Tools and Utilities
1. Tools
1.1. Performance Analysis
kerncraft - This tool allows automatic analysis of loop kernels using the Execution Cache Memory (ECM) model, the Roofline model and actual benchmarks. kerncraft provides a framework to investigate the data reuse and cache requirements by static code analysis. In combination with the Intel IACA tool kerncraft can give a good overview of both in-core and memory bottlenecks and use that data to apply performance models.
TAU Performance System - A portable profiling and tracing toolkit for performance analysis of parallel programs written in Fortran, C, C++, UPC, Java, Python.
WhyProfiler - WhyProfiler is a CPU profiler for Jupyter notebook that not only identifies hotspots but can suggest faster alternatives.
Cost of GPUs in the cloud - Estimate the cost of running deep learning workloads on cloud GPUs
Comparison of GPU Cloud Providers: Pricing and Features - Up-to-date information on the features and pricing of GPU cloud providers.
ARM SPE - Hardware-assisted CPU profiling mechanism that offers detailed profiling capabilities.
LLVM MCA - a performance analysis tool that uses information available in LLVM (e.g. scheduling models) to statically measure the performance of machine code in a specific CPU.
1.2. Profiling
CacheGrind - Cachegrind is a high-precision tracing profiler. It runs slowly, but collects precise and reproducible profiling data. Cachegrind can also simulate how your program interacts with a machine's cache hierarchy and branch predictor.
Intel Memory latency checker - measure memory latencies and b/w, and how they change with increasing load on the system
gprof – User-space CPU profiler to answer: “Which functions in my program are slow?”
ftrace – Linux kernel tracing framework to answer: “What is the kernel doing while my system is slow?”
Memory profilers:
Scalene - A high-performance CPU, GPU and memory profiler for Python
memray – Python memory profiler for tracking allocations, leaks, and peak memory usage with low overhead and detailed call stacks
heaptrack – Heap memory profiler for C/C++ applications that records allocations, identifies leaks, and attributes memory usage to call paths over time
guppy3 – Python heap analysis and profiling tool that provides heap snapshots, object graphs, and memory growth analysis for debugging memory usage
1.3. Benchmarking
Pointer chasing - Curious Coding's walkthrough on pointer chasing and other memory optimizations
Multichase - Pointer chase to reveal memory bandwidth and loaded-latency
PARAM - Repository of communication and compute micro-benchmarks as well as full workloads for evaluating training and inference platforms
Google Workload Traces - Warehouse scale traces captured using DynamoRIO's drmemtrace. The traces are records of instruction and memory accesses as described at Trace Format
MLPerf - Consistent measurements of accuracy, speed, and efficiency on hardware for ML workloads
tp-parsec - Task-Parallel PARSEC
CHAI - Chai is a benchmark suite of Collaborative Heterogeneous Applications for Integrated-architectures. The Chai benchmarks are designed to use the latest features of heterogeneous architectures such as shared virtual memory and system-wide atomics to achieve efficient simultaneous collaboration between host and accelerator devices.
MachSuite - MachSuite is a benchmark suite intended for accelerator-centric research.
1.4. Simulators
1.4.1. System
ASTRA-Sim - Distributed Deep Learning Training simulator, developed in collaboration between Georgia Tech, Meta and Intel.
SST - Structural Simulation Toolkit - Using the supercomputers of today to build the supercomputers of tomorrow
1.4.2. Architectural
gem5 - The gem5 simulator is a modular platform for computer-system architecture research, encompassing system-level architecture as well as processor microarchitecture.
Lapidary - Tool to enable more efficient gem5 simulations
SLICC Tutorial - Documentation on SLICC
CPULator - CPUlator Computer System Simulator designed as a tool for learning assembly-language programming and computer organization
ESESC - A fast multiprocessor simulator with detailed power, thermal, and performance models for modern out-of-order multicores.
Multi2Sim - Multi2Sim is a heterogeneous system simulator of CPUs and GPUs, used to test and validate new hardware designs before they are physically manufactured.
SniperSim - A multi-core, parallel, high-speed and accurate x86 simulator.
ZSim - zsim is a fast x86-64 simulator with a focus on simulating memory hierarchies and large, heterogeneous systems
MacSim - A heterogeneous architecture timing model simulator.
CACTI - An analytical tool that takes a set of cache/memory parameters as input and calculates its access time, power, cycle time, and area.
HotSpot - An accurate and fast thermal model suitable for use in architectural studies.
SESC - SuperScalar simulator is a cycle accurate architectural simulator that models a very wide set of architectures: single processors, CMPs, PIMs, and thread level speculation.
Full-system simulators and their popularity in conferences (table from 2015) 
1.4.3. Hardware Accelerator (incl. GPU) simulators
Accel-Sim - Simulation framework for simulating and validating programmable accelerators like GPUs
GPGPU Sim - GPGPU-Sim provides a detailed simulation model of a contemporary GPUs
FireSim - FireSim is an open-source cycle-accurate FPGA-accelerated full-system hardware simulation platform that runs on cloud FPGAs
MPGPUSim - MGPUSim is a Go based AMD GCN3 GPU simulator based-on the Akita framework.
