Frequently Asked Questions
We gathered the answers to some popular questions below.
If you can’t find your question below feel free to contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
What file formats do you support?
We currently support Cadence Allegro brd and dsn files; Altium designer schdoc, pcbdoc, schlib, pcblib; KiCad pcb. For other formats reach out to our dev team at [email protected].
How does allspice.io connect to Github/ Bitbucket/ Gitlab?
We offer optional Github/Bitbucket/Gitlab authenticators for signing in to allspice.io. This makes it easier to login without having to create and manage a new account if you already use one of those Git services.
In addition, you can use our migrator tool to photocopy your existing Github/Bitbucket/Gitlab projects to allspice.io and even keep them as mirror backups for your allspice.io repositories.
As always, you have the ability to link to external Github/ Bitbucket/ Gitlab repositories in your allspice.io repos using Git submodule links.
Can I host allspice.io on-premise?
Though most of our users are on the cloud, we do have a self-hosting option if that’s a policy for your company. Given the added complexity in deployment and support requirements, we only offer this alternative for teams with a minimum of 10 users.
For ITAR controlled designs, there’s a Gov Cloud alternative as well.
To check for specific IT security requirements, send us a note at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to verify those for you.
Do people need an ECAD license to look at my designs on allspice.io?
No. We render images of your designs that can be viewed by all collaborators who have access to your allspice.io review. Think of it as view and comment privileges only.
However, to make design changes to your schematics or PCB files, you’ll need an ECAD license.
Does allspice.io host my designs?
Yes. Although we understand some users already have hardware projects in other hosting services (such as Github/ Bitbucket/ Gitlab), in order to build an amazing user experience for hardware designs, it’s necessary that we host and render files directly.
However, we’ve worked to ensure a seamless transition between other hosting services. You can use our migrator tool to photocopy your existing Github/Bitbucket/Gitlab projects to allspice.io and even keep them as mirror backups for your allspice.io repositories.
How do you protect our data?
Protecting customer data is our highest priority. Our policy is to match or exceed all security measures for comparable products, such as GitHub & Gitlab.
Here are a few examples of the many ways we protect your data:
– Data Transfer: We use only encrypted transfers to our servers (SSH + HTTPS) and use a one-way hash of all user passwords using bcrypt (same as GitHub).
– Servers: We use only SOC 3 Type 2 and/or ISO27001 compliant servers with customer data encrypted at rest with LUKs encrypted mounts.
– Testing: We continuously test our systems against common attack vectors, including XSS, dependency injection, ReDOS, MitM, etc.
– Rootless: We use multiple levels of protection including rootless runners on our servers, which prevent malicious actors from installing or running arbitrary code to collect user data in the case of an XSS attack. If you have further questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected].
Do I need Git revision control in order to use allspice.io?
In a nutshell, yes.
If you use SVN and are interested in migrating to Git, the process is fairly well documented. For example, Git explains it here: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-and-Other-Systems-Migrating-to-Git
If you are a new user, our team will be happy to help you with the process.
Will the diff tool continue to be free?
Yes, the diff tool is our gift to the HW community we so much appreciate. We’re engineers as well, and we want to make the hardware development process better for as many people as we can.
Have more questions?
Send as an email at [email protected].