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Quick Start for InTime in Tcl Mode

Start InTime

Using a command line shell, a typical way to start InTime is as such below

intime.sh -mode batch -project <proj> -s intimeflow.tcl

For Vivado users

  • For project-mode, use a XPR file for the <proj> option.
  • For non-project mode-, use the a tcl build script for the <proj> option.

Tip

You can skip toolchain configuration if the environmental variables has already been set up. Simply start InTime with the -tc <toolchain name>. Example: intime.sh -tc vivado. It will pick up the right toolchain automatically. See this kb - Auto-detect FPGA toolchain and license information

Configure the InTime license and FPGA tool

Refer to single seat configuration page to specify the license in the script and configure the toolchain.

You can skip toolchain configuration if the environmental variables have already been set up. Simply start InTime with the -tc <toolchain name>. It will pick up the right toolchain automatically. Refer to the Quick Setup page.

Example: to automatically register the toolchain for vivado, 

$ ./intime.sh -tc vivado

Writing the Tcl script

This is a sample script which works in Windows & Linux environments. You can download it from Plunify's github account.

# Adjust the run_target, runs_per_round according to your recipe
flow reset
flow set run_target local
flow set runs_per_round 2
flow set rounds 1
flow set concurrent_runs 1
flow set control_create_bitstreams false
flow load_recipe "hot_start"
flow run_recipe "hot_start"

Tip

Plunify recommends starting with the Hot Start recipe at the beginning for Vivado, Quartus and Libero, and the InTime Default recipe for ISE.

Understanding the script

  1. Reset the flow. This prevents an earlier job settings from affecting this new job.
  2. Set the run_target to local. This will run locally in the machine instead of being distributed to other InTime capable machines
  3. Set the number of runs (builds) per round to 2
  4. Set the rounds to 1
  5. Do not create bitstream
  6. Start the "hot_start" recipe

For more information about flow properties such as run_target, please refer to Flow Properties.