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https://github.com/alexeyinwerp/boardripper

Web-based PCB boardview viewer for board-level repair. 11 formats (BVR1/3, BRD, BDV, BDV ASC, FZ, GenCAD, Mentor Neutral, XZZ, TVW, Allegro v15-v18). GPU-accelerated, dockable panels, self-hosted via Docker.
https://github.com/alexeyinwerp/boardripper

agpl boardview docker electronics electronics-repair golang kicad pcb pixijs react repair typescript webgl

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Web-based PCB boardview viewer for board-level repair. 11 formats (BVR1/3, BRD, BDV, BDV ASC, FZ, GenCAD, Mentor Neutral, XZZ, TVW, Allegro v15-v18). GPU-accelerated, dockable panels, self-hosted via Docker.

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README 

          
# BoardRipper



Web-based PCB boardview viewer for board-level repair. Eleven boardview formats and the matching PDF schematic, side by side, in a browser. GPU-accelerated rendering, dockable panels, self-hosted via Docker. Free, AGPL-3.0.



![Boardview and PDF schematic side by side — instant cross-reference](docs/screenshots/01-board-pdf-lookup.png)



A polished overview with screenshots lives at . This README is the developer- and operator-facing companion: stack details, Docker setup, build instructions, license notes.



> **Bring your own files.** BoardRipper is the viewer only — it does not ship with any boardview files, schematics, or PDFs. The bundled board database is reference metadata (board numbers and device models), no copyrighted content.



## Features



- **GPU-accelerated rendering** — PixiJS v8 / WebGL, 10,000+ components at 60 fps on a modern GPU. Bench-tested down to Intel HD 4000-era integrated graphics (10–30 fps).

- **Eleven board formats** — see table below. Both `.cad` and `.brd` are shared extensions; BoardRipper sniffs file content to pick the right parser.

- **PDF schematic, in sync** — pan, zoom, text search, bookmarks, night mode. Right-click a net on the board to search it in the schematic.

- **Multi-board tabs** — open several boards at once, switch between them.

- **Multi-layer support** — show/hide top, bottom, and inner layers independently. Butterfly mode shows top and bottom side by side.

- **Net highlight** — click a pin and the whole net lights up across the board. Chain-adjacent mode walks through neighbouring nets too.

- **Touch input** — pinch-zoom, drag-pan, tap to select. Usable on a tablet at the bench.

- **Customizable colors** — per-net rules by name pattern (e.g. `GND`, `VCC`, `PP*`), per-component-type fills (R / C / L / U / Q / D / J), per-layer colors, label / pin / outline tuning. Live preview before applying.

- **Multi-line search** — each line is an extra AND-filter, useful when a component carries value and voltage on separate label lines (`20uF` ⨯ `10V` ⨯ `C12*`).

- **Drag-and-drop import** — drop a board file or a folder onto the window and it loads. To persist drops across container restarts, mount a writable folder at `/library/incoming` (see Docker setup).

- **Board library** — scan folders, browse by board number or model. Filenames are auto-sorted; board numbers, manufacturers, and revisions are parsed automatically.

- **Board database with heuristics** — a bundled reference DB maps board numbers to manufacturer / ODM / laptop or phone model and groups boards by device.

- **PDF auto-link** — boards and their schematics get matched up automatically when both are present in the same library.

- **IndexedDB cache** — re-open without re-parsing.

- **Self-update** — one-click signed update from the toolbar. No GitHub token required; updates are signed with an offline Ed25519 key and verified by the running container before install.



![Multi-layer Allegro BRD with layer sidebar — toggle signal, power, and ground planes independently](docs/screenshots/03-multi-layer.png)



- **Panel system** — Dockview: dockable, floating, and popout-to-new-window panels.

  - Component Info (pins list, metadata)

  - Net List (searchable, click to highlight)

  - Search Results

  - PDF Viewer

  - Settings (live preview mockup, per-net color rules, label/pin/outline tuning)

  - Debug Panel (scoped log viewer, frame-time)

- **Electron desktop wrapper** — standalone macOS (universal + legacy) and Windows builds.



