How It Works

The Zeo agent is your design assistant, available in the sidebar while you work. It can help with everything from placing components to exporting manufacturing files.

Opening the Agent

Press Cmd+K (macOS) or Ctrl+K (Linux) to toggle the agent sidebar.

Talking to the Agent

Describe what you want to accomplish in natural language:

  • "Add a 10k resistor between pin 5 of U1 and ground"
  • "Place decoupling caps near all the IC power pins"
  • "Run ERC and explain what's wrong"
  • "Generate a symbol for the STM32F103C8T6"
  • "Export Gerbers for JLCPCB"

The agent understands context — it knows which editors are open, what's selected, and the current state of your design.

Use Cases

Starting a New Design

  1. Open the agent and describe your project
  2. Ask the agent to place the main components
  3. Have it add support circuitry (decoupling caps, pull-ups)
  4. Request wiring between components
  5. Run ERC to catch any issues

Generating Components

When you need a part that's not in your library:

  1. Provide the part number or datasheet URL
  2. The agent extracts pin definitions and package info
  3. It generates both the symbol and footprint
  4. The new component is added to your project library

Transitioning to PCB

  1. Ask the agent to sync the schematic to PCB
  2. Have it place footprints with initial positioning
  3. Set up the board outline
  4. Generate net classes with Auto Constraint
  5. Route with Freerouting or manually

Debugging Issues

When ERC or DRC reports errors:

  1. Ask the agent to run the check
  2. It will explain each violation in plain language
  3. Request fixes for specific issues
  4. Re-run to verify the problems are resolved

Best Practices

Let the Agent Draft, You Refine

The agent is good at getting the structure right quickly. For precise placement and routing, use it to get 80% there, then fine-tune manually.

Check Generated Components

When the agent generates symbols or footprints from datasheets, always verify the pin assignments and dimensions before committing to production.

Use Descriptive Net Names

The agent understands your design better when nets have meaningful names like VCC_3V3 or SPI_MOSI rather than generic names like NET1.

Use Version Control

Zeo has a built-in version control panel where you can commit and push your project directly. Use it to checkpoint your work before big changes so you can always roll back if needed.

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