CircuitRF: An open source EDA tool for RF design and simulation

CircuitRF 1.0.5, an open-source, cross-platform EDA tool for RF and microwave design, has been released with downloads for Windows (x64, ARM, 32-bit), macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), and Linux (x64 and ARM). The tool, written in C#/.NET 10 with an Avalonia 12 GUI rendered through SkiaSharp and built largely AI-assisted, combines schematic capture, DC/S-parameter/harmonic-balance and loadpull analysis, a 2D layout editor with Gerber, GDSII, DXF and .kicad_pcb interchange, a 2.5D MoM solver, 3D FEM/FDTD EM solvers using Palace and openEMS, a built-in FEM thermal solver, and command-line and MCP support. circuitRF targets power-amplifier, LNA and mixer designers, RF EDA and device-modeling engineers, academic researchers and hobbyists who cannot justify the cost of traditional RF design tools.

A lightweight, cross-platform EDA tool for RF design — for the RF community, by the RF community. circuitRF is a full-featured EDA tool for RF and microwave design — schematic capture + nonlinear analysis, layout and EM and thermal simulation in one cross-platform application. DC , S-parameter and harmonic-balance analyses with first-class loadpull / sourcepull , over designs from a handful of components to hierarchical, multi-port ones with thousands. A layout editor for PCB and MMIC work, with substrate-aware microstrip components, schematic↔layout generation, DRC and LVS , and two-way interchange with Gerber + Excellon , GDSII , DXF and .kicad pcb boards. A 2.5D electromagnetic solver over the layout's own substrate stackup. 3D editor for FEM / FDTD EM solutions using Palace / openEMS , and a built-in FEM thermal solver . Supports command line and MCP. 📖 Read the user documentation online https://potatobeanradio.github.io/circuitRF/ circuitRF is for RF practitioners or researchers who can't justify the cost of traditional tools or find those tools too heavy for a quick investigation : power-amplifier, LNA, and mixer designers; RF EDA and device-modeling engineers; academic researchers; and capable hobbyists. It is written in C / .NET 10 , with an Avalonia 12 GUI rendered through SkiaSharp , and it was built largely AI-assisted see AI-assisted development ai-assisted-development . Status: 1.0.5. Please file issues. - schematic + circuit simulation DC, S-param, HB, Loadpull - 2D layout editor imports and exports Gerber, GDSII, DXF, .kicad pcb - 3D geometry editor imports / exports Step - hierarchy for all cell view types including 3D - support for PDKs - bondwire geometry editor and mutual inductance calculator - 2.5D MoM - 3D FEM and FDTD using Palace and openEMS - 3D FEM thermal solver - command line and MCP server - Documentation with examples What is not in it yet: Build hierarchical RF circuits on a virtualized canvas: drag from the palette, wire, label nets, set parameters and sweeps, and Run. Plot S-parameters, spectra, power sweeps, and loadpull contours; overlay measured Touchstone/ .spl / .lpcwave data on simulated results; plot EM results from MoM, FEM and FDTD solvers including radiation patterns Draw and edit physical geometry on a technology-defined layer stack: microstrip components generated from their schematic parameters, hierarchy with arrays, and export to GDSII, DXF and Gerber. MoM EM solver. Draw and edit in 3D and send to FEM or FDTD EM solvers or the built-in FEM thermal solver circuitRF 1.0.5 is the current stable release. Beta versions are published as GitHub pre-releases, and Settings ▸ Security & Permissions ▸ Include beta releases is what puts them on your update channel. It is ticked by default — untick it to receive stable releases only. | Platform | Download | |---|---| | Windows, Intel/AMD | circuitRF-1.0.5-win-x64-user.msi https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-win-x64-user.msi | | Windows, ARM | circuitRF-1.0.5-win-arm64-user.msi https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-win-arm64-user.msi | | Windows, 32-bit | circuitRF-1.0.5-win-x86-user.msi https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-win-x86-user.msi | | macOS, Apple Silicon | circuitRF-1.0.5-arm64.dmg https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-arm64.dmg | | macOS, Intel | circuitRF-1.0.5-x64.dmg https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-x64.dmg | | Linux, Intel/AMD | circuitRF-1.0.5-linux-x64.tar.gz https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-linux-x64.tar.gz | | Linux, ARM | circuitRF-1.0.5-linux-arm64.tar.gz https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases/download/1.0.5/circuitRF-1.0.5-linux-arm64.tar.gz | Linux — unpack and run install.sh . It writes only inside ~/.local , puts circuitrf on your PATH and registers the menu entry and file types; --uninstall removes it and leaves your work alone. tar xzf circuitRF-1.0.5-linux-x64.tar.gz ./circuitRF-1.0.5/install.sh Installing for everyone on the machine? The Windows .msi files without -user , and the .deb files, are on the releases page https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/releases . They need administrator rights, so they cannot update themselves — they tell you when a new version is out instead. Automatic updates can be turned off in Settings ▸ Security & Permissions . Building the installers yourself: BUILDING.