HDL Studio documentation
Everything Soft Forge HDL Studio does, from pressing F5 on a testbench to programming a board, and how to drive it from the terminal.
Soft Forge HDL Studio is a VS Code extension for VHDL, built around GHDL for simulation and debugging and AMD Vivado for synthesis and programming. It brings:
- Editing: syntax highlighting in the Aurora palette with a matching editor theme, snippets, indentation, folding and GHDL diagnostics on save.
- Debugging: source breakpoints and stepping inside processes, plus simulation-time control: pause, step to the next time with activity, run for a duration, break when a signal changes, break on failing assertions, and step back through time.
- The signal viewer (Pro): every signal of the elaborated design, streamed live and drawn with WebGL. The same viewer opens GHW and VCD files.
- The Vivado flow: synthesis, implementation, bitstream and xsim as VS Code tasks, with reports and a Hardware view that programs the board.
- Block designs: user entities, Xilinx IP and primitives wired on a canvas, saved as a merge-friendly event log.
- Automation: the
hdlcommand line (--jsoneverywhere), a bridge to the running session, a Claude skill and language model tools.
Free and Pro#
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Highlighting, theme, snippets, diagnostics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debugger, simulation-time control, time travel | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workspace dashboard, Vivado flow, hardware programming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Block design editor | ✓ | ✓ |
hdl command line, Claude skill, language model tools |
✓ | ✓ |
| Signal viewer: live simulations and GHW/VCD files | 30-minute trial | ✓ |
Pro is $35 per seat per month. See Subscription.
How the docs are organised#
Getting startedInstall the extension and its tools, debug your first testbench, and describe a project with a workspace file.
Simulation and debuggingBreakpoints in processes, simulation-time control, time travel, and the signal viewer.
FPGA flowSynthesis, implementation, bitstream, xsim and programming with Vivado, and the block design editor.
AutomationThe hdl command line, its bridge to the open window, and the tools for AI agents.
AccountPlans, the trial, signing in and license keys.
ReferenceSettings, commands, key bindings, examples and known limits.