![Multiple boards of different formats open simultaneously in tabs — BVR, BRD, FZ, TVW, XZZ](docs/screenshots/02-format-support.png)



## Supported file formats



| Format | Extension(s) | Description | Spec |

|---|---|---|---|

| **BVR1** | `.bvr` / `.bv` | Tab-delimited boardview, coordinates ×1000 → mils | [BVR_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/BVR_FORMAT.md) |

| **BVR3** | `.bvr` / `.bv` | Keyword-value boardview, relative pin coordinates | [BVR_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/BVR_FORMAT.md) |

| **BRD** | `.brd` | Apple / Mac repair, bit-rotation obfuscated binary | [BRD_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/BRD_FORMAT.md) |

| **BDV** | `.brd` / `.bdv` | Plain-text boardview (BRDOUT / NETS / PARTS / PINS / NAILS) | [BDV_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/BDV_FORMAT.md) |

| **BDV ASC** | `.bdv` | Honhan / Tebo-ICT obfuscated multi-section ASC (line-key cipher) | [BDV_ASC_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/BDV_ASC_FORMAT.md) |

| **FZ** | `.fz` | ASUS, RC6-encrypted, zlib-compressed | [FZ_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/FZ_FORMAT.md) |

| **GenCAD** | `.cad` | GenCAD 1.4 PCB interchange (text) | [CAD_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/CAD_FORMAT.md) |

| **Mentor Neutral** | `.cad` | Mentor Boardstation neutral file (Samsung / Quanta / Compal exports) | [MENTOR_NEUTRAL_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/MENTOR_NEUTRAL_FORMAT.md) |

| **XZZ** | `.pcb` | XZZ PCB, DES-encrypted boardview | [XZZ_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/XZZ_FORMAT.md) |

| **TVW** | `.tvw` | Teboview binary, multi-layer + traces + drill data | [TVW_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/TVW_FORMAT.md) |

| **Cadence Allegro BRD** | `.brd` | Cadence Allegro PCB binary, v16.x / v17.x / v18.x | [ALLEGRO_BRD_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/ALLEGRO_BRD_FORMAT.md) |

| ↳ Allegro v15.x | `.brd` | Same parser family, partial coverage, still in beta | [ALLEGRO_V15_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/ALLEGRO_V15_FORMAT.md) |



![Obscure CAD file with multiple boards stacked into one document — all outlines and components rendered correctly alongside the matching PDF](docs/screenshots/04-stacked-boards.png)



## Keyboard shortcuts



The full, always-current list lives in **Settings ▸ Shortcuts** (and on the home-screen Getting Started card). The headline shortcuts:



| | |

|---|---|

| **Open board / PDF** | `⌘O` / `⌘P` (Mac) · `Ctrl+O` / `Ctrl+P` (Win/Linux) |

| **Find** (selection-aware) | `⌘F` / `Ctrl+F` — prefills PDF search with the selected component or net |

| **Pan board / PDF** | `W A S D` or `Alt+arrows` |

| **Rotate board** | `Q` / `E` (CCW / CW) or `⌘←` / `⌘→` |

| **Mirror board** | `⌘↑` / `Ctrl+↑` |

| **Flip layer** (top ↔ bottom) | `Space` |

| **Zoom in / out** | `Shift+W` / `Shift+S` (centred on canvas) |

| **Toggle Library sidebar** | `~` — the physical key left of `1` (`Backquote` / `IntlBackslash`); works on US, German, and most other layouts |

| **Jump board ↔ PDF** | `Tab` |

| **PDF page nav** | `PgUp` / `PgDn` (or `⌘↑` / `⌘↓` on Mac) |



The keyboard pan and zoom step sizes are configurable in **Settings ▸ Navigation ▸ Keyboard pan / zoom**. The right-click context menu adds a top-row icon strip with **Copy net / Copy part / Search net / Search part** (board) and **Copy / Search Web** (PDF text) — search opens Google in a new tab.



> **Layout note.** WSAD/QE/Shift+WS bind to the printed letter on your keyboard, so on AZERTY layouts the keys are physically Z/Q/S/D rather than the W/A/S/D positions — a layout-aware remapping is on the roadmap. The `~` library toggle is layout-independent.



## Stack



| Layer | Technology |

|---|---|

| Rendering | PixiJS v8 + pixi-viewport v6 (WebGL) |

| Frontend | React 19 + TypeScript + Vite 7 |

| Panels | Dockview v5 |

| Backend | Go (`net/http` stdlib) |

| Container | Docker multi-stage, scratch-based, ~25 MB image / ~13 MB compressed |

| Desktop | Electron (macOS universal + Windows) |

| Tests | Playwright (Chromium headless) |



## Quick start



BoardRipper is primarily a **server** you run on a NAS or host machine and access from any browser on your network. Standalone binaries and desktop Electron wrappers are available as alternatives.



