Add feature branch patch management system

Rename docs/ to features/ with per-feature folders. Add script to generate
patches for root repo and submodules.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAUDE.md

@@ -23,3 +23,5 @@ Run scripts/kicad-diff-stats.sh to see how far our KiCad fork has diverged from
 It's okay to add temporary logging that will be removed for debugging.
 
 Don't try to guess what's broken , use debug tools / symbols, supported by the build scripts
+
+Feature docs/patches are in features/<branch-name>/. Run scripts/create-feature-patches.sh to save patches for root, kicad, wxwidgets submodules.

README.md

@@ -62,6 +62,16 @@ kicad-wasm/
 └── output/                 # Build output (pcbnew.js, pcbnew.wasm)
 ```
 
+## Feature Branches
+
+Each feature branch has a folder in `features/<branch-name>/` containing:
+- Documentation and research notes
+- `root.patch` - changes to main repo
+- `kicad.patch` - changes to KiCad fork
+- `wxwidgets.patch` - changes to wxWidgets fork
+
+Generate patches: `./scripts/create-feature-patches.sh [branch-name]`
+
 ## Two Build Workflows
 
 ### 1. KiCad Build (Docker)

features/ipc-api/ipc-api.md

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# KiCad IPC API - WASM Fork Changes
+
+## Overview
+
+We added `#ifdef KICAD_IPC_API` guards to 18 KiCad source files. These guards wrap:
+- `#include` statements for protobuf/API headers
+- `Serialize()` and `Deserialize()` methods
+
+**Key insight:** Since our build uses `KICAD_IPC_API=ON` (line 251 of `scripts/kicad/build-pcbnew.sh`), these guards don't actually disable any code - everything compiles. The guards can be safely reverted to reduce fork divergence.
+
+## Modified Files
+
+| File | What We Guarded |
+|------|-----------------|
+| `common/eda_shape.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `common/eda_text.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `common/netclass.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `include/api/api_utils.h` | Entire namespace content (utility functions) |
+| `pcbnew/api/api_pcb_utils.h` | Entire file content |
+| `pcbnew/board_connected_item.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/board_stackup_manager/board_stackup.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/footprint.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pad.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/padstack.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_dimension.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_field.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_group.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_shape.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_text.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_textbox.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/pcb_track.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+| `pcbnew/zone.cpp` | `#include` for API headers, `Serialize()`, `Deserialize()` |
+
+## Example of Our Changes
+
+**Before (upstream):**
+```cpp
+#include <api/api_enums.h>
+#include <api/api_utils.h>
+#include <api/board/board_types.pb.h>
+
+void PAD::Serialize( google::protobuf::Any &aContainer ) const
+{
+    // ... serialization code
+}
+```
+
+**After (our fork):**
+```cpp
+#ifdef KICAD_IPC_API
+#include <api/api_enums.h>
+#include <api/api_utils.h>
+#include <api/board/board_types.pb.h>
+#endif
+
+#ifdef KICAD_IPC_API
+void PAD::Serialize( google::protobuf::Any &aContainer ) const
+{
+    // ... serialization code
+}
+#endif
+```
+
+## Why We Added These Guards
+
+Originally added to allow building with `KICAD_IPC_API=OFF`, which would:
+- Skip protobuf dependency
+- Exclude serialization methods that depend on protobuf types
+
+However, our current build has `KICAD_IPC_API=ON`, making these guards unnecessary.
+
+## How to Revert
+
+To revert these files to upstream (base commit `4bfed3f174`):
+
+```bash
+cd kicad
+git checkout 4bfed3f174 -- \
+  common/eda_shape.cpp \
+  common/eda_text.cpp \
+  common/netclass.cpp \
+  include/api/api_utils.h \
+  pcbnew/api/api_pcb_utils.h \
+  pcbnew/board_connected_item.cpp \
+  pcbnew/board_stackup_manager/board_stackup.cpp \
+  pcbnew/footprint.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pad.cpp \
+  pcbnew/padstack.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_dimension.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_field.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_group.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_shape.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_text.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_textbox.cpp \
+  pcbnew/pcb_track.cpp \
+  pcbnew/zone.cpp
+```
+
+Then rebuild:
+```bash
+./docker/build.sh --clean-kicad
+```
+
+## Note: toolbars_pcb_editor.cpp
+
+This file has `#ifdef KICAD_SCRIPTING` guards (not IPC API guards):
+
+```cpp
+#ifdef KICAD_SCRIPTING
+#include "../scripting/python_scripting.h"
+#endif
+...
+#ifdef KICAD_SCRIPTING
+    bool scriptingAvailable = SCRIPTING::IsWxAvailable();
+#else
+    bool scriptingAvailable = false;
+#endif
+```
+
+**Cannot be fully reverted** because:
+- `KICAD_SCRIPTING=OFF` for WASM builds (CMakeLists.txt lines 135-138)
+- Without guards, build fails (python_scripting.h not built, SCRIPTING class doesn't exist)
+
+This is a separate concern from the IPC API and is documented here for completeness.
+
+## Impact of Reversion
+
+- **Fork diff reduction:** 18 fewer modified files
+- **Build behavior:** No change (KICAD_IPC_API=ON, code compiles identically)
+- **Functionality:** No change (serialization methods still available)
+
+## Related: IPC API Architecture
+
+KiCad's IPC API uses:
+- **Protobuf messages** for request/response serialization
+- **NNG sockets** for transport (stubbed in WASM - see `wasm/stubs/nng_stub.c`)
+- **API_HANDLER_PCB** class for handling requests (instantiated in PCB_EDIT_FRAME)
+
+Our stub at `wasm/stubs/api_plugin_stub.cpp` provides no-op implementations for:
+- `KICAD_API_SERVER::Start()`, `Stop()`, `Running()`
+- `KICAD_API_SERVER::RegisterHandler()`, `DeregisterHandler()`
+
+## Future: JavaScript Bridge
+
+To expose the IPC API to JavaScript (optional enhancement):
+
+1. Modify `api_plugin_stub.cpp` to store registered handlers
+2. Create Embind bindings in `wasm/bindings/api_bridge.cpp`
+3. Expose `KiCadApi_HandleRequest(protobufData)` function
+4. Use `protobuf.js` on JS side for message creation/parsing
+
+This would enable JS automation without modifying any KiCad source files.

scripts/create-feature-patches.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Usage: ./scripts/create-feature-patches.sh [branch-name]
+# Creates patches in features/<branch-name>/
+
+set -e
+
+BRANCH=${1:-$(git branch --show-current)}
+FEATURE_DIR="features/${BRANCH}"
+
+mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"
+
+# Root repo patch (exclude submodules)
+git diff HEAD -- ':!kicad' ':!wxwidgets' > "$FEATURE_DIR/root.patch"
+
+# Submodule patches (diff from upstream base)
+KICAD_BASE=$(git -C kicad log --format='%H' --author-not='viktor.vaczi@emergence-engineering.com' --author-not='noreply@anthropic.com' -1)
+git -C kicad diff $KICAD_BASE > "$FEATURE_DIR/kicad.patch"
+
+WX_BASE="v3.2.6"
+git -C wxwidgets diff $WX_BASE > "$FEATURE_DIR/wxwidgets.patch"
+
+echo "Patches created in $FEATURE_DIR/"
+ls -la "$FEATURE_DIR"/*.patch 2>/dev/null || echo "No patches generated"