.lib
files in KiCAD contain schematic symbols, for example
whereas this is a footprint which is not stored in .lib
files:
Note that one .lib
file typically contains more than one schematic symbol.
KiCAD .lib files begin with
EESchema-LIBRARY Version 2.4
(the version might be different depending on the version of KiCAD you are using)
Here’s an example for a simple library:
EESchema-LIBRARY Version 2.4 #encoding utf-8 # # Amplifier_Operational_AD8603 # DEF Amplifier_Operational_AD8603 U 0 5 Y Y 1 F N F0 "U" 0 200 50 H V L CNN F1 "Amplifier_Operational_AD8603" 0 -200 50 H V L CNN F2 "Package_TO_SOT_SMD:TSOT-23-5" 0 0 50 H I C CNN F3 "" 0 200 50 H I C CNN ALIAS OPA188xxDBV $FPLIST TSOT*23* $ENDFPLIST DRAW P 4 0 1 10 -200 200 200 0 -200 -200 -200 200 f X V- 2 -100 -300 150 U 50 50 0 1 W X V+ 5 -100 300 150 D 50 50 0 1 W X ~ 1 300 0 100 L 50 50 1 1 O X + 3 -300 100 100 R 50 50 1 1 I X - 4 -300 -100 100 R 50 50 1 1 I ENDDRAW ENDDEF # #End Library
This library defines the schematic symbol for the operational amplifier shown above. The example is from the KiCAD standard library.
Also see the official guide on KiCAD file formats.