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/BUILDING.md . circuitRF is meant to be community-driven, by and for the RF engineering community. We value RF domain knowledge as much as software experience. If you design power amplifiers, LNAs, or mixers; build RF EDA tooling; do device modeling; or develop transistor technology GaN-on-SiC, GaN-on-Si, LDMOS, … , you are exactly who this project needs — and circuitRF is a great place to use AI to build the simulation features you want. You do not need to be a professional software developer. If you've scripted in MATLAB or Python, you have enough to start. Pair yourself with Claude Code https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code or your AI assistant of choice and let it do the heavy lifting on the C . circuitRF is built in strictly one-directional layers, and nothing below the UI knows the UI exists. The layers, the engines, the enforced framework firewall and the source tree are described in ARCHITECTURE.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/ARCHITECTURE.md . You can help develop circuitRF using Windows , macOS , or Linux . | Tool | Why | Get it | |---|---|---| | .NET 10 SDK | builds and runs circuitRF | https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0 https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0 | | Git | clone the repos | https://git-scm.com/downloads https://git-scm.com/downloads | | Visual Studio Code | edit + debug lightweight, cross-platform | https://code.visualstudio.com/ https://code.visualstudio.com/ | | VS Code C Dev Kit extension | C editing/IntelliSense/debug in VS Code | https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.csdevkit https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.csdevkit | Verify the SDK is installed: dotnet --version should print 10.x.x cd to a working folder, then: git clone https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF.git cd circuitRF dotnet build restores packages + compiles everything dotnet run --project src/Ui from the circuitRF/ directory: dotnet test optional 10-15 min of circuitRF development tests A handful of loadpull tests read lab-measured .spl / .lpcwave files that are third-party data held under terms that do not permit redistribution, so they have never been committed here. On a fresh clone those tests report as Skipped , naming the path they wanted — they never fail, and a fresh clone is green without them. Your own measurements in either format, dropped at those paths, exercise the same code. To build the device workers: Needed only for PDKs whose device models ship as compiled libraries . dotnet build builds the workers itself if a C compiler is on PATH — with none, it warns and carries on, and such a kit refuses at Run. Install one, then rebuild: winget install zig.zig Windows or: scoop install zig brew install zig macOS sudo snap install zig --classic --beta Linux or your package manager dotnet build macOS also runs those Linux models in a VM circuitRF ships — one extra ~330 MB download, once: dotnet build src/Ui -p:CrfBuildVmImage=true Alternatives to zig MinGW gcc , Docker/Podman and the rest: BUILDING.md ▸ Helper programs https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/BUILDING.md helper-programs . BUILDING.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/BUILDING.md has step-by-step instructions for producing the installers users download: .msi Windows x64/arm64/x86, per-machine and per-user , .zip the Windows update payload , .dmg macOS arm64/x64 , .deb Linux x64/arm64 and .tar.gz the Linux user-local channel . One script per platform, run from the repository root. from the circuitRF/ directory: dotnet run --project src/Ui Full CLI documentation: the Command Line chapter https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/docs/user/reference/cli.html of the user docs design notes in docs/design/cli.