ucs_setup_fix

Usage Guide — Single-Corner Setup ECO Fix (Perl)

Script	ucs_setup_fix
Version	4.2
Modified	2026-03-31
Purpose	Parse setup timing reports and generate setup ECO recommendations
Environment	Standalone Perl (packaged executable), RHEL7 / RHEL8
Support	tech@universalchipstudio.com

Quick Nav: Features Quick Start Published Paths Options Strategies Filters Output Examples

Key Features

Multi-Format Report Parsing — Supports PrimeTime, Innovus, and Stylus timing report formats with automatic format detection. Handles compressed (.gz) and uncompressed files.
Five Fix Strategies — worst_slack, bottleneck (occurrence-first), max_delay (worst-delay-first), path_count, and all (every cell in every path). Guarantees at least N successfully sized cells per path.
Intelligent Cell Sizing — size_up (increase drive, maintain VT), swap_vt (change VT, maintain drive), or both. JSON cell library with embedded CellSizer module. Configurable sizing levels (1–4).
Rich Cell & Instance Filters — do_use / dont_use (with wildcard * / ? support), dont_touch instance protection, size_only / swap_only constraints per instance or reference cell, max_size_pin_count guard.
Parallel Report Parsing — -jobs N forks N workers for concurrent report parsing, significantly reducing runtime when processing many corner/mode reports. Falls back to sequential when N=1.

Quick Start

# Bottleneck strategy (default) — fix 1 high-occurrence cell per path
ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib lib.json

# Max delay: fix 3 worst delay cells per path
ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib lib.json \
    -strategy max_delay -num_cells 3

# Combined methods with custom output name and parallel parsing
ucs_setup_fix -report "rpt/*.rpt.gz" -ref_lib lib.json \
    -strategy bottleneck -method size_up,swap_vt \
    -output my_eco -jobs 4

Published Paths

Location	Path
Source	`verified/sta/setup/perl_modular/bin/ucs_setup_fix.pl` + `lib/SetupUtils.pm`
RHEL7 executable	`publish/redhat7/sta/setup/perl_modular/bin/ucs_setup_fix`
RHEL8 executable	`publish/redhat8/sta/setup/perl_modular/bin/ucs_setup_fix`

Options

Required

Option	Type	Description
`-report`	string	Timing report file path or glob pattern. Supports compressed (`.gz`) files. required repeatable
`-ref_lib`	string	JSON cell library file (produced by `ucs_dump_lib_cell_attribute.tcl`). required

Input & Parsing

Option	Type	Default	Description
`-type`	string	setup	Input type: `setup` (timing report) or `cell_list` (flat cell list).
`-format`	string	auto	Report format: `auto`, `pt` (PrimeTime), or `innovus_stylus`. Auto-detection examines the report header.
`-path_split_marker`	string	Startpoint:	Line marker used to split timing paths in the report.
`-jobs`	integer	1	Number of parallel worker processes for report parsing. Set >1 for multi-file speedup.

Fix Strategy & Method

Option	Type	Default	Description
`-strategy`	string	bottleneck	Fix priority strategy: `worst_slack`, `bottleneck`, `max_delay`, `path_count`, or `all`.
`-method`	string	size_up	Sizing method: `size_up`, `swap_vt`, or comma-separated combo `size_up,swap_vt`.
`-level`	integer	1	Sizing level (1–4). Higher levels attempt larger cell jumps.
`-num_cells`	integer	1	Target number of successfully sized cells per path.
`-slack`	float	0	Slack window: only paths with WNS below this value are considered.
`-ps_threshold`	float	—	Minimum slack improvement threshold in ps to accept a fix.

Cell & Instance Filters

Option	Type	Default	Description
`-do_use`	string	—	Whitelist file: only cells listed here are eligible candidates. Applied before `dont_use`.
`-dont_use`	string	—	Blacklist file: cells listed here are excluded from candidates. Supports wildcards (`` and `?`), e.g. `ELVT`, `*ULVT`.
`-dont_touch`	string	—	Instance protection file: instances listed here are never modified.
`-size_only_inst`	string	—	Instance constraint file: listed instances allow drive sizing only (no VT swap).
`-swap_only_inst`	string	—	Instance constraint file: listed instances allow VT swap only (no drive sizing).
`-size_only_ref`	string	—	Reference cell constraint file: listed reference cells allow drive sizing only.
`-swap_only_ref`	string	—	Reference cell constraint file: listed reference cells allow VT swap only.
`-max_size_pin_count`	integer	9	Cells with more than N input pins are restricted to VT swap only (no drive sizing).

Output

Option	Type	Default	Description
`-output`	string	auto	Custom output basename. Generates `<basename>.tcl`, `<basename>.log`, `<basename>.txt`. If omitted, auto-generates UCS timestamped names.
`-eco_mode`	string	catch	ECO Tcl command format: `catch` (wrapped in catch for safety) or `ucs_size_cell`.
`-debug`	flag	off	Enable debug output.
`-verbose`	flag	off	Enable verbose progress output.
`--help` / `-h`	flag	—	Show help and exit.

Wildcard support in dont_use: The -dont_use file supports shell-style wildcards. Each line is a pattern matched against cell names. For example, *ELVT excludes all cells ending in ELVT, *ULVT excludes all ULVT cells, and BUFFD?BWP* matches any single-character drive BUF cells.

Fix Strategies

Strategy	Sort Key	Behavior
`bottleneck`	Occurrence DESC, max_delay DESC	Fix high-impact cells first (cells appearing in the most paths). Maximizes path coverage with minimum cell changes.
`max_delay`	Max delay DESC, occurrence DESC	Fix worst-delay cells first. Targets cells with the largest timing contribution.
`worst_slack`	Worst slack ASC	Fix cells on the most critical paths first.
`path_count`	Path count DESC	Fix cells present in the most paths.
`all`	—	Attempt to size every unique cell from every path. No coverage-based stopping.

Output Files

File	Content
`<basename>.tcl`	ECO Tcl commands (`size_cell` wrapped in `catch`, or `ucs_size_cell`)
`<basename>.log`	Detailed log with coverage statistics, path analysis, and sizing decisions
`<basename>.txt`	Summary report with cell-level and path-level statistics

Usage Examples

Default Bottleneck Fix

ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json

Fix 1 high-occurrence cell per path using the bottleneck strategy.

Max Delay with Multiple Cells

ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json \
    -strategy max_delay -num_cells 5

Fix the 5 worst-delay cells per path.

Combined Methods with Whitelist and Blacklist

ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json \
    -method size_up,swap_vt \
    -do_use allowed_cells.txt \
    -dont_use blocked_cells.txt

Try both size_up and swap_vt, using only whitelisted cells minus blacklisted cells.

Parallel Parsing with Custom Output

ucs_setup_fix -report "rpt/*.rpt.gz" -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json \
    -strategy bottleneck -num_cells 2 \
    -output corner_ff -jobs 8

Parse all matching report files with 8 workers, output as corner_ff.tcl / corner_ff.log / corner_ff.txt.

Instance Protection and Constraints

ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json \
    -dont_touch protected_instances.txt \
    -size_only_inst drive_only.txt \
    -swap_only_ref vt_swap_refs.txt \
    -max_size_pin_count 6

Level 2 Sizing with All Strategy

ucs_setup_fix -report setup.rpt -ref_lib tsmc_n3c.json \
    -strategy all -method size_up,swap_vt -level 2

Aggressive fix: attempt every cell with 2-step sizing jumps.