Have you already shipped a couple PCBs and want to challange yourself and use something a little more.. "pro"; KiCad is here for you! KiCad is another PCB CAD software like EasyEDA but with a ton more features and tools to perfect your craft.
KiCad is available on Windows, Linux and MacOS and is a downloadable software rather than something that runs in your browser like EasyEDA. Download it here, selecting your operating system and download location.
You might also want to install these two plugins the plugin manager that I find really useful,
One small setback to using KiCad is you have to fetch all the symbols,footprints and models yourself rather than EasyEDA automatically finding and importing them for you to use. Not to worry though, some smart group (Wokwi) decided to make a script to port these files to KiCad; EasyEDA2KiCad.
You'll need to have Python installed and functional, perferably the latest version, then you can install it with pip install easyeda2kicad.
To confirm it was install correct, simply type easyeda2kicad in your terminal.
Ensure KICad knows where EasyEDA2KiCad is downloading the files to, follow this guide on how to set that up.
Windows Troubleshooting
You might have to tinker around with system path variables if you're on Windows. Ask around on the Slack for assistance.
Linux Troubleshooting
If you're on Linux and getting a Externally Managed Enviornment error when using pip install, you might want to try out PipX.
After launching KiCad and launching it, you should be greeted by a menu similar to this,
You can start by creating a project by pressing File > New Project and giving it a name and save location. That'll create 3 files, the .kicad_pro project file, a kicad.sch which contains your electrical schematic and .kicad.pcb which is your PCB layout similar to EasyEDA's pcb.json file.
You can open your .kicad_sch file, this will be the first file you'll be using. Looks a little scary eh? Don't be concerned, it just has a lot more features than EasyEDA but has all the simple tools that you're used to still there.
You can place basic components like resistors, capacitors and diodes using KiCad's built-in symbol library. This is good for when you're just starting you're project and you want to quickly iterate your design without fine-tuned values of components. Add a resistor, press ESC then double click on it and give it a Value,
Use Labels and Power Symbols. These are very underused in beginner KiCad projects and while they don't serve much functional perpose they make is so much easier to review and understand your design.
We'll start the tutorial by making a simple NFC PCB using the Hackcard Jam by Maggie. This tutorial assumes you've already completed this jam but with EasyEDA.
We can start by importing the necessary parts into KiCad's Symbol and Footprint librarys by using the following EasyEDA2KiCad command in a terminal,
easyeda2kicad --lcsc_id C710403 --fullreplace "C710403" with the actual LCSC part number found on either JLCPCB Parts or LCSC
Next, in KiCad, press Place, Symbol and enter the LCSC part number for the part. Do this for every component in the jam. For the antenna this may be a little more tricky, first place the Antenna_Loop symbol from KiCad's default library. Lastly, to get the footprint, download the provided .kicad_mod footprint file, then in the KiCad main menu, click footprint editor, open the kicard_mod file and then File > Save As and save it to your easyeda2kicad folder.
Return to your schematic and double-click on the antenna. Next, click the three-books icon and search for the footprint named 25X48MM_NFC_ANTENNA. You should see it appear, displaying the correct antenna footprint. It should look something like this:
Take a look at Submitting To KiCad for instructions on how to submit your files.