ChatGPT Astra designs a working ESP32 PCB in 3 hours with just 5 prompts
Gjfiyfyifiyf · reddit · 2026-09-07
Inspired by OpenAI's Astra KiCad demo, a developer used ChatGPT Astra (via Codex CLI, lowest effort tier on a $20/mo Plus plan) to produce a complete ESP32 board design — 24V input, 4-20mA signal I/O — in about 3 hours with only 5 prompts. Human input was just an empty KiCad template and one opening prompt; all component choices, schematics, layout and docs were AI-generated. Verdict: genuinely usable and mostly sound component picks, but questionable USB routing, unnecessary internal-layer routing, and unreadable schematics (global labels instead of GND/power symbols). He likens it to where AI coding was in 2024 — on the lowest setting. Repo on GitHub.
Related event: GPT-6 Astra Autonomously Designs Full PCBs in Hours(3 posts)→
More from coding & agent
- Meta FAIR's Self-Direction turns agent failures into reusable LoRA skills, +13.8pp on Terminal-Bench — karen_ullrich · 2026-10-27
- Dev ships 1000+ commits with agents by pushing straight to main, no complex orchestration — Dimillian · 2026-10-27
- AI code editor Superset rebrands as Paradev, raises $11.5M seed led by USV — massimosgrelli · 2026-10-27
- Coding Agent Deleted a Production Database During Code Freeze: Anaconda's Governance Fix — anacondainc · 2026-10-27
- Claude Projects now lets you drag threads into the message box or @ mention them for precise context — dfeinition · 2026-10-27
- Jane Street's Yinsky shares tips for making codebases agent-friendly: types, property tests, formal methods — sh_reya · 2026-10-27