LCSC Electronics — Component Search, Datasheets & Ordering

Related Skills

Skill	Purpose
kicad	Schematic analysis — extracts MPNs for part lookup
bom	BOM management — orchestrates sourcing across distributors
jlcpcb	PCB assembly — shares the same parts library
spice	Uses LCSC parametric data for behavioral SPICE models (no auth needed)

LCSC is JLCPCB's sister company — they share the same parts library and Cxxxxx part numbers. Use LCSC for production sourcing (assembled boards from JLCPCB/PCBWay). DigiKey/Mouser are for prototyping. For BOM management and export workflows, see bom.

Key Differences from DigiKey/Mouser

• No API key needed — jlcsearch community API is free and open
• Lower prices — especially for passives and Chinese-manufactured ICs
• JLCPCB integration — same LCSC part numbers used in JLCPCB assembly BOMs
• Direct PDF downloads — LCSC's CDN (wmsc.lcsc.com) serves datasheets without bot protection
• Low MOQ — many parts available in quantities as low as 1
• Warehouses — Shenzhen (JS), Zhuhai (ZH), Hong Kong (HK)
• Website: https://www.lcsc.com

LCSC Part Numbers

Format: Cxxxxx (e.g., C14663). This is the universal identifier across both LCSC and JLCPCB. Use it for:

• Direct ordering on LCSC
• BOM matching in JLCPCB assembly (see jlcpcb skill)
• Cross-referencing between platforms

Component Search

Use search_lcsc.py to search LCSC and JLCPCB for electronic components, check live stock, inspect pricing tiers, identify basic vs. extended parts, and fetch parametric attributes. No API key required.

# Search by keyword or description
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "tactile switch"

# Search for basic parts only (no JLCPCB extended loading fees)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "0805 100R" --basic

# Filter by package/footprint and stock
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "red led" --package 0805 --in-stock

# Inspect full component details (manufacturer, datasheet URL, price breaks, parametric attributes)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "C318884" --details

# Output machine-readable JSON (for scripts and agent workflows)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "ME2108" --limit 5 --json

# Sort results by price or stock
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "microcontroller STM32" --sort price

# Parametric category search (rows carry package, stock, price and attributes)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/search_lcsc.py "STM32" --category microcontrollers

The script:

• Queries the free jlcsearch community API for the search, then enriches from LCSC's direct product-detail endpoint (manufacturer, datasheet URL, price breaks) for exact Cxxxxx queries and for every hit shown with --details — one extra request per hit, 0.5s apart. If jlcsearch has no row for a Cxxxxx code, the direct lookup is the fallback.
• Formats results into a clean terminal table highlighting LCSC #, MPN, Package, Basic/Ext status, Stock, Price, and Description
• Supports --basic filtering to optimize PCB assembly BOM costs for JLCPCB manufacturing
• Supports --json for automated BOM enrichment and agent workflows

jlcsearch API Reference

The jlcsearch community API is the recommended way to search LCSC. No authentication required.

Base URL: https://jlcsearch.tscircuit.com

General Search

GET /api/search?q=<query>&limit=20&full=true

Parameters:

• q — search query (matches MPN, LCSC code, or description keywords)
• package — optional footprint filter (e.g., 0402)
• limit — max results (default 100)
• full — accepted but no longer adds fields (the former extra block is gone, see below)

Category-Specific Search

GET /resistors/list.json?search=10k+0402
GET /capacitors/list.json?search=100nF+0402
GET /microcontrollers/list.json?search=STM32
GET /voltage_regulators/list.json?search=3.3V

Response Format

General search returns {"components": [...]}. As of 2026-09 each hit carries only these fields — the extra block (manufacturer, datasheet URL, per-warehouse stock, attributes, price breaks) is no longer returned, even with full=true:

{
  "lcsc": 318884,
  "mfr": "TS-1187A-B-A-B",
  "package": "SMD-4P,5.1x5.1mm",
  "is_basic": true,
  "is_preferred": false,
  "description": "-30℃~+85℃ 1.5mm 1.6N ... SMD-4P,5.1x5.1mm Tactile Switches ROHS",
  "stock": 1683297,
  "price": 0.0197
}

Key fields:

• lcsc — numeric LCSC ID (without "C" prefix); prepend C for the LCSC code
• mfr — manufacturer part number (no manufacturer name)
• is_basic — true if JLCPCB basic part (no setup fee); is_preferred — JLCPCB preferred extended part
• stock / price — JLCPCB assembly stock and unit price (USD)

Category endpoints return {"<category>": [...]} — keyed by the category name, not components. Rows differ from the general search: price1 instead of price, in_stock, an empty description, parametric columns (e.g. resistance, cpu_core), and attributes as a JSON string:

{"resistors": [{"lcsc": 25804, "mfr": "0603WAF1002T5E", "description": "", "stock": 37165617,
  "price1": 0.000842857, "in_stock": true, "package": "0603", "resistance": 10000,
  "is_basic": true, "is_preferred": false,
  "attributes": "{\"Resistance\":\"10kΩ\",\"Power(Watts)\":\"100mW\",\"Tolerance\":\"±1%\"}"}]}

