spectre

name

spectre

description

Run Cadence Spectre simulations remotely via virtuoso-bridge: upload netlists, execute, parse PSF results. TRIGGER when the user wants to run a SPICE/Spectre simulation from a netlist file, do transient/AC/PSS/pnoise analysis outside Virtuoso GUI, parse PSF waveform data, run multiple simulations in parallel across one or more servers, check simulation job status, or mentions Spectre APS/AXS modes. Also triggers for sim-jobs, sim-cancel, or parallel/concurrent simulation requests. Use this for standalone netlist-driven simulation — for GUI-based ADE Maestro simulation, use the virtuoso skill instead.

Spectre Skill

Upload a .scs netlist to a remote machine via SSH, run Spectre, download and parse PSF results into Python dicts. Independent of VirtuosoClient — no GUI needed.

Before you start

1. virtuoso-bridge is a Python CLI — installed via pip install -e virtuoso-bridge-lite.
2. virtuoso-bridge status — check connection, Spectre path, license
3. Check examples/02_spectre/ — use existing examples as a basis
4. .env must have VB_CADENCE_CSHRC set (can live in project root or virtuoso-bridge-lite dir)

Core pattern

from virtuoso_bridge.spectre.runner import SpectreSimulator, spectre_mode_args

sim = SpectreSimulator.from_env(
    spectre_args=spectre_mode_args("ax"),  # APS extended (recommended)
    work_dir="./output",
)
result = sim.run_simulation("my_netlist.scs", {})

if result.ok:
    vout = result.data["VOUT"]
else:
    print(result.errors)

With Verilog-A includes:

result = sim.run_simulation("tb_adc.scs", {"include_files": ["adc.va", "dac.va"]})

Result object

Attribute	Content
result.ok	Whether simulation succeeded
result.data	{"signal_name": [float, ...]} parsed waveforms
result.errors	Error messages (short, classified)
result.metadata["timings"]	Upload, exec, download, parse durations
result.metadata["output_dir"]	Local path to .raw directory

Parallel simulation

Submit simulations that run concurrently — each gets its own remote directory, no conflicts. For full API and multi-server setup, read references/parallel.md.

t1 = sim.submit(Path("tb_comp.scs"))    # returns Future immediately
t2 = sim.submit(Path("tb_dac.scs"))     # submit more anytime
result = t1.result()                     # block on one
results = SpectreSimulator.wait_all([t1, t2])  # or wait for batch

Simulation modes

spectre_mode_args("spectre")  # basic (least license demand)
spectre_mode_args("aps")      # APS
spectre_mode_args("ax")       # APS extended (recommended)
spectre_mode_args("cx")       # Spectre X custom

References

Load when needed — these contain detailed API docs:

• references/netlist_syntax.md — Spectre netlist format, analysis statements, parameterization
• references/parallel.md — Parallel simulation, multi-server, CLI job management, .env configuration

Examples

• examples/02_spectre/01_inverter_tran.py — inverter transient
• examples/02_spectre/01_veriloga_adc_dac.py — 4-bit ADC/DAC with Verilog-A
• examples/02_spectre/02_cap_dc_ac.py — capacitor DC + AC
• examples/02_spectre/04_strongarm_pss_pnoise.py — StrongArm PSS + Pnoise

Related skills

• virtuoso — GUI-based Virtuoso workflow (schematic/layout, ADE Maestro). Use when working inside Virtuoso GUI.