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Getting Started

This guide walks you through your first session with WireFrame EDA in approximately 10 minutes.
You will learn how to launch the application, understand the main interface, and set up your first project.

What you'll learn

  • Launching WireFrame
  • Understanding the main UI areas
  • Creating a new project
  • Adding schematic and PCB files
  • Opening existing projects and files

1. Launching WireFrame

Run from terminal: 

./wireframe
Or search for WireFrame in your application menu.

Open Start Menu → type WireFrame → press Enter.

Open Launchpad → find WireFrame → click to launch.

On startup, WireFrame automatically restores any open projects and documents from your previous session.

A brief dark flash is normal — the interface loads on the next render frame.

2. The Main Interface

After launching, you will see the following layout:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [File]  [Edit]  [View]  [Project]  [Tools]  [Help]         │  ← Menu bar
├──────────────┬──────────────────────────┬───────────────────┤
│              │                          │  📚 Library       │
│  📁 Project  │    Canvas (Editor)       │    R              │
│  Structure   │                          │    C              │
│              │   ← Design your circuit  │    LED            │
│  MyBoard     │     here                 │    STM32F103      │
│  ├ main.sch  │                          ├───────────────────┤
│  └ board.pcb │                          │  🔧 Properties    │
│              │                          │    R1: 10kΩ       │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────────┴───────────────────┘
Area Default position Purpose
Menu bar Top Access all features via menus
Project Structure Left Project file tree
Canvas (Editor) Center Design area — schematic or PCB
Library Right (top) Component / footprint list
Properties Right (bottom) Edit properties of the selected object
Layer (PCB only) Right (middle) Toggle and select PCB layers
Logger Bottom overlay Errors, warnings, and status messages

Rearranging panels

Drag any panel tab to a different edge or corner to reposition it. Your layout is saved automatically and restored on next launch.

3. Creating a New Project

Why use a project?

A project (.prjxml) is a central hub for all your files — schematics, PCBs, and libraries. Working inside a project makes file management easier and enables one-click Gerber export.

Steps:

  1. Go to File → New Project…
  2. Choose a folder and enter a filename, for example: MyBoard.prjxml
  3. Click Create (or Save)

WireFrame automatically creates:

  • MyBoard.prjxml — stores references to all schematics and PCBs
  • A lib/ folder for local libraries

The Project Structure panel immediately shows your new (empty) project:

📁 MyBoard.prjxml
  ├─ 📄 Schematics  (empty)
  └─ 📄 PCBs        (empty)

4. Adding a Schematic File

  1. Go to File → New Schematic
  2. A new tab opens in the editor: Untitled-SCH-1
  3. The canvas shows:
    • A dot grid on a dark background
    • An A4 page outline
    • The floating schematic toolbar at the top

Press Ctrl+S to save → name the file .schxml, for example: main.schxml

The schematic canvas looks like this:

┌─────────────────── Schematic Canvas ────────────────────────┐
│  [Select][Wire][Label][Text][Line][Rect][Circle][GND][VCC]  │  ← Toolbar
│ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  │
│ · · · · ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐ · · │
│ · · · · │                  A4 Page                   │ · · │
│ · · · · │                                             │ · · │
│ · · · · │   (Place components and draw wires here)   │ · · │
│ · · · · │                                             │ · · │
│ · · · · └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘ · · │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

5. Adding a PCB File

  1. Go to File → New PCB
  2. A new tab opens: Untitled-PCB-1
  3. The canvas shows a grid and the PCB floating toolbar

Convert from schematic instead

Rather than creating a PCB manually, complete your schematic first and use Project → Convert to PCB — WireFrame automatically imports all footprints and the netlist.

The PCB canvas looks like this:

┌─────────────────── PCB Canvas ──────────────────────────────┐
│  [Select][Place][Route][Via][Hole][Line][Rect][Text][Measure]│  ← Toolbar
│ · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  │
│ · ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ · · · │
│ · │                  Board Area                     │ · · · │
│ · │   [R1]╌╌╌╌╌╌╌[U1]╌╌╌╌╌╌╌[J1]                  │ · · · │
│ · │    ↑ ratsnest: unrouted connection lines        │ · · · │
│ · └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ · · · │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

6. Opening an Existing Project or File

Opening a project (.prjxml)

  1. File → Open Project…
  2. Select the .prjxml file
  3. The Project Structure panel populates with all linked schematics and PCBs
  4. Click any entry to open it in the editor

Opening a standalone file

  1. File → Open… (or Ctrl+O)
  2. Select a .schxml (schematic) or .pcbxml (PCB) file
  3. The file opens as a tab in the editor — no project required

Next Steps

You now know the basics. Continue with:

Next page Content
UI Overview Detailed guide to every panel and toolbar
Schematic Editor Place components, draw wires, manage nets
PCB Editor Lay out footprints, route traces, export Gerbers
Full Tutorial End-to-end walkthrough: a complete LED circuit