nextpnr
A vendor-neutral, timing-driven, open-source FPGA place and route tool.
Overview
nextpnr is a modern, vendor-neutral, open-source place and route tool. It is designed to take a netlist from a synthesis tool like Yosys and generate a final bitstream for a target FPGA. It is timing-driven and supports a growing number of FPGA architectures, making it a key component of the open-source FPGA ecosystem.
✨ Key Features
- Vendor-neutral architecture
- Timing-driven placement and routing algorithms
- Support for multiple FPGA families (Lattice iCE40, ECP5; Xilinx Artix-7)
- Scriptable and customizable flow
- Graphical interface for visualizing placement and routing
- Free and open source
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Completely open source
- Vendor-neutral, supporting FPGAs from different manufacturers
- Modern, clean codebase designed for extensibility
Unique Value: Provides a free, open, and vendor-neutral place and route solution, giving designers unprecedented freedom and control over the FPGA implementation process.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- Complete toolchain for Lattice iCE40 and ECP5 FPGAs
- Experimental support for Xilinx 7-series FPGAs
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Users needing a guaranteed, push-button solution for the latest FPGAs
- Designs requiring the absolute maximum performance (vendor tools are often better)
🏆 Alternatives
While vendor tools are highly optimized for their specific architectures, nextpnr offers transparency, customizability, and the ability to build a completely open-source toolchain, which is critical for security and research.
💻 Platforms
✅ Offline Mode Available
🔌 Integrations
💰 Pricing
Free tier: nextpnr is completely free and open source.
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