Installation¶
How to install Anvil and the external tools it drives. Pick the guide for your platform:
- Ubuntu (native) — bare-metal or VM Linux
- WSL2 — Windows; one helper script sets up the distro, then installs (adds USB forwarding)
- Docker — not available yet (no image exists)
After installing, verify everything from one command:
Updating¶
Update the whole toolchain (Anvil + dependencies) to the latest tested set:
This re-runs the installer, which
is idempotent: it moves Anvil to its latest published release and picks up any
bumped dependency versions. The long integration build is skipped by default
(anvil doctor still runs); pass flags through, e.g. anvil update --minimal.
Checking your version¶
Dependencies at a glance¶
Anvil itself is pure-Python (standard library only) — the "dependencies" are the external CLI tools it invokes.
| Tool | Needed for | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Python 3.6+ | running anvil |
yes |
| F4PGA + Conda | synthesis & place/route (anvil synth) |
yes |
| sv2v | SystemVerilog → Verilog (every build) | yes |
| Icarus Verilog | simulation (anvil test) |
optional |
| openFPGALoader | flashing the board (anvil program) |
optional |
| RISC-V toolchain | SoC firmware (anvil compile) |
optional |
| usbipd-win | forwarding USB to WSL (Windows host only) | WSL only |