tapeout-checklist

name	tapeout-checklist
description	Run the final pre-tapeout gate — confirm DRC, LVS, STA, IR-drop, EM, antenna, ERC, LEC, DFT coverage, and documentation are all green or explicitly waived before GDS hand-off. Use when the user says "tapeout", "tape-out", "sign-off checklist", "GDS release", "ready for fab".

Tapeout Checklist

Doctrine (v0.1.50): 把修法寫進工具，而非寫進 prompt。 Mandatory program preflight first; AI is the backstop, not the lead.

Tape-out is a one-way door. This skill is the last-mile gate: every signoff item must be accounted for, with either a green status or a documented waiver approved by a named engineer.

Mandatory Deterministic Preflight

Run all four programs and read their JSON outputs BEFORE narrating any tape-out readiness verdict:

# 1. The flow-compliance gate is the SOLE final criterion (see § next):
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/flow_compliance_check.py \
    <project_dir> --strict

# 2. Tapeout checklist generation:
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/tapeout_checklist_gen.py <project>

# 3. Signoff audit aggregates DRC/LVS/STA verdicts:
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/signoff_audit.py <project>

# 4. Foundry signoff plan + (if analog) mixed-signal signoff:
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/foundry_signoff_plan_check.py <project>
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/mixed_signal_signoff_check.py <project>

Plus, for chipignite-style submissions, the signoff-waiver pair from the v0.1.49 doctrine sweep:

# 5. Waiver schema + content gate (HONESTY: refuses 'ai'/'agent' approver):
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/signoff_waiver_emit.py \
    --validate-only --strict < signoff/waivers/*.json

# 6. Static IR-drop numeric BUDGET gate (max drop < pct*Vdd):
python3 plugins/vibe-ic/programs/ir_drop_budget_check.py \
    <ir_report_or_dir> --vdd <V> --budget-pct 10

Refuse to claim tape-out-ready if any of these returns non-zero or FAIL. Only after ALL pass can the narrative proceed.

⛔ PHASE 2+3 SOLE ACCEPTANCE CRITERION (READ FIRST)

This skill produces tapeout_signoff_check.json. That gate alone is NOT sufficient to claim Phase 2+3 complete.

The ONLY valid completion signal for the full design flow is:

python3 vibe-ic/programs/flow_compliance_check.py <project_dir> --strict

returning ONE of three verdict states:

• Overall: PASS — every canonical step actually executed. Tape-out ready.
• Overall: PASS_WITH_WAIVERS — structurally complete BUT N step(s) DEFERRED. NOT tape-out ready in the foundry sense. Foundry-side sign-off must close every waiver on the commercial PDK + commercial sign-off deck before fab takes the GDS.
• Overall: FAIL — incomplete.

flow_compliance_check covers what tapeout_signoff_check does NOT: SPEF parasitic extraction, post-route MCMM STA, IR/EM/antenna/SI sign-off, post-layout gate-sim, SPICE correlation, ECO, metal fill, FPGA final recompile, and analog A1-A8. Skipping these and claiming "tapeout signoff PASS" because the 4-item gate is green is a process violation.

Waiver semantics: a waiver is DEFERRED open work not PASS. When summarising a PASS_WITH_WAIVERS run to a user, never say "all N steps PASS". Always disambiguate executed PASS from deferred via waiver.

Before declaring tape-out ready, always end with:

python3 vibe-ic/programs/flow_compliance_check.py <project_dir> --strict 2>&1 | tail -10

and paste the output into FINAL_REPORT.md. If PASS_WITH_WAIVERS, also enumerate every waiver (id, reason, ticket) inline in the report — do not bury them in the JSON file.

When to use

• Final 1–2 weeks before GDS release
• After the final ECO
• As a nightly regression item for any design in the "tapeout window"

Checklist categories (must all be green or waived)

Every mechanical row below is a deterministic program — the integer counts, numeric thresholds, corner-slack comparisons and file-presence assertions are NOT re-judged in prose. Run the program; read its JSON.

