Frequently asked questions

BOMexplorer accepts KiCad BOM CSV exports (Symbol Fields Table), Altium BOM exports, and generic CSV formats. Drag-and-drop your file — intelligent column header mapping handles Refs, RefDes, Designator, Qty, MPN, Value, and more automatically.

BOMexplorer works with BOM CSV files from KiCad 5.0 and later. It also supports Altium BOM exports and any generic CSV with recognizable column headers.

Simply upload your BOM CSV file. BOMexplorer auto-detects columns, matches parts against providers, and presents results in seconds. No configuration needed to start.

BOMexplorer integrates with 6 providers: Nexar, OEMSecrets, DigiKey, Mouser, FindChips, and NextPCB. Free tier uses one configured provider. Pro tier accesses all 6 with automatic fallback.

If the active provider returns no results for a component, BOMexplorer automatically tries the next configured provider in sequence. This continues until a match is found or all providers are exhausted. Admins can configure the provider priority order.

Confidence badges indicate match type: Exact MPN (highest confidence), Parametric match, Keyword match, AI-suggested, and Unmatched. Scores help you quickly assess match reliability at a glance.

Hierarchical matching: (1) Exact MPN match → (2) Hyphen-stripped MPN match → (3) Distributor part number match → (4) Keyword search. Multi-stage matching maximizes coverage across providers.

AI Assist has two components: (1) Natural language BOM filtering — type plain English queries like 'show me capacitors under $0.10' to highlight matching rows, and (2) AI part classification — Claude-powered classification for components that traditional matching can't handle.

When a component can't be matched through normal means (crystal symbols, fiducials, mounting holes, copper-only net ties), Claude AI classifies the component and generates a provider-specific query to try to find a match. Unmatchable values are added to the smart skip list automatically.

BOMexplorer automatically skips known unmatchable values like TestPoint, LED, Fiducial, MountingHole unless an explicit MPN is provided. This prevents false matches and saves API calls.

Free tier: 50 AI Assist lines per month. Pro tier: 500 AI Assist lines per month. Both natural language query and AI classification count toward this limit.

Free tier: manual refresh only. Pro tier: automated overnight re-query via Celery background job. All active BOM lines are re-checked for price and stock changes while you sleep.

Out-of-stock, low-stock, price spikes, end-of-life (EOL) notices, and lead-time increases. Each flag has a lifecycle: Open → Watching → Ignored → Resolved with snooze support.

Alerts appear in-app with visual flag indicators. Pro tier also receives morning digest emails summarizing all new flags detected overnight. Configure thresholds per project in preferences.

Yes, per-project overrides let you set custom stock level thresholds for alerts. Global preferences define default behavior, and projects inherit those values unless overridden.

Navigate to the Alternatives page for any BOM line. All ranked candidate parts are shown with pricing, stock, and distributor info. Click swap on any alternative and confirm — the substitution is recorded with timestamp and reason.

Yes. Each BOM line has a collapsible substitution timeline showing all swaps with the old MPN, new MPN, timestamp, and trigger reason. Full audit trail for compliance.

When multiple alternatives exist, BOMexplorer ranks them by suitability. AI-suggested candidates are marked with a badge. Rank 2+ results are automatically stored as alternatives for future reference.

Three formats: (1) CSV — UTF-8 BOM, comma-separated, (2) Excel — bold headers, auto-sized columns, sheet named 'BOM', (3) Manufacturer CSV — 12-column format ready for assembly partners.

Yes. Locked parts are preserved across re-matching and re-export. Use row locking to freeze confirmed parts so they never change unexpectedly.

Yes, always free. Includes 3 projects, 50 BOM lines per project, single provider, 50 AI Assist lines/month, CSV & Excel export. No credit card required.

Unlimited projects, unlimited BOM lines, all 6 providers, 500 AI Assist lines/month, natural language BOM query, overnight supply chain monitoring, email alerts, part substitution history. $19/month via Paddle.

All Pro subscriptions are processed securely through Paddle. Supports cards, Apple Pay, and more. Cancel anytime from preferences — access continues until billing period ends.

Contact us for academic and open-source project discounts. We support educators and community builders with special pricing.

Global preferences: distributor order, excluded distributors, preferred manufacturers, accept generic passives, lifecycle policy, currency, region, grade. Per-project overrides: distributor restrictions, quantity, grade, lifecycle policy (null values inherit from global).

Your BOM files are processed in real-time. Raw CSV rows are preserved as JSON per line to enable re-matching without re-import. Create an account to save projects permanently. We only retain the minimum data necessary for providing the service.

No. We query providers' public APIs and websites but never share your BOM data with them. Your component lists remain private.

JWT authentication with short-lived access + refresh tokens in httpOnly cookies. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Password reset uses tokenised email links with 24h expiry and always-200 responses to prevent email enumeration.