Placing objects
place_symbol
Place a new symbol.
Usage
place_symbol <Library:Part> <Ref> [Unit] <X> <Y>Angle brackets mark required arguments and square brackets optional ones. Available in the schematic editor. You can issue this yourself, and the AI agent issues the identical command — there is no second, hidden interface.
Arguments
Library:PartRefUnitXY4 required, 1 optional.
Behaviour
Library:Part must be one of the available libraries. Ref is a designator such as R1, Q1, U1. A designator that is ALREADY ON THE SHEET is refused and nothing is placed — this verb never silently picks a different one. Pass auto as the Ref to be given the next free designator. To change a symbol that already exists, use move / rotate / set_property / delete_symbol; do NOT place it a second time. Placing a part under a reference another part already holds is also refused: one reference is one package. A further UNIT of a package already present is not a duplicate and is allowed. Unit is optional and defaults to 1. X and Y are in mm. Four arguments means Library:Part Ref X Y; five means the third is the unit.
How the agent uses it
- The agent works in a perceive / act / verify / recover loop: it describes the design, issues
place_symbolor another command, checks the result, and undoes the change if the check fails. - Commands report what they actually did. A refusal is a result, not a silent no-op — which is what lets the agent recover instead of building on a change that never happened.
- Anything the agent can do here, you can do yourself, and the reverse.
Try place_symbol in the editor
Free to start on macOS, Windows and Linux. Bring your existing KiCad and Altium libraries.