SCALESim - SCALE sim is a CNN accelerator simulator, that provides cycle-accurate timing, power/energy, memory bandwidth and trace results for a specified accelerator configuration and neural network architecture.
STONNE - Simulation TOol of Neural Network Engines, a cycle-level, highly-modular and highly-extensible simulation framework that can plug into any high-level DNN framework as an accelerator device and perform end-to-end evaluation of flexible accelerator microarchitectures with sparsity support, running complete DNN models.
1.4.4. Micro-architecture/ISA simulators
ChampSim - ChampSim is a trace-based simulator for a microarchitecture study.
Mastik - A Micro-Architectural Side-Channel Toolkit
Venus - Venus is a RISC-V instruction set simulator built for education.
Ripes - Ripes is a visual computer architecture simulator and assembly code editor built for the RISC-V ISA.
WinMIPS64 - WinMIPS64 is an instruction set simulator, and is designed as a replacement for the popular Microsoft Windows utility WinDLX
Whisper - RISCV instruction set simulator (ISS) developed for the verification of the Swerv micro-controller. It allows the user to run RISCV code without RISCV hardware.
SIMD Giraffe - Break down x86 SIMD instructions
1.4.5. Memory Simulators
PyCacheSim - Accurately simulate the caching (allocation/hit/miss/replace/evict) behavior of all cache levels found in modern processors
VANS - A validated NVRAM simulator
LENS - A Low-level NVRAM Profiler
NVMain - An Architectural Level Main Memory Simulator for Emerging Non-Volatile Memories
Cache simulator - A simple trace-based cache simulator
DRAMSim2 - A cycle accurate DRAM simulator
ARM Consistency Memory Model - The herd tool allows the user to execute the model with a specific question about the possible final states of the program using ARM consistency memory model.
MQSim - A Simulator for Modern NVMe and SATA SSDs
VAMPIRE - Variation-Aware model of Memory Power Informed by Real Experiments is an open-source DRAM power model based on an extensive experimental characterization of the power consumption of real DRAM modules.
RAMulator - Ramulator is a fast and cycle-accurate DRAM simulator [1] that supports a wide array of commercial, as well as academic, DRAM standards
Intel TSX MESI Cache simulator - Animations to illustrate cache behavior
1.4.6. Interconnect Simulators
BookSim - A cycle-accurate interconnection network simulator
NetTrace - Dependency-Tracking Trace-Based Network-on-Chip Simulation. Source code
Noxim - Network-on-Chip Simulator
NIRGAM - A Simulator for NoC Interconnect Routing and Application Modeling
1.5. Open Source Tools for Digital Design
Verilator - Verilator is the fastest free Verilog HDL simulator, and outperforms most commercial simulators
Icarus Verilog - Icarus Verilog is not aimed at being a simulator in the traditional sense, but a compiler that generates code employed by back-end tools.
GTKWave - GTKWave is a fully featured GTK+ based wave viewer.
Wavedrom - WaveDrom draws your Timing Diagram or Waveform from simple textual description.
SymbiYosys - Front-end for Yosys-based formal verification flows
Upscale Project - Formal tools for OSH
Yosys - Yosys is a framework for Verilog RTL synthesis.
Open Timer - A High-Performance Timing Analysis Tool for VLSI Systems
Glade - Fast IC layout and schematic editor capable of reading and writing common EDA formats
OpenRAM - An open-source static random access memory (SRAM) compiler.
Open Circuit Design Flow - A suite of tools including Qflow covering various aspects of digital design
Magic - the VLSI layout editor, extraction, and DRC tool.
XCircuit - the circuit drawing and schematic capture tool.
IRSIM - the switch-level digital circuit simulator.
Netgen - the circuit netlist comparison (LVS) and netlist conversion tool.
Qrouter - the over-the-cell (sea-of-gates) detail router.
Qflow - a complete digital synthesis design flow using open-source software and open-source standard cell libraries.
PCB - the printed circuit board layout editor.
ngspice - open source spice simulator
gnucap - open source mixed-signal simulator supporting Spice and Verilog syntax, also see GnuCap GitBook
The Open Road Project - Includes OpenSTA, RePlAce, OpenDB, ioPlacer, FastRoute4 and other tools. Start here
Open Register Design - Tool to generate register RTL, models, and docs using SystemRDL or JSpec input
LibrePCB - A powerful, innovative and intuitive EDA tool for everyone!
ACT Tools Suite - Asynchronous Circuit Design Toolkit to support the design and implementation of asynchronous logic
PyMTL - PyMTL is an open-source, Python-based framework for multi-level hardware modeling.
OpenFPGA - FPGA IP generator supporting highly-customizable homogeneous FPGA architectures
LibSystemCTLM - This library contains various SystemC/TLM-2.0 modules that enable co-simulation of Xilinx QEMU, SystemC/TLM-2.0 models and RTL.
