SystemVerilog IDE#

Install SystemVerilog IDE, open a user-controlled RTL project, and complete a first saved-file check.

Overview#

SystemVerilog IDE is a project-aware Linux desktop environment for writing and inspecting RTL. It works with a directory you control and keeps the first saved-file workflow separate from optional execution actions.

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

Evolve inside the IDE#

Evolve is an integrated SystemVerilog IDE 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#

  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 SystemVerilog IDE 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#

Two different things read the project, and they do not show you the same set.

The workspace listing walks the whole tree below the project root. It is what Go to File, project search, and the Outline work from, so a source file anywhere in the project is reachable through those.

The Folder tree in the Explorer panel is a filtered view of that listing: it renders the rtl/ and tb/ top-level directories and nothing else. A file at the project root, or under a third top-level directory, is in the workspace and findable — but it has no row in the Folder tree. Put your first file under rtl/ so you can see it there.

The listing itself skips:

  • 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.

A file that does not appear is almost always inside a skipped directory, a symbolic link, or an unsupported extension — not misplaced.

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#

  • Tested release host: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS amd64/x86_64.

  • Browser sign-in and a valid machine licence are required for product access.

  • 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.