This is a script package I use to control ngspice, it can
- Run corner simulations
- Create IPs (used in wulffern/aicex )
- Create simulation directories
- View waveforms
| Version | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0.0.1 | First version of cicsim |
| 0.0.3 | All in on open source tools |
| 0.1.2 | First version on pipy |
| 0.1.3 | github action update |
| 0.1.4 | Added waveform viewer |
| 0.1.5 | Update waveform viewer |
| 0.1.6 | wave: added search. Added docs |
| 0.1.7 | Bugfix: ngraw deprecated float_ |
| 0.1.8 | Added template command |
| 0.1.9 | Bugfix: allow absolute path in template command |
| 0.1.11 | Added directory name option (dname) to template |
| 0.1.12 | Added sndrfs and enobfs to fftWithHanning |
| 0.1.13 | Added docs |
| 0.1.14 | Nothing exiting |
| 0.1.15 | Added "archive" command to save old simulations. Added "--no-color" option |
| 0.1.16 | Fixed ngspice-45 compatibility. Fixed regex escapes. Fixed seed value handling |
| 0.1.17 | Updated docs and spec |
| 0.1.18 | Code quality overhaul: replaced os.system with subprocess, replaced eval with ast.literal_eval, migrated to Python logging module, added documentation for all CLI commands, removed setup.py in favor of pyproject.toml |
| 0.1.19 | Wave viewer overhaul: measurement cursors (A/B) with delta readout, scroll-wheel zoom, keyboard shortcuts, engineering notation on axes (EngFormatter), Export PDF, legend toggle, regex search tooltip, Help menu. Fixed pyproject.toml license for Python 3.8. Added unit tests |
| 0.2.0 | New pyqtgraph backend (--backend pg): hierarchical wave browser, automatic dual Y-axes, GPU-accelerated rendering, closeable tabs, analysis functions (FFT/PSD, Histogram, Differentiate, X vs Y). Fixed AC analysis complex data plotting |
| 0.2.1 | Multi-format file support: CSV, TSV, Excel, JSON, Parquet, Feather, HDF5, Pickle, and more. --sheet option for Excel files. String/categorical axis support with rotated labels. Gradient (dy/dx) and slope in cursor readout. Double-click to plot. Regex signal picker for X vs Y |
| 0.2.2 | cicwave: fixed file selection, added zoom/line-width/font-size controls, statistics readout, session save/load, pivot support, dark theme, plot style selector, matplotlib export |
| 0.2.3 | cicwave: light/dark theme toggle, session and pivot documentation |
| 0.2.4 | cicwave: toggle wave visibility on double-click in browser |
| 0.2.5 | cicwave: fixed grid in light mode, improved zoom performance, fixed font warning |
| 0.2.6 | cicwave: drag-and-drop files, file menu, improved A/B cursor readout and X vs Y picker. Added GitHub release workflow |
| 0.2.7 | cicsim run: added --threads for parallel simulations, --progress for tqdm progress bar, --timeout to kill hung sims, rich terminal results table. Bug fixes: uninitialized error state, float parse errors in log, silent measurement failures, dead code removed. CI: dependabot, ruff lint on PRs, pinned action versions, automated PyPI publish |
| 0.2.8 | cicwave: lazy file loading (header-only on open) and pyarrow CSV reader for ~5× faster bulk loads, --glob option (repeatable, recursive), display-time downsampling and OpenGL acceleration for smoother zoom with many curves, right-drag rubber-band zoom, automatic unit detection from column suffixes (_MHz, [dBm], (V), ...), proper x/y axis labels on plot-all |
| 0.2.9 | cicwave: LitePoint .iqvsa IQ capture support; Windows desktop shortcut generator (scripts/make-cicwave-shortcut.ps1); cicwavew GUI entry point (no console window when launched from a shortcut); File -> Export Data... (Ctrl+E) writes plotted traces to CSV / TSV / Parquet / Feather / HDF5, honouring the current x-zoom |
If you want to follow the latest and greatest
git clone https://github.com/wulffern/cicsim
cd cicsim
python3 -m pip install --user -e . If you want the latest stable
python3 -m pip install cicsimHead over to Sky130nm tutorial to see cicsim in action.
A standalone cicwave command is available that defaults to the pyqtgraph
backend. It is equivalent to cicsim wave --backend pg.
