revolution-eda 0.8.10

Custom IC Design Environment for Professionals

Revolution EDA Schematic/Symbol/Layout Editors and Simulation and Analysis Environment

Introduction

Revolution EDA is a new generation of schematic and symbol editor targeting custom integrated circuit design with integrated simulation and plotting capabilities. Current version is 0.8.8.

Core Features

1. Advanced Symbol Creation: Create symbols with both common symbol attributes and instance parameters. Instance parameters can be Python functions for dynamic parameter calculation.
2. Automatic Symbol Generation: Generate symbols automatically from schematics and Verilog-A modules with support for circles, lines, rectangles, and arches.
3. Verilog-A Integration: Clear separation between model and instance parameters for Verilog-A symbols.
4. JSON-Based File Format: Human-readable JSON format allows easy inspection and editing with text editors.
5. Configuration-Driven Netlisting: Config view support similar to commercial tools for choosing simulation views.
6. Hierarchical Netlisting: Full hierarchical netlisting capability with Xyce simulator support, including bus and instance array netlisting.
7. Python-Powered Labels: Labels support Python functions enabling professional PDK development.
8. Layout Editor: Full-featured hierarchical layout editor with support for rectangles, polygons, paths, pins, labels, vias (single and array), and python-based parametric layout cells. Includes layer management (selectability and visibility management), rulers, and GDS import/export capabilities.
9. Comprehensive Library Management: Familiar library browser for creating, renaming, copying, and deleting libraries, cells, and views.
10. Library Registry: Built-in registry UI (Tools → Libraries) for downloading Revolution EDA-compatible design libraries directly from the GitHub library registry.
11. Plugin Registry: GUI-based plugin installer (Tools → Plugins → Setup Plugins…) that downloads and installs plugins from the Revolution EDA plugin registry.
12. PDK Registry: GUI for registering and switching PDKs without editing configuration files manually.
13. AI Terminal: Natural-language design modification through Claude (Anthropic) and Gemini (Google) AI backends; API keys are stored in encrypted form.
14. Integrated Python Console: Full Python REPL in the main window for automation and scripting against Revolution EDA's internal APIs.
15. Stipple Pattern Editor: Built-in editor for creating custom layer fill stipple patterns.
16. Persistent Configuration: Save and restore configuration parameters.
17. Comprehensive Logging: Error, warning, and info message logging to reveda.log.

Plugin Architecture

Revolution EDA features a modular plugin architecture that enables extensible functionality. Plugins can add their own menus and actions to editor windows through a config.json declaration — no changes to the core codebase are required.

There are already several plugins available, including revedasim, revedaplot, and aiTerminal. Proprietary plugins can be distributed as pre-compiled binaries alongside open-source source plugins.

Simulation and Plotting

Revolution EDA Simulation and Analysis Environment (revedasim)

• Xyce Simulator Integration: Full support for Xyce circuit simulator
• Parameter Sweeps: Multi-dimensional parameter sweep capabilities
• Analysis Types: Support for DC, AC, transient, noise, and harmonic balance analyses
• Output Management: Flexible output signal selection and processing
• Process Management: Efficient simulation job management

Revolution EDA Plotter (revedaplot)

• Very Fast: Can handle very large datasets.
• Imports both Raw and Ascii file output: Can uniformly handle raw and ascii file formats generated by Xyce and other circuit simulators.
• Interactive Waveform Viewer: Advanced plotting with zoom, pan, and measurement tools
• Multi-Plot Support: Combined and separate plot views
• Parameter Sweep Visualization: Automatic plotting of parametric simulation results
• Export Capabilities: High-quality plot export functionality

AI Terminal (aiTerminal)

• Natural-Language Design Editing: Modify schematics, symbols, and layouts using conversational requests sent to an AI model.
• Multiple AI Backends: Claude (Anthropic) and Gemini (Google) supported; OpenAI planned.
• Secure API Key Storage: Keys encrypted with Fernet and stored under ~/.reveda/.
• Automatic Backup & Undo: A backup is created before every AI modification; one-click restore via the undo command or Undo Changes button.
• Read & Inspect: Run read to display the current design JSON directly in the terminal.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12, 3.13, or 3.14
• Poetry if installing from source

From PyPI

pip install revolution-eda

After installation, start the program with:

reveda

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/eskiyerli/revolution-eda.git
cd revolution-eda

# Install dependencies
poetry install

# Run the application
poetry run reveda

Binary Releases

Standalone binaries built with Nuitka are available on the GitHub Releases page and do not require a separate Python installation.

• Windows: reveda.exe
• Linux: reveda.bin (mark executable with chmod +x reveda.bin before running)

PDK Installation

To use the preliminary IHP PDK, clone the ihp_pdk repository:

git clone https://github.com/eskiyerli/ihp_pdk.git

Set the REVEDA_PDK_PATH variable in the .env file to the cloned directory. If both repositories are cloned side-by-side, the .env entry would be:

REVEDA_PDK_PATH=../ihp_pdk

PDKs can also be registered and switched through the PDK Registry dialog (Tools → PDKs → Setup PDKs…) without editing .env directly.

Example Libraries

Clone the exampleLibraries repository for a set of ideal elements and IHP sg13g2_pr library cells (including pcells for rsil, cap_cmim, and sg13_lv_nmos):

git clone https://github.com/eskiyerli/exampleLibraries.git

Use the Library Registry (Tools → Libraries) to download additional Revolution EDA-compatible libraries directly from within the application.

Documentation

Full documentation is available in the docs/ directory and covers:

• Installation
• Main Window
• Schematic Editor Tutorial
• Symbol Editor Tutorial
• Layout Editor Tutorial
• Config Editor
• AI Terminal
• Plugins

Attribution

• Some icons by Yusuke Kamiyamane. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.