Do we still need these files (-cache.lib fp-info-cache) on Kicad v6?

[leoheck]

Not sure where to check this. Asking if it is safe to purge these files when working with Kicad v6.

[leoheck]

In other words. Afe these files still used on Kicad v6?

[paulvdh]

The [Project]-cache.lib file is a remnant of a KiCad V5 project, and after conversion to KiCad V6 it can be deleted. KiCad V6 embeds the information from that file into the schematic itself.

I’m not entirely sure about fp-info-cache. I did search for a minute or two on this forum, and apparently it is a “real” cache, and it’s purpose is just to speed up loading, but the file itself is apparently redundant

[leoheck]

Thanks for your research @paulvdh

I could not find related info here File Formats | Developer Documentation | KiCad too.

For the sake of the discussion
This is the format of the -cache.lib and it looks like the old .sch

And this is the fp-info-cache, format

I would like to hear this from the Kicad team so can remove it these files safely from my repositories.

[leoheck]

Ah, I found a note here (KiCad 6.0.0 Release | KiCad EDA)

It would be nice if the file names of the cache libraries would be explicitly indicated to have this issue clarified.

[craftyjon]

https://docs.kicad.org/6.0/en/kicad/kicad.html

Note: as also mentioned on this page, the fp-info-cache is used to speed up loading of footprint libraries and is not obsolete in V6.

[eelik]

fp-info-cache isn’t important, it’s regenerated automatically if needed. It’s per local setup, so it’s not useful to share it between users/machines.

[leoheck]

@craftyjon

fp-info-cache

Ah, I now I understand. Then this file is regenerated in the first access of the kicad_pcb to speed up the next access to the board.

Alright, in this case, it is not needed to version it too.

Thanks @craftyjon and @eelik

[craftyjon]

Correct. There is also a note about this in the docs:

Some files, such as the project local settings file (.kicad_prl) and the fp-info-cache file, are not necessary to send with your project. If you use a version control system such as Git to keep track of your KiCad projects, you may want to add these files to the list of ignored files so that they are not tracked.