# check_clearance

Check the actual clearance between two PCB items (track, via, pad, zone or component) and report whether it meets the design rules.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `check_clearance`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/check-clearance

## Facts

- Tool: `check_clearance`
- Server: KiCAD-MCP-Server (`mixelpixx/kicad-mcp-server`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/mixelpixx/KiCAD-MCP-Server
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 0
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "check_clearance",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why check_clearance is rated Low

This tool queries and validates existing PCB design data against rules. It retrieves clearance information and produces a report, matching the Read category pattern of data retrieval with no side effects. No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed. The context (PCB design validation) and sibling tools (which add components, layers, etc.) confirm this is a diagnostic/verification function.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool description states it 'Check[s] the actual clearance' and 'report[s] whether it meets the design rules' — purely informational operations with no modifications or side effects."

## Use case

AI agents call check_clearance to retrieve information from KiCAD-MCP-Server without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches KiCAD-MCP-Server:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "check_clearance": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on KiCAD-MCP-Server (230)

- `clear_board_outline` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/clear-board-outline.md
- `delete_component` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-component.md
- `delete_graphic` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-graphic.md
- `delete_schematic_component` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-schematic-component.md
- `delete_schematic_net_label` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-schematic-net-label.md
- `delete_schematic_wire` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-schematic-wire.md
- `delete_symbol` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-symbol.md
- `delete_trace` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/delete-trace.md
- `discard_or_reload` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/discard-or-reload.md
- `remove_hierarchical_sheet` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/remove-hierarchical-sheet.md
- `remove_library_table_entry` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/remove-library-table-entry.md
- `remove_schematic_component_property` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/remove-schematic-component-property.md
- `autoroute` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/autoroute.md
- `export_3d_cli` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-3d-cli.md
- `export_drill` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-drill.md
- `launch_kicad_ui` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/launch-kicad-ui.md
- `refill_zones` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/refill-zones.md
- `run_drc` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/run-drc.md
- `run_erc` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/run-erc.md
- `batch_list_symbol_pins` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/batch-list-symbol-pins.md
- `check_courtyard_overlaps` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/check-courtyard-overlaps.md
- `check_freerouting` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/check-freerouting.md
- `check_kicad_ui` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/check-kicad-ui.md
- `check_placement_clearance` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/check-placement-clearance.md
- `download_registry_part` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/download-registry-part.md
- `estimate_airwire_lengths` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/estimate-airwire-lengths.md
- `export_bom` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-bom.md
- `export_ipc2581` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-ipc2581.md
- `export_ipcd356` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-ipcd356.md
- `export_odb` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server/export-odb.md
- …and 200 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/mixelpixx-kicad-mcp-server