Kicad-happy mouser

Search Mouser Electronics for electronic components — secondary source for prototype orders. Find parts, check pricing/stock, download datasheets, analyze specifications. Use with KiCad for BOM creation and part selection. Also supports batch MPN-list seeding (`--mpn-list`) for bulk datasheet workflows without a KiCad project. Use this skill when the user specifically mentions Mouser, when DigiKey is out of stock or has worse pricing, when comparing prices across distributors, or when searching for parts that DigiKey doesn't carry. For package cross-reference tables and BOM workflow, see the `bom` skill.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/aklofas/kicad-happy

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/aklofas/kicad-happy "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/mouser" ~/.claude/skills/aklofas-kicad-happy-mouser && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/mouser/SKILL.md

source content

Mouser Electronics Parts Search & Analysis

Related Skills

Skill	Purpose
`kicad`	Schematic analysis — extracts MPNs for part lookup
`bom`	BOM management — orchestrates sourcing across distributors
`digikey`	Primary prototype source (prefer for datasheets — direct PDF links)
`spice`	Uses Mouser parametric data for behavioral SPICE models

Mouser is the secondary source for prototype orders — use when DigiKey is out of stock or has worse pricing. For production orders, see

lcsc

jlcpcb

. For BOM management and export workflows, see

bom

. For datasheets, prefer DigiKey's API (direct PDF links) — Mouser blocks automated PDF downloads.

API Credential Setup

Mouser uses simple API key authentication — no OAuth, no tokens, no callback URLs. The Search API key is a UUID passed as a query parameter.

Getting Your API Key

Go to mouser.com → My Mouser → My Account
Under "APIs" section, click "Manage"
Register for Search API key — this is the one needed for part lookups and datasheet downloads
Search API keys may require approval (status shows "pending authorization" initially)

Setting Credentials

Set the environment variable before running the scripts:

export MOUSER_SEARCH_API_KEY=your-search-api-key-uuid

If credentials are stored in a central secrets file (e.g.,

~/.config/secrets.env

), load them first:

export $(grep -v '^#' ~/.config/secrets.env | grep -v '^$' | xargs)

Mouser Search API Reference

All search endpoints use the Search API key as a query parameter:

?apiKey=<key>

. Content-Type is

application/json

for all POST requests.

V1 Endpoints

Keyword Search

POST /api/v1/search/keyword?apiKey=<key>

{
  "SearchByKeywordRequest": {
    "keyword": "100nF 0402 ceramic capacitor",
    "records": 50,
    "startingRecord": 0,
    "searchOptions": "InStock"
  }
}

searchOptions

"None"

"Rohs"

"InStock"

"RohsAndInStock"

```
records
```
: max 50 per request
```
startingRecord
```
: offset for pagination

Part Number Search

POST /api/v1/search/partnumber?apiKey=<key>

{
  "SearchByPartRequest": {
    "mouserPartNumber": "GRM155R71C104KA88D|RC0402FR-0710KL",
    "partSearchOptions": "Exact"
  }
}

Up to 10 part numbers, pipe-separated (
```
|
```
)
Works with both Mouser part numbers AND manufacturer part numbers (MPNs)

partSearchOptions

"Exact"

"BeginsWith"

"Contains"

V2 Endpoints

V2 adds manufacturer filtering and pagination by page number.

Keyword + Manufacturer Search

POST /api/v2/search/keywordandmanufacturer?apiKey=<key>

{
  "SearchByKeywordMfrNameRequest": {
    "keyword": "LMR51450",
    "manufacturerName": "Texas Instruments",
    "records": 25,
    "pageNumber": 1,
    "searchOptions": "InStock"
  }
}

Note: the wrapper object name is

SearchByKeywordMfrNameRequest

(not

SearchByKeywordMfrRequest

— the V1 name is deprecated).

Part Number + Manufacturer Search

POST /api/v2/search/partnumberandmanufacturer?apiKey=<key>

Manufacturer List

GET /api/v2/search/manufacturerlist?apiKey=<key>

Returns the full list of manufacturer names for use in filtered searches.

V1 Deprecated Endpoints

These still work but V2 equivalents are preferred:

POST /api/v1/search/keywordandmanufacturer

→ use V2

POST /api/v1/search/partnumberandmanufacturer

→ use V2

```
GET /api/v1/search/manufacturerlist
```
→ use V2

Search Response Structure

All search endpoints return the same response format:

{
  "Errors": [],
  "SearchResults": {
    "NumberOfResult": 142,
    "Parts": [...]
  }
}

Key Part Fields

Field	Type	Description
`MouserPartNumber`	string	Mouser's internal part number (prefixed, e.g., `81-GRM155R71C104KA88` )
`ManufacturerPartNumber`	string	Manufacturer's part number (MPN) — use for cross-distributor matching
`Manufacturer`	string	Manufacturer name
`Description`	string	Product description
`Category`	string	Product category
`DataSheetUrl`	string	URL to datasheet PDF (Mouser-hosted — see Datasheet section)
`ProductDetailUrl`	string	URL to Mouser product page
`ImagePath`	string	Product image URL
`Availability`	string	Human-readable stock text (e.g., "2648712 In Stock")
`AvailabilityInStock`	string	Numeric stock quantity (as string)
`AvailabilityOnOrder`	array	Incoming stock: `[{Quantity, Date}]`
`LeadTime`	string	Factory lead time (e.g., "84 Days")
`LifecycleStatus`	string\|null	"New Product", "End of Life", etc.
`IsDiscontinued`	string	"true" or "false" (string, not boolean)
`SuggestedReplacement`	string	Replacement MPN if discontinued
`Min`	string	Minimum order quantity (as string)
`Mult`	string	Order multiple (as string)
`Reeling`	bool	Tape-and-reel packaging available
`ROHSStatus`	string	RoHS compliance status
`PriceBreaks`	array	Tiered pricing: `[{Quantity, Price, Currency}]`
`ProductAttributes`	array	Parametric specs: `[{AttributeName, AttributeValue}]`
`AlternatePackagings`	array\|null	Alternate packaging MPNs: `[{APMfrPN}]`
`SurchargeMessages`	array	Tariff/surcharge info: `[{code, message}]`
`ProductCompliance`	array	HTS codes, ECCN: `[{ComplianceName, ComplianceValue}]`
`UnitWeightKg`	object	`{UnitWeight: <float>}` in kg

