KiCad 8.0.0 Released: An Update Full of Innovations
KiCad, one of the leading software in electronic design, introduced its new version 8.0.0 to users. Arriving only a year apart, this update is packed with lots of new features, improvements and bug fixes from KiCad 7.
KiCad 8 comes with more features and improvements than its previous versions. Among the innovations are many changes announced at the forum and at the FOSDEM 2024 conference. Additionally, bug fixes and performance improvements from previous versions are also notable. This update also brings the end of active maintenance of the KiCad 7.x series, in accordance with KiCad's stable release policy.
Hundreds of developers, translators and library contributors contributed to the development of KiCad 8. More than 4,300 commits have been made in total, marking a slight decrease compared to the previous version. The project has been developing steadily with an increase in new participants, and this year more than 70 new participants contributed to the project for the first time in terms of code and translation.
With the new version, significant improvements have been made to KiCad libraries. New standards have been set and footprints for SMD packages have been updated. Additionally, support for data transfer from other tools has also been expanded. You can find more information about the update on KiCad's official website.
