MCP‑EDA Example Flow

An end‑to‑end digital implementation reference that combines Synopsys Design Compiler for RTL‑to‑gate synthesis and Cadence Innovus for physical implementation, wrapped in a set of lightweight Python/FastAPI micro‑services plus automation scripts.

The goal is to let you:

spin up every step (setup → compile → floor‑plan → place → CTS → power‑plan → route → save) with a single command
or drive / debug individual steps via simple REST calls
keep all tool settings under version control (CSV + TCL) for fully repeatable runs

.
├── config/                  # CSV knobs for each stage
│   ├── synthesis.csv
│   ├── imp_global.csv
│   ├── placement.csv
│   └── cts.csv
├── designs/
│   └── des/                 # example AES‑DES design
│       ├── rtl/             # Verilog sources
│       └── implementation/  # auto‑generated results
├── libraries/               # FreePDK45 timing/lib/LEF
├── scripts/
│   └── FreePDK45/
│       ├── tech.tcl         # common tech setup
│       ├── frontend/        # Design‑Compiler TCL
│       └── backend/         # Innovus TCL (1–8)
├── server/                  # FastAPI micro‑services
│   ├── synth_setup_server.py
│   ├── synth_compile_server.py
│   ├── floorplan_server.py
│   ├── placement_server.py
│   ├── cts_server.py
│   ├── powerplan_server.py
│   ├── route_server.py
│   └── save_server.py
└── run_pipeline.sh          # one‑shot driver

./run_pipeline.sh       # runs ALL 8 stages, logs to ./logs/

1. Spins up (or re‑uses) the 8 REST services on localhost :3333…3340.
2. Calls them in sequence, passing the parameter sets from config/.csv.
3. Streams JSON back to the console for each stage; artefacts go under
designs/des/FreePDK45/{synthesis,implementation}/….

If you see ✅ at the end you have a routed & saved GDS/V files ready.

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4. Running individual stages

Every stage is a tiny FastAPI app exposing POST /<stage>/run.

Example – placement:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3337/place/run      -H 'Content-Type: application/json'      -d '{
           "design": "des",
           "tech":   "FreePDK45",
           "impl_ver":"cpV1_clkP1_drcV1__g0_p0",
           "g_idx":0, "p_idx":0,
           "force": true
         }' | jq .

All servers honour two rules:

idempotent – rerun with force=true to wipe previous logs/reports.
stateless – all context (version tags, CSV indices) comes from the JSON.

| Port | Service | Endpoint | Depends on |
|------|---------|----------|------------|
| 3333 | synth_setup_server | /setup/run | source RTL |
| 3334 | synth_compile_server | /compile/run | setup artefacts |
| 3335 | floorplan_server | /floorplan/run | .mapped.v/.sdc |
| 3337 | placement_server | /place/run | floorplan.enc.dat |
| 3338 | cts_server | /cts/run | placement |
| 3336 | powerplan_server | /power/run | floorplan (striped) |
| 3339 | route_server | /route/run | CTS |
| 3340 | save_server | /save/run | route |

See docs/api_examples.http for ready‑to‑paste requests in VS Code.

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5. Configuration – CSV → environment → TCL

Instead of duplicating parameters in TCL, every tunable knob lives in CSV:

imp_global.csv – global flow effort, target util, etc.
placement.csv – setPlaceMode switches, density caps …
cts.csv – CCOpt properties.
synthesis.csv – compile options, clock period …

At runtime the Python server:

1. Picks a row by index (g_idx, p_idx, c_idx …).
2. Exports the key/values as environment variables.
3. The stage‑specific .tcl scripts reference them, e.g.:

setDesignMode -flowEffort $env(design_flow_effort)
floorPlan -r $env(ASPECT_RATIO) $env(target_util)

7. How to Re‑use for your Design

1. Place your RTL under designs/<name>/rtl/.v.
2. Add a minimal config.tcl under designs/<name>/ containing at least

   set TOP_NAME "<top_module>"

   set RTL_LIST  [glob $::env(BASE_DIR)/designs/<name>/rtl/.v]

   

| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---------|--------------|-----|
| “.mapped.sdc not found” during floorplan | RTL top name ≠ file prefix | either rename file or use the new auto‑detect logic in backend/1_setup.tcl |
| Placement fails with row not legalised | target util too high | tweak placement.csv → place_global_max_density |
| Route DRC over 1 M | missing power stripes on M4/M5 | revisit 3_powerplan.tcl stripe pitch |
| REST call returns error: … enc.dat not found | previous stage crashed | look at logs/<stage>/…log and fix first |

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9. Roadmap

🚧 add OpenROAD support for fully open‑source flow
parameter sweep driver (sweep.py) to explore CSV grids

• Prometheus metrics endpoint on each server

10. License

See LICENSE. Free to use for academic & evaluation purposes; no guarantees.

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Made with ❤️ by the MCP team – feel free to open issues / PRs!