1. Functional
   • RTL regression 100% pass + coverage ≥ target (code/functional/assertion) — enforced by programs/coverage_metric_check.py (and the analog/ state variants) + programs/signoff_audit.py.
   • Formal properties all proven or bounded — enforced by programs/ assertion_property_check.py.
   • LEC RTL↔netlist clean — enforced by programs/lec_equivalence_check.py.
2. Timing
   • STA setup/hold/recovery/removal + min-pulse-width / max-transition / max-cap clean across all MCMM corners — enforced by programs/ sta_report_check.py (+ programs/corner_coverage_audit.py for MCMM completeness).
3. Power integrity
   • Static IR-drop < budget (typical 5–10% Vdd) — enforced by programs/ ir_drop_budget_check.py (numeric max_drop < pct·Vdd gate; presence/ authenticity by programs/ir_drop_report_check.py; hotspot causes by programs/ir_drop_triage_classify.py).
   • EM current density < library limit — enforced by programs/ em_report_check.py.
4. Physical
   • DRC 0 errors (or waivers signed) — enforced by programs/ drc_report_check.py.
   • LVS clean — enforced by programs/lvs_report_check.py / programs/lvs_signoff_guard.py.
   • Antenna DRC clean — enforced by programs/antenna_report_check.py.
   • Density rules clean (min/max metal density) — enforced by programs/ metal_fill_density_check.py.
   • ERC clean — enforced by programs/erc_density_check.py.
5. Test (DFT data missing = FAIL, not SKIP — v0.100 K3) — FOUNDRY / ATE bar
   • Scan ATPG stuck-at coverage ≥ foundry floor (95 %, up to 98 %); a lenient written target is clamped UP to the floor; missing DFT report = FAIL — enforced by programs/dft_atpg_coverage_check.py (no SKIP path; recomputed, never a trusted self-asserted boolean).
   • Transition (at-speed / launch-off-capture) coverage ≥ target, OR a DOCUMENTED OSS-engine limitation (Fault is stuck-at-only — never a fabricated at-speed number) — emitted by programs/fault_atpg_run.py (transition block + transition_atpg_plan.md).
   • MBIST integrated/simulated + boundary-scan BSDL present for a padded design (bare core → honest N/A) — emitted + gated by programs/bsdl_emit.py (BSDL + boundary-scan-cell-per-pad plan).
   • The three roll up into programs/dft_signoff_check.py (aggregate DFT sign-off: stuck-at + transition + BSDL; absent evidence FAILs honestly).
6. Power intent
   • UPF consistency across synth / P&R / STA / sim
   • All isolation + level-shifter cells in place
7. Documentation
   • Pin list frozen; package / bond diagram matches pad ring; release notes, change log, waiver log complete — file-presence inventory enforced by programs/tapeout_checklist_gen.py.
8. Release
   • GDS stream-out (Calibre + KLayout), md5 checksum recorded, fab-specific deliverables bundled — enforced by programs/signoff_audit.py + programs/foundry_handoff_package_check.py.

Workflow

The mechanical green/red verdict for every row above is produced by the programs (run them first). The AI's residual job — the part that stays judgment, not a program — is:

1. Waiver risk assessment. The waiver schema/honesty gate (id + reason + ticket present, approver not ai/agent/self) is the program waiver_legitimacy_check.py / signoff_waiver_emit.py. Whether a waiver's mitigation is technically credible and the residual risk is acceptable for fab is a substantive engineering judgment that no regex can make — assess it here.
2. Route each red item back to its owning sub-skill (/sta-review, /drc-fix, /ir-drop-triage, /lvs-triage, …) and decide ordering.
3. Author the management-facing go/no-go narrative that synthesizes the heterogeneous program JSON into one sign-off recommendation.
4. Block tape-out if any red without an accepted waiver.

Output format

• tapeout/checklist.md — the table above with status + evidence links
• tapeout/waivers.md — every waiver with owner, rationale, risk assessment
• tapeout/release.md — GDS release note

Technical basis

Standard pre-tapeout flows at commercial foundries (TSMC, Samsung, GF) require this category of checklist. Open reference: Efabless tapeout docs for shuttle runs (https://efabless.com/).

Handoff

• Any red item routes back to its owning skill (/sta-review, /drc-fix, etc.)
• After full green → GDS release

Compliance gate (mandatory)

After producing your output, save it to a file and run:

python3 plugins/vibe-ic/_shared/skill_compliance_check.py \
    --requirements plugins/vibe-ic/skills/tapeout-checklist/compliance.yaml \
    <your_output_file>

Exit 0 = PASS, exit 1 = FAIL with specific missing elements listed. compliance.yaml in the corresponding skill directory enumerates every required element of your output: section headers, metadata fields, handoff lines, tool invocations.

Your task is not complete until the audit returns PASS. Missing elements are the single largest source of skill-execution non-determinism across different agents.