LCSC Direct Product Detail (enrichment)

For manufacturer, datasheet URL and price breaks, query LCSC's own endpoint by Cxxxxx code — no auth, JSON, code: 200 on success:

GET https://wmsc.lcsc.com/ftps/wm/product/detail?productCode=C318884

Useful result fields: productModel (MPN), brandNameEn (manufacturer), pdfUrl (direct datasheet PDF), encapStandard (package), productIntroEn / productDescEn (description), stockNumber (LCSC stock), productPriceList[] (ladder = min qty, usdPrice). fetch_datasheet_lcsc.search_lcsc_direct() wraps this and normalizes the result to the jlcsearch dict shape (extra.number, extra.mpn, extra.manufacturer.name, extra.datasheet.pdf, ladder list in price); search_lcsc.py uses it for Cxxxxx enrichment and as the fallback when jlcsearch has no row.

Rate Limits

Neither API documents rate limits, but be respectful — use delays of 0.5s between calls.

Datasheet Download & Sync

LCSC's CDN serves datasheet PDFs directly — no bot protection, no special headers needed. This makes LCSC a reliable datasheet source alongside DigiKey.

Datasheet Directory Sync

Use sync_datasheets_lcsc.py to maintain a datasheets/ directory alongside a KiCad project. Same workflow and manifest.json format as the DigiKey and Mouser skills. No API key required.

# Sync datasheets for a KiCad project
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py <file.kicad_sch>

# Preview what would be downloaded
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py <file.kicad_sch> --dry-run

# Retry previously failed downloads
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py <file.kicad_sch> --force

# Custom output directory
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py <file.kicad_sch> -o ./my-datasheets

# Parallel downloads (3 workers)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py <file.kicad_sch> --parallel 3

# Batch mode — sync from a plain MPN list (no KiCad project required)
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/sync_datasheets_lcsc.py --mpn-list mpns.txt --output ./datasheets

MPN-list batch mode (KH-312) — when you have a list of MPNs but no KiCad project to point at. One MPN per line; blank lines and # comments (full-line and inline) are skipped; generic values are filtered via is_real_mpn() and de-duplicated. Output defaults to ./datasheets/ in the current working directory when --output is omitted.

The script:

• Runs the kicad schematic analyzer to extract components, MPNs, and LCSC codes
• Accepts any identifier — MPN, LCSC code, or other distributor PNs from KiCad symbol properties
• Prefers LCSC code for search (exact match) — falls back to MPN keyword search
• Falls back to wmsc.lcsc.com API when jlcsearch has no results, or a hit has no datasheet URL, for an LCSC code (Cxxxxx)
• Downloads from LCSC CDN — direct PDF URLs, no bot protection
• Writes manifest.json manifest — same format as DigiKey/Mouser skills
• Verifies PDF content — checks MPN, manufacturer, and description keywords
• Rate-limited — 0.5s between API calls (configurable with --delay)
• Saves progress incrementally — safe to interrupt

Single Datasheet Download

Use fetch_datasheet_lcsc.py for one-off downloads.

# Search by MPN
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_lcsc.py --search "GRM155R71C104KA88D" -o datasheet.pdf

# Search by LCSC code
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_lcsc.py --search "C14663" -o datasheet.pdf

# Direct URL download
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_lcsc.py "https://wmsc.lcsc.com/..." -o datasheet.pdf

# JSON output
python3 <skill-path>/scripts/fetch_datasheet_lcsc.py --search "C14663" --json

The script:

• OS-agnostic — uses requests → urllib → playwright fallback chain (no wget/curl)
• Validates PDF headers — rejects HTML error pages
• Falls back to alternative manufacturer sources when LCSC URL fails
• Exit codes: 0 = success, 1 = download failed, 2 = search/API error
• Dependencies:
  • pip install requests (recommended; urllib fallback works fine for LCSC)
  • pip install playwright && playwright install chromium (optional; rarely needed for LCSC)

LCSC Official API (Requires Approval)

Base URL: https://ips.lcsc.com. Requires API key + signature authentication. Contact support@lcsc.com for access. Rarely needed — jlcsearch covers most use cases.

Web Search Fallback

If the jlcsearch API is unavailable, search LCSC by fetching the website directly:

https://www.lcsc.com/search?q=<query>

Cross-Referencing & Missing Equivalents

LCSC part numbers are specific to the LCSC/JLCPCB ecosystem. Use the mfr field (MPN) to cross-reference on DigiKey/Mouser.

When an MPN has no exact LCSC match:

1. Search by key parameters (e.g., "100nF 0402 X7R 16V")
2. Look for pin-compatible alternatives from Chinese manufacturers
3. Verify specs and footprint match — pad dimensions can vary even within the same package size
4. As a last resort, mark as "consigned" and source separately

Tips

• is_basic field matters — JLCPCB basic parts have no setup fee; extended parts cost $3 each
• jlcsearch stock is JLCPCB assembly stock; the wmsc detail's stockNumber is LCSC's own stock — the two differ
• MOQ and order multiples are no longer in the jlcsearch response — check the LCSC product page before ordering
• Datasheet quality varies for Chinese manufacturers — cross-reference MPN on DigiKey for better docs