Fully autonomous SoC Synthesis - focused on developing a complete system-on-chip (SoC) synthesis tool from user specification to GDSII.
EDALIZE - Edalize is a Python Library for interacting with EDA tools.
nMigen - A refreshed Python toolbox for building complex digital hardware
Cascade - Just-in-time compiler for Verilog
PyRTL - A collection of classes for pythonic register-transfer level design, simulation, tracing, and testing suitable for teaching and research.
myHDL - MyHDL turns Python into a hardware description and verification language
LLHD - is an intermediate representation for digital circuit descriptions, together with an accompanying simulator and SystemVerilog/VHDL compiler.
TerosHDL - It is a open source IDE to make FPGA development easier
OpenLane - Automated RTL to GDSII flow based on several components including OpenROAD, Yosys, Magic, Netgen, Fault and custom methodology scripts for design exploration and optimization.
DREAMPlace - Deep learning toolkit-enabled VLSI placement
SiliconCompiler - A modular build system for hardware ("make for silicon"). The project philosophy is to "make the complex possible while keeping the simple simple".
1.5.1. Digital/Analog Simulators
DigitalJS - Visualize and simulate digital logic using HDL
Digital - Digital is a easy-to-use digital logic designer and circuit simulator designed for educational purposes.
EDA Playground - Run HDL/HVL code in your browser
Electronic Circuit Simulator - Falstad circuit simulator
ASMBits - Assembly Practice
HDLBits - Verilog Practice
8bit Workshop - Verilog to waves instantly
LogicEmu - Logic simulator in your browser
Xyce - open source, SPICE-compatible, high-performance analog circuit simulator, capable of solving extremely large circuit problems by supporting large-scale parallel computing platforms.
Micro Cap 12 - Micro-Cap 12 is an integrated schematic editor and mixed analog/digital simulator that provides an interactive sketch and simulate environment for electronics engineers. Now Open Source.
Logisim - Logisim is an educational tool for designing and simulating digital logic circuits.
LogisimITA - An independently developed fork of logisim that's preferred by many
Logisim-Evolution - Another flavour of Logisim after the development of original version was stopped
Antares - Digital Circuit Learning Platform. A free, powerful platform for designing, simulating and explaining digital circuits
MakerChip - In-browser Verilog design environment
1.6. Emulators
TinyEMU - TinyEMU is a system emulator for the RISC-V and x86 architectures.
Unicorn - Unicorn is a lightweight multi-platform, multi-architecture CPU emulator framework.
8bit Chip Emulator - A toolbox of 8-bit chip-emulators, helper code and complete embeddable system emulators
Little Man Computer - Very simple Von Neumann Architecture Computer. Similar RISC
Blinken Lights - a command line debugger that focuses on visualizing how software changes memory. It's able to emulate statically linked i8086 and x86_64-pc-linux-gnu programs
2. Utilities
2.1. Hardware Design
Data sheet scrubber - The FASoC Datasheet Scrubber is a utility that scrubs through large sets of PDF datasheets/documents in order to extract key circuit information.
SystemVerilog Unit Test (SVUT) - SVUT is a very simple flow to create a Verilog/SystemVerilog unit test.
AirHDL - Create register maps and headers
BitBench - Visually dissect and analyze bit strings.
Bitfield - BitField diagram Renderer
Diagrammer - Provides dot visualizations of chisel/firrtl circuites
VCD2Wavedrom - Handy for getting from simulation to spec quickly.
ipyxact - Python-based IP-XACT parser
sv2v - SystemVerilog to Verilog conversion
svlint - System Verilog lint using rust
HDL Checker - HDL Checker is a language server that wraps VHDL/Verilg/SystemVerilog tools that aims to reduce the boilerplate code needed to set things up.
Wavedrom to ASCII converter - README embeddable waveforms!
RgGen - RgGen is a code generation tool for ASIC/IP/FPGA/RTL engineers. It will automatically generate soruce code related to configuration and status registers (CSR)
System RDL Compiler - The systemrdl-compiler module implements a generic compiler front-end for Accellera's SystemRDL 2.0 register description language.
Verismith - Verilog Fuzzer to test the major simulators and sythesisers by generating random, valid Verilog.
Jeff's ASIC tools - Useful tools for working with HDL
Static Timing Analysis Diagram Renderer - Altera Quartus/ Icestorm report parser
Bitfield/Register representations - Editable examples of registers
Verible - Verible is a suite of SystemVerilog developer tools, including a parser, style-linter, and formatter.
svinst - This tool takes a SystemVerilog file as input and produces as output the module(s) declared in that file, along with the module(s) instantiated in each one of those module declarations. It uses sv-parser and is adapted from svlint.
3. Misc
Hexyl - A command-line hex viewer
Scastie - Playground for Chisel 3: A Modern Hardware Design Language
vcdMaker - Open application for translating text log files into the VCD (Variable Change Dump) format files. It is supposed to help you to debug your applications and systems
ImHex - A Hex Editor for Reverse Engineers, Programmers
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