The step models are an irrelevance for a lot of people, it is also something that does not need to be searched as individual elements would be lined from footprints. The only search that was needed was when the step was added to the footprint. Once the footprint was used it would be locally cached.
The keyphrase after it is used … To do this, you need to find it, and here the bottleneck in the database begins with a large and long delay, and the larger the database, the greater the delay.
Kicad libraries are simple and powerfull. When something is missing it is always easy to make your own symbols/footprints.
I think the libraries are more important to the occasional user. In that regard it could be argued that too much time is devoted to them. 
2 Likes
And here, not everything is so smooth, because with each new version of the kikad, the library format changes, which, frankly, is not very cool … I honestly don’t really understand why draw something that already exists or, let’s say, is available in finished form …
This was my favorite comment from last time the subject of libraries was aired:
Are people really still whining about the supplied libraries? Still wanting to be spoonfed?
All Kicad should be supplying is a basic set of symbols, and a set of common standard footprints.
For everything else - make it yourself. Its pretty simple.
I’m making new symbols and footprints all the time for Altium, and we have amassed a vast library as a result. To our specs. I don’t expect Altium to supply anything at all - and its an expensive cad package. (Hell - I’m just happy if it doesn’t crash).
If anyone is interested, here’s a link to the whole thread:
it may not be very cool that the format changes from time to time but changes are sometimes necessary to get improvements. also I use kicad since v4 and the libraries were one of the things which did not break between versions (yet). The only thing that did break were 3rd party tools, converters etc. which did not adapt to the new structure. this also would be a problem for a potential altium library converter.
because the “finished” form isn’t really a finished form as everyone has his own standards on what a symbol needs to satisfy. I can’t remember going to a different library, taking a symbol and having not to modify it intensively afterwards because it was missing information, did not comply with style requirements etc. therefore it is often simply faster to make the symbol from the ground up instead of breaking it down to the foundation and repairing all the issues, which is more or less a process of redoing the whole symbol anyway.
Well, yes, you draw your library for a whole year, use third-party services, create a database from them, and then a new version comes and everything stops working) there is no clear answer why you change the format)) You can do everything with your hands and feet, but this time and this is the most expensive thing for we have …
you exaggerate (again). the most essential parts (kicad working with the libraries) never stopped working and the reasoning for the changes are clearly documented 
Sure some dont use X. Though you have to understand that the STEP integration is the only reason i use kiCad in the first place. No step in libraries and software would mean i would use something else.
But like I say its a red herring, everybody and their friend want different things. Most people who complain about libraries want somebody else to do their work for them.
1 Like
Well, for example, the created libraries in version 6 were successfully converted to version 7, but some parameters require manual changes for each component, to say that it does not work is probably not true, it works but crookedly)
This is a conversation about what the basic libraries should be, and everything else looks like an answer that you need to draw 4 lines separately and not immediately a square))) You ask for a function to draw a square and you are told no, only 4 separate lines)) and through for a year they break these 4 lines and say that the old drawn squares no longer work))) chip makers are not very willing to make libraries in the kickad format and changing the format leads to non-working functions the converter stops working normally after the conversion you have to edit it by hand or you suggest drawing everything again correctly ?
In any case, the solution in the form of a library converter from different programs looks much better than drawing everything anew, but there is a worse choice when it is not there … I don’t want to argue about altium in comparison with kickad and I don’t want to argue about Linux in comparison with wine … … If there are options to simplify to speed up the work, then these options should be used and not change the square to 4 lines
Worth repeating:
sometimes it is useful to look at competitors to try how it works there and compare …
Hehe true in my case, but I am not complaining I am generally satisfied with current implementation. I merely think of ideas to improve things.
For this, programs are made so that she does it herself, and only the choice remains for you … You use other people’s datasheets and do not draw them yourself, so why not use ready-made libraries saving time on writing and drawing, leaving only for verification … And then you are all trying to say that he is lazy and does not want to draw primitives himself.
This thread was started by me as someone who wants to contribute but cannot because of the way the system works at the moment. A look through the list of modes waiting to be integrated shows there is plenty of enthusiasm to add.
It might be the case, but having a single part for every sand in the desert is not a wise choice. This idea destroys the usability of this wonderful tool.
That is not something anyone has suggested. It is just something you’ve made up.
Sadly, derailed.