### Docker (typical deployment)



```bash

docker compose up -d

# → http://localhost:8081

```



Or pull directly:



```bash

docker pull ghcr.io/alexeyinwerp/boardripper:latest

```



Mount your board-file folders under `/library` to expose them in the Library panel — see Docker Setup below.



### Build from source



```bash

git clone https://github.com/AlexeyInwerp/BoardRipper.git

cd BoardRipper



# Build the frontend bundle:

cd src/frontend && npm install && npm run build && cd ../..



# Run the Go server pointing at the built bundle:

STATIC_DIR=./src/frontend/dist DATA_DIR=./data go run ./src/backend

# → http://localhost:8080

```



The released artifact is the Docker image (above) — no per-platform standalone binaries are published. If you need a portable binary, build the Go server with `CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o boardripper ./src/backend` and ship it next to the `dist/` directory and a `STATIC_DIR=` env var. Self-update only works in Docker (it needs the host's Docker socket).



### Development



```bash

# Frontend (hot reload)

cd src/frontend && npm install && npm run dev    # http://localhost:5173



# Backend (separate terminal)

cd src/backend && go run .                       # http://localhost:8080

```



## Docker setup



### docker-compose.yml



```yaml

services:

  boardripper:

    image: ghcr.io/alexeyinwerp/boardripper:latest    # or build: .

    # The image ships USER 65532:65532 (distroless `nonroot`) so a hypothetical

    # RCE doesn't own your bind-mounted /data. The default `docker compose up`

    # flow creates ./data as root on Linux hosts (Docker daemon runs as root),

    # which UID 65532 can't then write — the container exits at databank.Open

    # with "unable to open database file". Override to root for the compose

    # path, matching what NASdeploy.sh already does. Alternatively, remove this

    # line and either (a) `chown -R 65532:65532 ./data` before `up -d`, or

    # (b) switch ./data to a named volume — Docker initializes named volumes

    # from /data inside the image (pre-chowned to 65532 in the Dockerfile).

    user: "0:0"

    ports:

      - "8081:8080"              # access at http://your-host:8081

    volumes:

      - ./data:/data             # uploaded board files + cache persist here

      # Your library: mount EVERYTHING read-only (:ro) by default.

      - /path/to/MacBooks:/library/MacBooks:ro

      - /path/to/iPhones:/library/iPhones:ro

      - /path/to/Schematics:/library/Schematics:ro

      # The ONLY writable mount the container should ever see:

      - /path/to/incoming:/library/incoming:rw

      # Docker socket (required for self-update — see Self-Update below):

      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock

    environment:

      - PORT=8080

    restart: unless-stopped

    deploy:

      resources:

        limits:

          memory: 1024M   # pdfium/wazero pool; 512M boot-fails with SQLite OOM at databank open

    # environment also accepts:

    #   - PDFINDEX_POOL_MAX=2   # max concurrent pdfium/wazero PDF-index workers;

    #                           # reduce to 1 on a NAS with <1 GB free RAM

```



### Volume mounting



The Library panel browses the `/library` directory inside the container. Mount your board-file folders as **subdirectories** of `/library`:



```

-v /nas/boards/MacBooks:/library/MacBooks:ro

-v /nas/boards/iPhones:/library/iPhones:ro

-v /nas/schematics:/library/Schematics:ro

-v /nas/incoming:/library/incoming:rw

```



These appear as top-level folders in the Library panel. Use `:ro` for read-only by default. `/library/incoming` is the only path BoardRipper needs to be able to write to — that's where drag-dropped files land. The container does not need write access to your existing board folders, your schematics, or anything else.



### Synology NAS (DSM 7.2+)



1. Download `boardripper-.tar.gz` (or `latest.tar.gz`) from 

2. SSH into your NAS and load the image:

   ```bash

   docker load < boardripper-docker-.tar.gz

   ```

3. Create the container:

   ```bash

   docker run -d \

     --name boardripper \

     -p 8090:8080 \

     -v /volume1/docker/boardripper/data:/data \

     -v /volume1/your-boards/MacBooks:/library/MacBooks:ro \

     -v /volume1/your-boards/iPhones:/library/iPhones:ro \

     -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \

     -e PORT=8080 \

     --restart unless-stopped \

     ghcr.io/alexeyinwerp/boardripper:latest

   ```

4. Open `http://your-nas-ip:8090`



## Self-update



BoardRipper can update itself when running in Docker:



1. Click the **version badge** in the toolbar to check for updates.

2. If an update is available, click **Update & Restart**.

3. The container pulls the new image and restarts automatically.



Requires:

- Docker socket mounted (`-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock`).



