drop a PDF. The native PDF picker accepts up to 10 MiB; other document surfaces have different limits.
- Click Generate with AI. Follow progress; use Show the chat to see questions. When a part is waiting for review, this link becomes Review it in the chat and opens its pending review card. The workbench's separate top-bar chat button shows chat but is not an installation or acceptance control.
- Check the review status. With automatic approval enabled, an eligible part may already be installed. Otherwise inspect the symbol, footprint, and available 3D preview; use Request changes for corrections or Reject to decline.
- For a pending part you want, choose Accept & install. For either approval path, wait for the installation result.
- Confirm the installed library entry, then place it in the schematic and assign/check its footprint. Use Clear to empty the Component Editor for another part; it does not undo an earlier installation.
Native accepted parts are installed in TraceComponents, available across projects on this installation. That does not place a symbol or add a footprint to the board.
Automatic Approval
In compatible native builds, Preferences → AI Workflows → Auto-approve components that pass every check is On by default. Save a changed checkbox with Apply or OK. It is a computer-wide setting, not a project workflow override.
Automatic approval requires the footprint's manufacturer-drawing verification, no waived checks, and an independent second review with no issues. Informational notes may still appear; read them. Trace also checks that the files load and that automatic installation would not replace a same-named library part.
An eligible review card shows Approved automatically and the actual installation outcome. A part that does not meet the criteria stays pending while the assistant can continue other work. Return to that card to review it; continuing the conversation is not acceptance.
Automatic approval is not production certification or proof of electrical fitness. Review the installed symbol, footprint, and source drawing before using the part.
To remove an automatically installed native part, delete its library entries from TraceComponents in the Symbol and Footprint Editors. The Component Editor's Clear button only clears its current view; it is not an installation Undo. Inspect existing design instances and references separately.
What to Check Before Acceptance
- Match the exact part/package, pin count, numbering, names, and electrical types to the datasheet.
- Check each symbol unit and shared power pins; do not confuse one amplifier unit with a whole package.
- Verify footprint units, pitch, pad dimensions, drill/slot geometry, exposed pad, courtyard, and pin-1 orientation.
- Check symbol-to-footprint association and 3D orientation/offsets.
- Compare the generated output with the manufacturer's drawing; neither a preview nor acceptance establishes electrical fitness or production approval.
After placement, inspect the circuit connections. Save and review Update PCB from Schematic, then check the actual board pads and nets.
Trace Plugin: Review in Chat
In a supported Altium or KiCad companion session, request the part in chat and inspect its review card. Pending parts use Accept & install, Request changes, and Reject. There is no native Component Editor tab in the companion.
The companion home screen's Components section has its own Auto-approve components that pass every check switch, On by default in compatible builds and saved when changed. It uses the same drawing/no-waiver/second-review criteria, but installs into the project's TraceParts, not native TraceComponents.
Automatically installed companion parts appear in the home screen's list with Undo. Link the original project and host, choose Undo, review the confirmation, then Remove. This removes the installed library entries/files where supported; a copy already placed on a sheet stays there. Read the removal outcome for anything kept or unavailable. An uncertain Undo needs a library check before retrying.
For KiCad, installation registers the project's TraceParts libraries. The first registration can require reopening the project; save intended work first, then verify the libraries resolve after reopening.
For Altium, conversion combines a multi-unit symbol's drawings into one part rather than independent units. Compatible builds can attach a supported generated STEP model as the footprint's 3D body, using its offsets and rotations. Check the installation notes: if Altium cannot load the saved STEP, they direct you to Place → 3D Body in TraceParts.PcbLib for manual attachment. A saved asset alone does not prove attachment succeeded; VRML is not an Altium STEP body. Custom/slotted shapes can still be approximated. Review the actual host library, units, pad shapes, and 3D alignment before placement.
If It Does Not Finish
Questions, a preview, an approval label, or “generated” status are not installation success. If generation fails, check the specific source or package gap and provide the missing information rather than guessing a pinout.
If installation fails, inspect its error and use Try again only when offered for that failed installation. If the outcome is uncertain, check the library first. Reopen the pending review through its conversation or Review it in the chat when available; do not assume an interrupted review was accepted.
Continue with Components for placement and assignment, or Artifacts for reusable reference documents.