Project Files

Project layout

A SLiCAP schematic project is organised into a few subdirectories under the project root, mirroring the SLiCAP Python project structure (plus a sch/ for the editable drawings):

Directory	Contents
`sch/`	Schematic sources (`my_circuit.slicap_sch`) and their sidecar files (`.ini`, `.symbols`, `.cache`) — the files you open and save.
`cir/`	Exported top-level netlists (`my_circuit.cir`).
`lib/`	Subcircuit libraries (`my_circuit.lib`) generated by Save as subcircuit — see Hierarchical Blocks.
`img/`	Exported images (`my_circuit.svg` / `my_circuit.pdf`).

The GUI Save / Open / Export dialogs and the command-line tools default to the matching subdirectory. The project root is resolved from the open schematic (the parent of its sch/ folder), so a schematic opened from any project finds its netlists, images and libraries next to itself.

Sidecar files

A schematic is self-contained: everything it needs to look and behave the same on another machine travels next to it in sch/. Saving my_circuit.slicap_sch creates and maintains a small set of sidecar files with the same base name.

File	Contents
`my_circuit.slicap_sch`	The schematic itself (components, wires, labels, annotations) — the file you open and save.
`my_circuit.ini`	This schematic’s style (line widths, colours, fonts), so it always looks as it did when saved. See Preferences.
`my_circuit.symbols`	Frozen copies of every symbol the schematic uses, so it renders with the exact symbols it was drawn with. See Symbol Libraries.
`my_circuit.cache`	A cache of rendered LaTeX labels, so re-opening is fast. Created only if the schematic actually contains typeset expressions; safe to delete.

Why sidecar files

Portability — copy the .slicap_sch together with its .ini and .symbols to another computer and it looks and netlists identically.
Reproducibility — a figure in a book keeps its appearance even if the application’s default symbols or style change later.
No clutter — the render cache lives next to the schematic, not in a global folder that quietly grows over time. Deleting a project removes all its files together.

Note

The .ini and .symbols files are part of the project and should be kept (and version-controlled) with the schematic. The .cache directory is regenerated automatically and can be ignored or deleted.