Digital Design Studio#

Install Digital Design Studio, open a user-controlled RTL project, and complete a first saved-file check.

Overview#

Digital Design Studio combines RTL editing, ISA design, analysis, verification, and Evolve in one project-aware environment. ISA is available from the left rail and Flow Navigator inside this app, not from a separate product launcher.

The integrated workspace is available in Altifigence Cloud. Desktop availability is platform- and version-specific: the earlier Linux package does not acquire new features merely because its documentation has a new name. Windows native porting and MSIX delivery are in progress; see Downloads.

The editor also recognizes Verilog .v and .vh files, and .v is a supported RTL project input. See Verilog in Digital Design Studio for file handling and language coverage.

Evolve inside the IDE#

Evolve is an integrated Digital Design Studio capability, not a separate product. When available, it explores RTL alternatives and keeps the candidates in the same workspace used for editing, analysis, and verification. A visible Evolve panel can still show an unavailable action when its runtime is not enabled.

Compatibility identifiers such as rtl_evolve, /api/evolve/*, .alEvolve, and the workspace evolve/ directory remain unchanged.

Install and Open#

For the earlier Linux desktop release, use the following verified package and launcher workflow. The executable and CLI identifiers remain compatibility names.

  1. Follow Downloads, Verify Downloads, and Install on Linux.

  2. Complete First Launch and Licence.

  3. Open a project by naming its directory when you launch:

Bash
altifigence-ide --project /absolute/path/to/project

The launcher accepts an existing absolute directory. It rejects a relative path, missing directory, unknown option, duplicate project option, or trailing argument instead of guessing what you meant.

The CLI opens the same way, and this is the only ide subcommand in the published CLI:

Bash
alti ide open --project /absolute/path/to/project

A window is bound to the project root it was launched with for the life of its process. To work on a second project, launch a second window; the first keeps its own root and its open editors.

Theme, editor type size, keyboard shortcuts, and display language are set in the Settings dialog on the title bar. See Digital Design Studio Settings for every panel, its default, and where the value is stored.

First Project Quickstart#

Use a new, non-sensitive directory containing one known-good .sv or .v file under rtl/ or tb/, for example rtl/top.sv. The project directory must already exist and its absolute path must be known.

What Explorer Lists#

The current Folder tree shows the complete listing supplied by the selected project host, including root files, docs/, and analyze/ when the host returns them. Its heading uses the project name. It is no longer limited to rtl/ and tb/. Hierarchy instead shows the design structure derived from source.

Complete host listing does not mean unrestricted access to every filesystem entry. The earlier native Linux listing has the following bounds; other hosts can expose different supported file types and limits:

  • Skipped directories, with everything below them: .git, .altifigence, .venv, __pycache__, node_modules, target, .pytest_cache, dist, dist-electron.

  • Skipped entries: symbolic links, and any file whose extension is not in the supported set.

  • Supported extensions: sv, svh, v, vh, allab, py, md, rst, json, html, toml, yml, yaml, tcl, rpt, ini, sh, c, h, rs, sail, js, mjs, ts, tsx, css, spef.

  • Bounds: one listing returns at most 500 files and stops after examining 10,000 directory entries. A very large tree can therefore be listed only in part; that is a size bound, not a filter on where sources may live.

If an entry is missing, check the selected root, refresh the listing, and review host filtering and size limits before moving or recreating files.

Steps#

  1. Launch the IDE with altifigence-ide --project /absolute/path/to/project.

  2. In Explorer, confirm that the displayed root is the directory you chose.

  3. Open your known source file and make a harmless comment-only change.

  4. Use Save File or Ctrl+S.

  5. Confirm that the dirty marker clears and review Problems for current editor diagnostics.

  6. Close the IDE window, launch it on the same absolute project directory again, and confirm that the saved comment is present.

  7. Revert or keep the comment in your normal version-control workflow.

First success means the correct directory opened and a deliberate file edit survived a reopen. It does not require a compiler, simulator, synthesis tool, board, Cloud job, or local RTL engine.

Back up or move the project using Local Workspaces and Data Boundaries before changing the original directory.

Local and Online Actions#

Opening, editing, and saving a project does not upload it. Analyze, Verify, Implement, Evolve, and other online actions can have separate availability and may send selected source or artifacts. Check the action and destination before submitting restricted project data.

Current Limitations#

  • Earlier Linux release host: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS amd64/x86_64; Windows product qualification is not complete.

  • Basic editor access and protected local execution are distinct. Paid local tools require an accepted machine entitlement.

  • External hardware tools and their licences are installed and managed separately.

  • Local RTL execution is not part of this public first-project guarantee.

  • Some target, Cloud, or long-running operations can remain preflight-only or unavailable.

  • There is no automatic updater; install each newly verified .deb manually.

For launcher, package, callback, or licence problems, use Troubleshooting.