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/docs/design/cli.md . An installed circuitRF is the command line too circuitrf <verb … , circuitrf serve --root <dir for MCP — for an agent installing it unattended, see Installing for an agent https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/docs/user/reference/cli.html agent-install . S-parameters: sweep 1-3 GHz in 50 MHz steps, write a Touchstone file dotnet run --project src/Cli -- sparam mycircuit.cnl --freq 1GHz:3GHz:50MHz -o mycircuit.s2p DC operating point dotnet run --project src/Cli -- dc mycircuit.cnl Harmonic balance runs the parametric sweep, if one wraps the analysis dotnet run --project src/Cli -- hb hero2.cnl --set Pavl dbm=0 -o hero2.npy Loadpull over the directive's Gamma grid, exported as loadpull interchange dotnet run --project src/Cli -- lp hero3.cnl --pin -20:1:15 -o hero3.spl Loadpull pursuit: search for the max-power and max-efficiency terminations dotnet run --project src/Cli -- lpp hero3B.cnl --out-grid found.gam -o hero3B.npy Electromagnetic extraction of the layout a .cem names — no other arguments needed dotnet run --project src/Cli -- em Amp.cem Author a correct initial document: a workspace, then a cell inside it dotnet run --project src/Cli -- new workspace ~/designs/Amp --tech pcb-4layer FR-4 62mil 1oz dotnet run --project src/Cli -- new cell ~/designs/Amp Stage1 --views schematic,symbol Bring artwork or a component in: one interchange format to another, or a part as a cell dotnet run --project src/Cli -- convert Filter.dxf -o gerbers/ dotnet run --project src/Cli -- import part parts/ --into ~/designs/Amp --cell SOT-23 Is it well formed, does it resolve, is it sound? Runs no analysis and writes nothing dotnet run --project src/Cli -- check ~/designs/Amp Does the artwork match the drawing? LVS — read-only; -o writes a report dotnet run --project src/Cli -- lvs ~/designs/Amp/Stage1 What did circuitRF DECIDE — which technology, which chain, what value? dotnet run --project src/Cli -- explain Amp.cem dotnet run --project src/Cli -- explain Stage1.csch --expr "Zopt 2" Read a result back, or a document, as one JSON document dotnet run --project src/Cli -- read results/Amp em.npy --only S --json Dump the elaborated netlist flattened + parameters resolved - great for debugging dotnet run --project src/Cli -- elab mycircuit.cnl Speak a protocol to an external client over stdin/stdout, confined to one directory dotnet run --project src/Cli -- serve --root ~/designs Help dotnet run --project src/Cli The whole pipeline is three calls — read → elaborate → run — which is exactly what the CLI does: using CircuitRF.Core.Netlist; using CircuitRF.Core.Elaboration; using CircuitRF.Engine; var lib, testbench = CnlReader.ReadFile "mycircuit.cnl" ; var netlist = new Elaborator lib .Elaborate testbench ; var dataset = SParameterEngine.Run netlist, freqsHz ; // → a DataSet of DataCubes - UI for Tuning and optimization — no interactive parameter tuner, and no optimizer. - Noise analysis — no noise figure, no phase noise, no Fmin / Γopt / Rn extraction. - Transient analysis — circuitRF is frequency-domain by design; there is no time-domain solver. - Envelope analysis — no simulation of modulated waveforms no ACPR, no EVM, no pre-distortion If you want to contribute to any of the above, please contact me. The user documentation — Quick Start, New User's Guide and Reference Guide — is published at https://potatobeanradio.github.io/circuitRF/ https://potatobeanradio.github.io/circuitRF/ . It lives in docs/user/ , is what Help ▸ circuitRF Documentation opens, and is served online straight from this repository, so the web pages and the shipped pages are the same bytes. It is generated, not hand-edited. One command rebuilds every page and every figure from the live application: dotnet run --project tools/DocGen -- --out docs/user dotnet run --project tools/DocGen -- --page docs/user/src/reference/wbond.md just this page, in seconds prose edits only; no figures Prose is authored as Markdown under docs/user/src/ ; the pages under docs/user/ are the output and any edit to one is reverted by the next run. Figures are vector captures of the running interface — the generator opens circuitRF headlessly, drives real views with real content, and writes SVG — so they cannot drift from the application. Component parameter tables come from the live registry for the same reason. There are no screenshots in this documentation and there are not meant to be. tools/DocGen/check-docs-current.sh regenerates and diffs, and fails if the committed output is not what the generator produces. Run it after a UI change that moves a figure. The design note is docs/design/user-docs-factory.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/docs/design/user-docs-factory.md . The same sources also produce four landscape PDF decks into docs/slides/ git-ignored, a build product . Both options default to everything: dotnet run --project tools/DocGen -- --slides docs/slides all 4, light + dark dotnet run --project tools/DocGen -- --slides docs/slides --deck overview --theme dark - --deck overview | new-user | quick-start | reference — why adopt it; first principles; the fast path for engineers who already use simulators; the Reference Guide in outline. Comma-separated. - --theme light | dark | both — picks the screenshots as well as the page colour. Contributions are welcome and encouraged. circuitRF is community-driven, by and for the RF community, and RF domain knowledge counts as much as software experience. You don't need to be a career programmer — MATLAB/Python scripting experience plus an AI assistant is plenty. Good first contributions: - Build a circuit in the schematic editor