There have been several topics on automating BoM creation. I want to start using one written in Python (so i can modify as needed).
Ideally, I could contribute to an open source effort. Is the one with the most momentum in this space KiCost? Are there alternatives?
thank you.
All tools/scripts that are current seem to have dropped by in this thread here - take your pick:
I appreciate your answer. Yah - i saw the thread. my take was there are several excellent efforts. However, there did not seem to be momentum behind any one. I will take my pick. I was hoping we’d all pick one together, contribute, and start using. i think i will start with kicost. However, i don’t want to modify the schema with manufacturing info so i’ll export the reference/value to csv then join this info with manufacturer parts. In this way, if down the road i change part #'s i won’t have to modify each entry in eeschema (since i don’t see a way to change for example to change a field for all 1 u caps - for example.
Yeah, that was what @reinis had coded there to be used within KiCAD/EEschema. I didn’t test it yet, but maybe you want to? 
Personally I ‘solved’ that problem for the time being with my own external python script that creates me (in a Frankenstein-way) libraries for parts where the manufacturer ID is ‘iterable’… that one isn’t public (too early).
And then I have a script on github that reads .lib files and exports the important bits to a .csv file… this then can be modified (some table calc program like excel/calc) and the code is able to import the changed fields back into the .lib file.
Similar to what @reinis did, just outside of KiCAD.
As for a single solution… maybe everyone is waiting on the KiCAD devs, as EEschema was the next thing they wanted to touch?.. any external/bolted on tools will be useless/need heavy refactoring if similar features come with KiCAD and/or stuff is being changed to be more like pcbnew is now (IMHO).
Hi all,
Just found this thread, and thought you may be interested in the BoM tool I have been working on.
Source is available here: https://github.com/SchrodingersGat/KiBoM
Currently the CLI version is stable, I’m working on a GUI version which is not complete yet.
There are a number of features which I have found lacking in both the default BOM scripts and some others I have found online. If anyone likes what I’ve done, please feel free to contribute. I have designed this to be very user-configurable (although there is only a small number of options available currently).