# Standalone command (defaults to pg backend)
cicwave output_tran/tran_SchGtTtKffVh_*
# Or via cicsim subcommand
cicsim wave output_tran/tran_SchGtTtKffVh_* # tkinter backend
cicsim wave --backend pg output_tran/tran_SchGtTtKffVh_* # pyqtgraph backendSupported file formats: .raw (ngspice), .vcd, .prn (Xyce),
.iqvsa (LitePoint VSA capture), .csv, .tsv, .txt, .xlsx,
.xls, .ods, .json, .parquet, .feather, .h5, .hdf5, .pkl,
.pickle, .html, .xml, .fwf, .dta, .sas7bdat, .sav.
# Open CSV / Excel files
cicwave data.csv
cicwave data.xlsx --sheet "Sheet2"
# Open many files via a glob (works on PowerShell too; supports **)
cicwave --glob "results/*.csv"
cicwave --glob "out/**/*.raw"Files are opened lazily (header-only) and parsed with pyarrow, so dropping
hundreds of large CSV files into the viewer is fast. Column-name unit
suffixes like _MHz, [dBm], (V) are detected automatically and used
for axis labels and engineering-notation tick formatting.
To launch cicwave without opening a terminal, generate a Windows
shortcut from the repo:
# From the repo root
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\make-cicwave-shortcut.ps1
# -> creates scripts\cicwave.lnk; drag it to Desktop / Start menu / taskbar.
# Or drop it straight onto the Desktop:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\make-cicwave-shortcut.ps1 -OnDesktopThe script prefers cicwavew.exe (the GUI wrapper, no console window)
over cicwave.exe and uses cicsim/cicwave.ico as the icon. Pass
-WithConsole if you want the shortcut to launch the console build
(useful for seeing startup log output).
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
A |
Set cursor A at mouse position |
B |
Set cursor B at mouse position |
Escape |
Clear cursors |
F |
Auto scale (fit) |
R |
Reload all waves |
L |
Toggle legend |
Ctrl+O |
Open file |
Ctrl+P |
Export PDF / PNG / SVG |
Ctrl+E |
Export plotted data (CSV / TSV / Parquet / Feather / HDF5) |
Ctrl+N |
New plot tab (pg) |
Ctrl+W |
Close current tab (pg) |
Ctrl+Q |
Quit |
| Scroll | Zoom x-axis |
| Shift+Scroll | Zoom y-axis |
| Right-drag | Rubber-band zoom rectangle (pg) |
| Shift+Right-drag | Pan x-axis (pg) |
| Ctrl+Right-drag | Pan y-axis (pg) |
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| FFT / PSD | Power spectral density in dB with Hanning window |
| Histogram | Distribution with Gaussian fit, mean and sigma |
| Differentiate | Numerical dy/dx |
| X vs Y | Parametric plot with regex signal picker |
Usage: cicsim [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
Custom Integrated Circuit Simulation
This package provides helper scripts for simulating integrated circuits
Check website for more information : http://analogicus.com/cicsim/
Options:
--color / --no-color Enable/Disable color output
--help Show this message and exit.
Commands:
archive Save a cicsim run output
plot Plot from rawfile
portreplace Replace ${PORTS} and ${VPORTS} with the subcircuit ports...
results Results of single runfile
run Run a ngspice simulation of TESTBENCH
simcell Create a ngspice simulation directory for a Cell
srun Run a spectre simulation of TESTBENCH
summary Generate simulation summary for results
template Run an IP template with <options> YAML file
wave Open waveform viewer
Key options for run:
--threads N Run N simulations in parallel
--progress Show tqdm progress bar instead of interleaved logs
--timeout N Kill any simulation that runs longer than N seconds
--sha / --no-sha Skip re-running simulations whose input files haven't changed
--count N Run each corner N times (Monte Carlo)
A standalone command is also available:
Usage: cicwave [OPTIONS] [FILES]...
Waveform viewer (standalone). Defaults to the pyqtgraph backend.
Options:
--glob TEXT Glob pattern (repeatable, supports ** for recursion)
--x TEXT Specify x-axis
--backend [tk|pg] GUI backend (default: pg)
--sheet TEXT Sheet name for Excel files
--pivot TEXT Pivot spec file (YAML/JSON)
--pivot-info Print pivot dimensions and exit
--session TEXT Load session file (.cicwave.yaml)
--export TEXT Export plot to file (PDF/PNG/SVG) and exit
--help Show this message and exit.