and report what's confusing or broken - Improve a design note in docs/design/ , or a CLAUDE.md , where the docs lag the code. - Pick up a roadmap item the noise green field is wide open . The ground rules: - The architecture https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/ARCHITECTURE.md is layered and the UI firewall is enforced — keep Avalonia out of RfCore / Core / Engine / Design / Cli / Harmonica / WBond a CI test will catch you . Renderers stay Skia-only. - Every numerical change needs a testdata/ regression test within the tolerance the PRD states. - The core is MIT — never ingest GPL code. - Each subsystem has a CLAUDE.md with its local conventions; read the relevant one before diving in. Open an issue to discuss anything substantial before a large PR, so we can point you at the right design note and save you rework . circuitRF was built largely with AI assistance primarily Claude https://www.anthropic.com/claude / Claude Code https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code , and AI-assisted contributions are first-class here. The codebase is structured for it: spatial CLAUDE.md memory files capture the invariants and local conventions of each subsystem, docs/design/ holds the reasoning behind each part, and docs/skills/ holds step-by-step procedures you can hand directly to an AI agent. This is the deliberate bet of the project: an RF expert with an AI assistant can build the simulation features they need. If that describes you, you're in the right place. circuitRF's own source code is released under the MIT License https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/LICENSE . A future commercial superset, if any, layers on through a clean extension boundary without forking the core. The distribution also contains third-party components under their own terms, inventoried in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md . Three of them are copyleft and worth knowing about before you redistribute a build: - CSparse.NET https://github.com/wo80/CSparse.NET sparse complex LU, used throughout the engine is LGPL-2.1-only . The packaged installers link it statically, so LGPL §6's relink requirement applies — satisfied here by publishing complete source, since anyone can substitute a modified CSparse.NET and rebuild. If you redistribute circuitRF binaries, that obligation travels with them. - Open CASCADE Technology https://github.com/Open-Cascade-SAS/OCCT the geometry kernel behind booleans, fillets and STEP, run by tools/geometry-worker is LGPL-2.1-only with the Open CASCADE Exception . The installers carry it unmodified as shared libraries in one replaceable folder, and its source is available under the written offer in the notices. The repository holds none of it: building from source fetches it with the recipe in tools/geometry-worker/occt/ . - tools/osdi-worker/osdi.h https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/tools/osdi-worker/osdi.h is MPL-2.0 © 2022 SemiMod GmbH, from ngspice . MPL is copyleft at file scope: the file may live inside an MIT project, but it stays MPL and its header notice must not be removed. No strong-copyleft GPL/AGPL code is ingested, and none is planned — see CLAUDE.md for the standing rule on learning from GPL simulators without copying them. - Avalonia https://avaloniaui.net/ cross-platform UI — MIT - SkiaSharp https://github.com/mono/SkiaSharp 2D rendering — MIT - CSparse.NET https://github.com/wo80/CSparse.NET sparse complex LU — LGPL-2.1-only - Open CASCADE Technology https://github.com/Open-Cascade-SAS/OCCT geometry kernel — LGPL-2.1-only with the Open CASCADE Exception 1.0 ; circuitRF uses facilities provided by Open CASCADE Technology - NumFlat https://github.com/sinshu/numflat dense linear algebra — MIT - FftFlat https://github.com/sinshu/FftFlat FFT — MIT - Clipper2 https://github.com/AngusJohnson/Clipper2 integer-coordinate polygon clipping and offsetting, used by the layout editor — Boost Software License - CommunityToolkit.MVVM https://github.com/CommunityToolkit/dotnet MIT - Dock.Avalonia https://github.com/wieslawsoltes/Dock docking — MIT - Material.Icons.Avalonia https://github.com/SKProCH/Material.Icons icon set — MIT - PureHDF https://github.com/Apollo3zehn/PureHDF HDF5 export — MIT - Markdig https://github.com/xoofx/markdig Markdown rendering — BSD-2-Clause - Svg https://github.com/svg-net/SVG MS-PL and Svg.Skia https://github.com/wieslawsoltes/Svg.Skia MIT , used by tools/IconGen at packaging time - Fonts: IBM Plex Sans and Inter SIL Open Font License 1.1 , DejaVu Sans Bitstream Vera Fonts License - osdi.h https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/tools/osdi-worker/osdi.h from the ngspice OSDI component © 2022 SemiMod GmbH — MPL-2.0 Full terms, and what each one obliges you to do if you redistribute a build, are in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md https://github.com/potatobeanradio/circuitRF/blob/main/THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md .