Get Sideband running in under five minutes
Download the app, install it, and point Altium's DBLib at the local database on your machine. Everything below walks you from an empty bench to a synced library.
Quickstart
Download & install
Sideband is a desktop app for Windows. Install it, open it, and connect Altium — your library data lives in a local database on your own machine.
Download for your OS
Grab the installer for Windows from the download page. It's free while Sideband is in beta — no account or licence key needed to start.
Install and open the app
Run the installer and launch Sideband. It sets up a local database on your machine on first launch — your library lives on your device, nothing to provision.
Point Altium's DBLib at it
In the app, copy the DBLib connection details, add a Database Library (.DBLib) in Altium pointing at them, and your components, symbols and footprints sync live as you work.
Ready when you are — free 30-day trial.
Beta 1.0.0-beta.4 · Windows · free
Guides
Learn it feature by feature
Each guide maps to a part of the product — start with the library, then layer on manufacturing, sync and power tools.
Library
Model components, symbols, footprints and 3D bodies, and view boards right in the app.
Component Library
One canonical record per component — parameters, lifecycle, MPNs/SPNs and a linked symbol, footprint and 3D model.
Read guideSchematic Symbols
Every symbol rendered and searchable — pin tables, per-part previews — with the original SchLib bytes preserved for Altium.
Read guidePCB Footprints
Real pad geometry from the PcbLib, a per-layer primitive inventory, and the attached 3D model one tab away.
Read guidePCB Viewer
A WebGL viewer fed by the PcbDoc itself — 2D and 3D, five board themes, real drill barrels, and a measure tool in millimetres.
Read guidePin ↔ Pad Mapping
Automatic validation between symbol pins and footprint pads, with unmatched designators surfaced.
Read guideManufacturing
Track inventory, suppliers and BOMs, and print scannable labels for the stockroom.
Boards & BOMs
Import an Altium project and read everything — BOM, nets, placements, stackup, schematic — with JLCPCB-ready exports.
Read guideInventory
A tree of your storage with scannable placement IDs that survive moves — the label you printed last month still resolves.
Read guideLabel Printing
Design and print barcode / QR labels for parts and locations that deep-link straight back into the app.
Read guideSuppliers & Manufacturers
Track manufacturer part numbers and supplier part numbers against every component, with real brand data.
Read guideIntegrations
Altium ODBC Connector
A real ODBC driver for Altium's DBLib, kept live by change-data-capture — one MSI, one connection string.
Read guideEasyEDA / LCSC Import
Import a fully-formed component — symbol, footprint and 3D model — straight from LCSC by part number.
Read guideLibrary Import
SchLib and PcbLib archives — or SQLite, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Excel and CSV — through a wizard with field mapping and dedup.
Read guideConnectors
Scriptable inbound/outbound integrations — enrich parts from CSV, Excel, SQL or APIs, or push your catalogue to ERP/PLM.
Read guideAutomation & API
Cron Scheduling
Run any connector on a cron expression — validated in plain English — plus built-in maintenance jobs.
Read guideWebhooks
Push components outbound as signed JSON webhooks the moment they change — compliant with the Standard Webhooks spec.
Read guideREST API
116 routes across the whole library, documented as OpenAPI 3.1 — and pleasant to drive from ten lines of Python.
Read guidePower tools
Search, automate, restyle and script every corner of the database.
Symbol Restyler
Saved themes — colours, fonts, per-text overrides — applied across thousands of symbols in one pass, originals untouched.
Read guideCommand Palette
A VS Code-style ⌘K palette plus fully customisable keyboard shortcuts for every action.
Read guideSearch
Words in any order, typos forgiven, sound-alikes found — "10uF 25V 0805" works however it comes out.
Read guideTakeout
One click exports the whole local database and every attached file as an open archive, with an optional portable PostgreSQL dump. No lock-in.
Read guideNeed help?
Stuck on a connection, an import or a connector? Reach the Fermium team and we'll get you unblocked.
Contact usPut every part on one data model
Download Sideband for Windows and give your whole team one source of truth. Free 30-day trial — no card required.
Beta 1.0.0-beta.4 · Windows · free