Requirements
What has to be installed to work on a generated zudo-circuit-doc project, and what is optional.
A generated project only requires a small toolchain. Install Node.js 22.18.0 or newer, Python 3.10 or newer (standard library only), and pnpm through Corepack before creating one. Everything else — Docker, Chrome, a package manager for CAD imports — is needed for one specific optional capability, and its absence never breaks the documentation build.
Required
| Tool | Version | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | ≥22.18.0 | Everything: the CLI, the doc-site build, native TypeScript type stripping for circuit.config.ts |
| pnpm | 11.5.2 (via Corepack) | Install and every project script (pnpm install, pnpm dev, …) |
| Python | ≥3.10, standard library only | The canonical evidence validator (pnpm circuit:check) |
Node's native TypeScript type stripping is why circuit.config.ts loads with no build step, and why the runtime package ships compiled JavaScript instead of .ts sources (type stripping only works outside node_modules) — see Ownership and upgrades.
Optional
Nothing below is needed to install, generate, or build a project's documentation. Each row names the one command that needs it; every other command works without it, and pnpm circuit:doctor reports each one as present or missing without failing the run.
| Tool | Needed for | If missing |
|---|---|---|
| git | The initializer's default initial commit and documentation history | Pass --no-git when creating a project; pnpm circuit:doctor reports Git as informational |
| Docker + the pinned KiCad container image | zudo-circuit-doc footprints generate (rendering footprint preview SVGs) | Exit 4 ("not run"); footprints check and everything else still works |
Chrome (or CHROME_BIN) | zudo-circuit-doc check-browser (browser smoke of the built site) | Exit 4 ("not run") |
| Network access | Acquiring datasheets/CAD assets, and validate --online / --refresh-source | Those specific agent operations fail; the documentation build itself never goes online |
easyeda2kicad | Importing EasyEDA/LCSC CAD assets as a starting point (Workflow D) | Use another CAD source, or skip CAD for that component |
See Reference → Capability & tool matrix for the same information broken down by every CLI command, and Getting Started → The first run for what pnpm circuit:doctor actually prints.
No credentials are required for anything in this list, and the initializer does not configure a deploy target.