The signed release manifest is fetched from  and verified against an Ed25519 public key **compiled into the running binary** before any I/O on the body — a hijacked mirror cannot deliver a forged update. Once the manifest verifies, the image itself is pulled by content-addressed digest from `ghcr.io/alexeyinwerp/boardripper@sha256:…`; the [signed tarball mirror](https://www.ripperdoc.de/boardripper/releases/) is the fallback if GHCR is unreachable. The pipeline also enforces a monotonic counter (replay defence), a 30-day freshness window, a 90-day expiry, and a `min_supported_version` downgrade defence. See [docs/RELEASE_RUNBOOK.md](docs/RELEASE_RUNBOOK.md) for the maintainer-side release procedure.



### Drop-to-update fallback



For installs that can't reach the registry or the mirror (firewalled networks, air-gapped shops, recovery from a broken self-update):



1. Download `latest-update.tar` from  (signed bundle: manifest + signature + image, ~13 MB).

2. Drag the file anywhere on the BoardRipper UI.

3. Confirm the prompt; the running container verifies the signature, applies the update, and restarts.

4. The browser reloads after ~30 s.



Same trust envelope as the in-app updater — the manifest signature is what grants trust, the file itself is treated as untrusted bytes until verification passes.



### Manual update



```bash

docker pull ghcr.io/alexeyinwerp/boardripper:latest

docker compose down && docker compose up -d

```



Or with a downloaded tarball:



```bash

docker load < boardripper-docker-.tar.gz

docker compose down && docker compose up -d

```



### Older versions



Historical releases live at **** — Docker tarballs and signed drop-bundles for v0.19.0 onward, with per-version source links for everything older. The GitHub Releases page intentionally lists only the current release; the archive is the canonical "give me an older version" landing page.



A handful of versions are also kept on GHCR (`v0.19.0`, `v0.19.5`, `v0.20.5`, `v0.20.8`) for direct `docker pull` — see the archive table for which ones are still pull-able vs. tarball/source-only.



## Electron desktop wrapper (optional)



Prebuilt Electron wrappers are published with every release (`BoardRipper-macOS-universal-.zip`, `BoardRipper-Windows-x64-.zip`). They run the same Go backend + React frontend inside an Electron shell. The Docker / server path is the primary way to deploy BoardRipper; the desktop wrapper is here for single-machine use.



The wrappers are **unsigned**, so macOS Gatekeeper and Windows SmartScreen will warn on first launch:



- **macOS** — after unzipping, run `xattr -cr /Applications/BoardRipper.app` (or wherever you extracted it), then double-click. On macOS < 15 you can also right-click → Open → Open once, or use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway after the first failed launch.

- **Windows** — SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC". Click **More info → Run anyway**.



### Building the wrappers locally



```bash

cd desktop

npm install

node build-all.mjs           # builds macOS universal + legacy + Windows

node build-all.mjs --mac     # macOS only

node build-all.mjs --win     # Windows only

```



Output in `desktop/out/` (macOS), `desktop/out-legacy/` (macOS legacy), `desktop/out-win/` (Windows).



## License



BoardRipper is released under the **GNU Affero General Public License v3.0** (AGPL-3.0). See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for the full text.



This project incorporates code derived from KiCad (GPL-3.0) — specifically the Cadence Allegro BRD reader in [`src/frontend/src/parsers/allegro/`](src/frontend/src/parsers/allegro/), transliterated from KiCad's `pcbnew/pcb_io/allegro/` C++ source — which is why AGPL-3.0 was chosen: it is compatible with GPL-3.0 and additionally closes the "SaaS loophole" by requiring source availability to users who interact with a hosted instance over a network.



For a complete list of third-party sources, libraries, and attributions, see [THIRD_PARTY.md](THIRD_PARTY.md).



## Credits & references



BoardRipper exists because of the reverse-engineering work already done by the boardview community. Each entry below was consulted during development; full attribution and license details are in [THIRD_PARTY.md](THIRD_PARTY.md).



