README.md

August 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

🛠️ Introduction

DIY Layout Creator (DIYLC) is a specialized software tool designed for hobbyists and electronics enthusiasts to create circuit layouts on stripboard, perfboard, PCB, and point-to-point wiring.

It provides an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface for placing components, arranging connections, and visualizing circuit designs before assembly. With a built-in component library and customization options, it allows users to design layouts with precision and clarity.

🎸 Perfect for pedal builders and tube amp enthusiasts! DIYLC is particularly useful for designing, analyzing, and debugging guitar wiring diagrams, helping musicians and builders plan and troubleshoot custom wiring configurations for pickups, switches, and controls. Its versatility makes it an ideal solution for DIY electronics projects, prototyping, and documentation.

🍎 Mac users: Gatekeeper may block DIYLC since it's from an independent developer. Read this guide on how to easily allow DIYLC on your Mac.

📖 The Official DIYLC Guide

DIYLC Official Guide

Master DIY Layout Creator and streamline your design workflow!

The Official DIYLC Guide (v1.0) is a comprehensive 174-page eBook that goes way beyond the basics. It features step-by-step design workflows for everything from multi-layer PCBs to hot-rodded point-to-point tube amps. Learn to master advanced tools like the Virtual Multimeter, Netlist generation, the Guitar Wiring Analyzer, and the new AI Assistant.

🎉 Launch Special: Get 40% off during our 14-day introductory sale! Buying v1.0 guarantees you free lifetime updates as the app evolves.

👉 Click here to grab your copy!

Active Patreon supporters get an additional 50% off or a completely free copy. Check the Patreon feed for your VIP link!


Point-to-point tube amplifier Guitar wiring
Left: Point-to-point tube amplifier   |   Right: Guitar wiring

PCB tube amplifier Perfboard guitar effect
Left: PCB tube amplifier   |   Right: Perfboard guitar effect

✨ Key Features

  • 💻 Platform Independence: Runs on any machine capable of running Java JRE/JDK 21 or newer.
  • 🖱️ Intuitive UI: Easy-to-use interface; most operations can be done seamlessly with a mouse.
  • 🎛️ Versatile Designs: Draw PCB, perfboard, stripboard, or point-to-point layouts, schematics, guitar wiring diagrams or custom faceplates.
  • 🔌 Highly Extensible: API allows custom plug-ins and new components to be added easily.
  • 🚀 Optimized: Improved performance and reduced memory consumption.
  • 💾 Smart Defaults: Save default values individually for each component property.
  • 🖨️ Export Options: Export outputs to image, PDF, or printer.
  • 📄 Toner Transfer & Gerber: Export PCB trace masks for toner transfer or Gerber files for fabrication.
  • 📋 Bill of Materials: Create a BOM within the project or export to multiple file formats.
  • 🔍 Guitar Wiring Analysis: Analyze guitar wirings and visualize detailed pickup configurations for each switch state.
  • ☁️ Cloud Integration: Share your projects, search the cloud, and download other users' designs.
  • 🤖 AI Powered: Features a built-in AI assistant to help answer general electronics questions, guide you through DIYLC's usability, and provide insights or troubleshooting for the specific circuit you are designing.
  • ⚡ Circuit Analysis: Various tools aimed to help you debug and analyze your circuits.
  • 📈 SPICE Netlists: Export circuits directly to SPICE-compatible netlists.

🐛 Support & Community

  • Found a bug or have a feature request? Head over to the Issues page to open a ticket.
  • Need technical assistance or want to chat? Join the discussion in our Google Group.

❤️ Want to contribute?

DIYLC is provided free of charge and can be used and redistributed freely. Building, testing, and maintaining this tool—while supporting our growing community—takes a significant amount of time and effort.

If you find DIYLC useful, here are the best ways you can support its future development:

📜 License Information

The source code is released under the GNU General Public License version 3. Please contact the project owner to obtain a commercial license if you plan to use the source code, or any part of it, for commercial purposes.

🙌 Credits

  • Huge thanks to the online communities that contributed ideas and helped test the app: DIY Stompboxes, AX84, and Free Stompboxes.
  • DIYLC is highly optimized thanks to YourKit Java Profiler. YourKit is kindly supporting open-source projects with its full-featured Java Profiler, which helped tremendously with memory and performance profiling. YourKit, LLC is the creator of innovative and intelligent tools for profiling Java and .NET applications.