FPGAi — AI Assistant for FPGA Engineers

FPGAi brings the full FPGAi platform into VS Code: self-correcting testbench generation, HDL code review, CDC analysis, FSM/block diagrams, resource estimation, constraint validation, and RAG-backed FPGA Q&A — through the native @fpgai chat participant.

Highlights

• Self-correcting simulation — /simulate tb/my_tb.v compiles and runs your testbench locally (Icarus Verilog / GHDL) and automatically fixes failures with AI, up to 10 attempts, with a backup for every file change.
• Native chat — talk to @fpgai in the VS Code Chat view; generated files marked <!-- file: name --> are written into your workspace with guardrails, diff previews, and one-click undo.
• 39 slash commands — full parity with the FPGAi CLI agent: /review, /fsm, /blocks, /cdc, /estimate, /validate-constraints, /document, /waveform, /analyze-waveform, /constraints, /tcl, /explain, and more.
• Editor integration — right-click any .v/.sv/.vhd/.vhdl file to Simulate or Review it; explain selected code from the context menu.
• Image attachments — add a screenshot or diagram (png/jpg/webp/gif) with the chat input's "Add Context…" picker; FPGAi reads waveforms, register maps, and schematics. Requires a vision-capable model — text-only models reject with a clear message.
• Your code stays local by default — query-only mode sends only your message. Opt into full-context mode (/mode full-context) to share project files as context; a structured project index is shared to improve answers. BYOK supported via /apikey.

Requirements

1. FPGAi account — register at fpgaitool.com (free trial available).
2. (Optional) Python agent — pip install fpgai (Python 3.10+). Chat, RAG Q&A, and writing generated <!-- file: --> files into your workspace (with guardrails, backups, and undo) all work without it — handy for Windows/macOS users who can't run the CLI. Install it to add the local bridge: /simulate, diagrams, waveforms, preflight lint, and /diff.
3. Optional local tools (only used by the Python agent): iverilog (Verilog simulation), ghdl (VHDL), gtkwave (waveforms), yosys (diagrams/estimates).

Windows: if python resolves to the Microsoft Store alias, set the fpgai.bridgeCommand setting to py.

Getting started

1. Install the extension. (Optional: pip install fpgai to enable local simulation and diagrams — not required for chat or file apply.)
2. Run FPGAi: Sign In With One-Time Token — generate the token at fpgaitool.com/auth/agent-login.
3. Open the Chat view and ask: @fpgai Generate a parameterizable UART transmitter in Verilog with a self-checking testbench.
4. /simulate the generated testbench and watch it self-correct.

A guided walkthrough is available under Help → Get Started → FPGAi.

Commands

Privacy & security

• Tokens and BYOK API keys live in VS Code Secret Storage (OS keychain), never in settings files.
• In query-only mode (default) your project code is not uploaded; the hosted request contains your message plus a compact structured index of module names/ports to improve answers. full-context mode is explicit opt-in and capped.
• The local bridge is disabled in untrusted workspaces, and its launch command is machine-scoped so workspace settings cannot hijack it.
• Every AI file write creates a backup under .fpgai/backups/; /undo restores it. Sensitive paths (.env, keys, .git/…) are never written.

Troubleshooting

• bridge unavailable — chat and one-click file apply/undo still work; this only disables /simulate, diagrams, and /diff. To enable them, pip install --upgrade fpgai, then run FPGAi: Check Local Bridge. On Windows try fpgai.bridgeCommand: "py".
• 426 Upgrade Required — the installed fpgai package is below the server minimum: pip install --upgrade fpgai.
• 402 / allowance exhausted — your plan's AI budget is used up; see pricing or switch to BYOK with /apikey.