**Parser references**



- [KiCad](https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad) *(GPL-3.0)* — Cadence Allegro BRD reader, transliterated to TypeScript. The reason BoardRipper as a whole is AGPL-3.0.

- [OpenBoardView](https://github.com/OpenBoardView/OpenBoardView) *(MIT)* — reference implementations for BVR1/BVR3, BRD (Apple), BDV (plain-text), BDV ASC (Honhan / Tebo-ICT), FZ (ASUS), GenCAD, XZZ.

- [eagleview](https://github.com/nitrocaster/eagleview) by Pavel Kovalenko *(MIT)* — TVW / Teboview parser source.

- [brd_parser](https://github.com/bernayigit/brd_parser) by Jeff Wheeler *(MIT)* — cross-validation reference for Allegro block layout.

- [piernov's Honhan BDV gist](https://gist.github.com/piernov/37849a3b92375e18515160b8a1efde18) & [OpenBoardView issue #2](https://github.com/OpenBoardView/OpenBoardView/issues/2) — identified the BDV ASC signature and line-key cipher.

- Mentor Boardstation Neutral — original reverse engineering, no third-party code or text incorporated.

- **Cryptographic standards** — [RC6](https://people.csail.mit.edu/rivest/pubs/RRSY98.pdf) by Rivest/Robshaw/Sidney/Yin (FZ), [DES / FIPS PUB 46-3](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/46-3/final) (XZZ). GenCAD 1.4 has no canonical online specification — see [docs/formats/CAD_FORMAT.md](docs/formats/CAD_FORMAT.md) for the BoardRipper interpretation.



**Rendering & runtime**



- [PixiJS](https://pixijs.com/) *(MIT)* — WebGL renderer

- [pixi-viewport](https://github.com/davidfig/pixi-viewport) *(MIT)* — pan/zoom/culling

- [React](https://react.dev/) *(MIT)* — UI framework

- [Vite](https://vitejs.dev/) *(MIT)* — build pipeline

- [Dockview](https://dockview.dev/) *(MIT)* — dockable / floating / popout panel system

- [pdf.js](https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/) *(Apache-2.0)* — PDF rendering and text extraction

- [pdf-lib](https://pdf-lib.js.org/) *(MIT)* — PDF manipulation

- [opentype.js](https://opentype.js.org/) *(MIT)* — font glyph extraction

- [Tabler Icons](https://tabler.io/icons) *(MIT)* — icon set



**Backend**



- [Go standard library](https://pkg.go.dev/std) *(BSD-3-Clause)*

- [modernc.org/sqlite](https://gitlab.com/cznic/sqlite) *(BSD-3-Clause)* — pure-Go SQLite driver

- [github.com/klippa-app/go-pdfium](https://github.com/klippa-app/go-pdfium) *(MIT)* — PDF text extraction for the FTS5 index (embedded `pdfium.wasm`)

- [github.com/tetratelabs/wazero](https://github.com/tetratelabs/wazero) *(Apache-2.0)* — pure-Go WebAssembly runtime hosting `pdfium.wasm`

- [aead.dev/minisign](https://github.com/aead/minisign) *(MIT)* — Ed25519 update-manifest signature verification

- [golang.org/x/text](https://pkg.go.dev/golang.org/x/text) *(BSD-3-Clause)* — Unicode NFKC normalisation for watermark matching



**Desktop**



- [Electron](https://www.electronjs.org/) *(MIT)*, [@electron/packager](https://github.com/electron/packager) *(MIT)*, [@electron/universal](https://github.com/electron/universal) *(MIT)*



Corrections and missing attributions are welcome — open an issue, or email .



## About this software



BoardRipper is not hand-written. The codebase — parsers, renderer, panels, backend — was generated with [Claude Code](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code), working from format specs and reference implementations from the boardview community. I review, test, and direct it; the lines of code came out of an LLM.



Treat that as you would any AI-assisted software: it works on the boards I've tested, it has bugs I haven't found yet, and the right level of trust is "a useful viewer, not a forensic tool." Bug reports welcome.



## Feedback



- Discord: **@inwerp** on the [All Things Repair](https://discord.gg/BYEkKTMNNY) server.

- Email: .

- Bugs and feature requests: file an issue on GitHub, or reach out via Discord / email.



If BoardRipper saves you time, [buy me a coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/inwerp).