Quirks and Gotchas

Price is a string with currency symbol:
```
"$0.10"
```
, not a float. Parse it before comparing.
Stock is a string:
```
AvailabilityInStock
```
returns
```
"2648712"
```
not
```
2648712
```
.
IsDiscontinued is a string:
```
"true"
```
or
```
"false"
```
, not boolean.
Mouser part numbers have prefixes:
```
81-GRM155R71C104KA88
```
— the prefix is Mouser-specific. Use
```
ManufacturerPartNumber
```
for cross-referencing.

V2 wrapper names differ from V1: V2 uses

SearchByKeywordMfrNameRequest

, not

SearchByKeywordMfrRequest

Tariff info:
```
SurchargeMessages
```
may contain US tariff percentages — useful for cost estimation.
On-order data:
```
AvailabilityOnOrder
```
shows incoming stock quantities and expected dates.

Datasheet Download & Sync

Mouser's

DataSheetUrl

field points to Mouser-hosted URLs (

mouser.com/datasheet/...

). These URLs block automated downloads — they return an HTML "Access denied" page when fetched with Python/curl/wget, even with browser User-Agent headers. The download scripts handle this with a multi-strategy approach:

Try the Mouser datasheet URL directly (works for some parts)
Scrape the Mouser product page HTML for alternative datasheet links
Try manufacturer-specific alternative URL patterns

Note: Mouser's product pages return 403 for most automated requests, so strategy 2 has limited success. DigiKey and LCSC are more reliable datasheet sources.

Datasheet Directory Sync

Use

sync_datasheets_mouser.py

to maintain a

datasheets/

directory alongside a KiCad project. Same workflow and

manifest.json

format as the DigiKey skill.

# Sync datasheets for a KiCad project
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py <file.kicad_sch>

# Preview what would be downloaded
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py <file.kicad_sch> --dry-run

# Retry previously failed downloads
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py <file.kicad_sch> --force

# Custom output directory
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py <file.kicad_sch> -o ./my-datasheets

# Parallel downloads (3 workers)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py <file.kicad_sch> --parallel 3

# Batch mode — sync from a plain MPN list (no KiCad project required)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_mouser.py --mpn-list mpns.txt --output ./datasheets

MPN-list batch mode (KH-312) — when you have a list of MPNs but no KiCad project to point at (harness datasheet seeding, bulk part-library seeding). One MPN per line; blank lines and

comments (full-line and inline) are skipped; generic values (

100nF

DNP

) are filtered via

is_real_mpn()

and de-duplicated. Output defaults to

./datasheets/

in the current working directory when

--output

is omitted.

Single Datasheet Download

Use

fetch_datasheet_mouser.py

for one-off downloads.

# Search by MPN (uses Mouser API)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_mouser.py --search "TPS61023DRLR" -o datasheet.pdf

# Direct URL download
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_mouser.py "https://example.com/datasheet.pdf" -o datasheet.pdf

# JSON output
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_mouser.py --search "ADP1706" --json

Download Strategy

The scripts try multiple sources in order:

Schematic URL — uses the datasheet URL embedded in the KiCad symbol (sync only)
Mouser API search — gets the
```
DataSheetUrl
```
from the API response
Alternative manufacturer sources — tries known URL patterns for major manufacturers (TI, Microchip, etc.) when the Mouser URL is blocked
Headless browser fallback — if
```
playwright
```
is installed, uses headless Chromium as a last resort

When all methods fail, provide the

ProductDetailUrl

to the user so they can download from the Mouser product page in their browser.

Web Search Fallback

If no API key is available, search Mouser by fetching product pages directly:

Search URL:
```
https://www.mouser.com/c/?q=<query>
```
Product pages contain full specs, pricing tiers, stock, datasheets
Results from Mouser can be noisy (JS-heavy pages)

Include key parameters in the query:

Passives: value, package (0402/0603/0805), tolerance, voltage/power rating, dielectric (C0G/X7R)
ICs: part number or function, package (QFN/SOIC/TSSOP), key specs (voltage, current, interface)
Connectors: type (USB-C, JST-PH), pin count, pitch, mounting (SMD/THT), orientation

Tips

Pipe-separate up to 10 part numbers in a single PartNumber search for batch lookups
```
Min
```
and
```
Mult
```
fields matter — some parts have minimum order qty or must be ordered in multiples
```
SurchargeMessages
```
may include US tariff percentages — factor into cost estimates
```
AvailabilityOnOrder
```
shows incoming stock with expected dates
Check
```
IsDiscontinued
```
and
```
LifecycleStatus
```
before selecting parts