[HOW] Is it possible to write KiBot variables directly into KiCad project files?

[Handkep]

I'm using KiBot with the following configuration:

kibot:
  version: 1
global:
  set_text_variables_before_output: true

preflight:
  set_text_variables:
    - name: GIT_VERSION
      command: git describe --tags --always --dirty
    - name: REPOSITORY
      command: echo $CI_PROJECT_PATH
    - name: CURRENT_DATE
      command: date +'%Y-%m-%d'
outputs:
  - name: 'copy_files'
    comment: 'Used to copy files to the output directory.'
    type: 'copy_files'
    dir: '../Exports/kicad'
    options:
      download: false
      files:
          - filter: '.*\.(kicad_pro|kicad_sch|kicad_pcb)$'

Gitlab CI:

[ -f *.kicad_pcb ] && kibot -c ci.kibot.yaml --verbose

My goal is to have the variables defined in preflight (e.g., GIT_VERSION) appear directly within the KiCad project files (.kicad_sch, .kicad_pcb) that are copied to the ../Exports/kicad directory.

However, after running KiBot in an Gitlab CI/CD environment, the original files are simply copied without any modification or variable substitution. The GIT_VERSION placeholder is not replaced with the actual git tag.

Is there a specific KiBot output type or a configuration option that allows for the automatic modification of the source KiCad files with these variables? Or is this functionality not intended for copy_files and is only available for other output types like pdf_sch_print?

Any clarification on this would be greatly appreciated.

[set-soft]

Hi @Handkep !

Usually KiCad variables are stored in the project, and they are replaced by KiCad, when you load the files and use them. This is the normal mechanism. The PCB/Schematic isn't changed.

The old (and deprecated) pcb_replace and sch_replace can be used to actually replace text in the PCB and Schematic. They are deprecated because the regular mechanism is much more simple and safe.

Do you really need to replace the values?

[Handkep]

Yes. I would like to export the kicad files in the CI/CD pipline with the placeholder replaced for Archive, so others can review them and easily identify the version.