KiCad BOM Export Guide: From Schematic to Sourced Parts
A practical walkthrough for hardware engineers: export a clean Bill of Materials from KiCad, then use CL SourceBOM to price and source every line from Digi-Key and Mouser.
1. Prepare your schematic
Before exporting, make sure every symbol has a Value and — for parts you already chose — an MPN or Manufacturer Part Number field. Discrete parts (resistors, capacitors, inductors) can stay as parametric values like 10k 0402 or 0.1uF 50V X7R; CL SourceBOM matches them by spec.
2. Export the BOM from KiCad
In the KiCad Schematic Editor, choose Tools → Generate BOM… Pick the CSV generator (bom_csv_grouped_by_value or the built-in CSV plugin in KiCad 8+). Make sure the exported columns include Reference, Value, Quantity, and Footprint — plus MPN if you use that field.
3. Import the CSV into CL SourceBOM
Create a new project, click Import CSV, and map your columns to Ref Des, MPN/Value, Qty, and Footprint. CL SourceBOM combines Value + Footprint into a parametric spec for discretes and treats the MPN column as an exact match for ICs.
4. Run sourcing
Click Source BOM. Each line is queried against Digi-Key first, then Mouser as fallback. Offers are ranked by unit price at the applicable break quantity, stock, lead time, and any natural-language instructions you set (e.g. “prefer Murata for MLCCs”, “no Chinese-only distributors”).
5. Export to Excel
Hit Export XLSX from the project header or the sourcing results page to get a purchase-ready spreadsheet with distributor part numbers, unit prices, and extended totals per board count.
Ready to source your KiCad BOM?
Free tier includes 3 BOM sourcing runs every 90 days. No credit card required.
Get started free