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HSB IP Def

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Streamline HSB macro generation and validation.

by nvidia2.8k stars on nvidia/skills
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Updated Aug 7, 2026
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What HSB IP Def does

The HSB IP Def skill provides a structured approach to managing and generating HOLOLINK_def.svh macros, which are essential for HSB IP integration. This skill allows users to generate new definition files based on confirmed board requirements, validate existing files to ensure compliance with standards, explain the functionality and legality of macros, and compare different definition files semantically. It is particularly useful for developers and designers working with HSB IP, as it simplifies the workflow and enhances accuracy in macro management.

The skill operates through four primary workflows: generation, validation, explanation, and comparison. Users can generate a new HOLOLINK_def.svh by answering a series of guided questions, ensuring that all requirements are met before proceeding. The validation process checks existing files against a set of predefined rules, providing detailed feedback on any errors or warnings encountered. Additionally, the skill offers explanations about macro semantics and their implications, helping users understand the intricacies of HSB IP design.

This skill is built on a foundation of Python scripts that interface with the user's local environment. It requires Python 3.9 or higher and utilizes PyYAML for reading YAML profiles. Users must confirm any file writes or shell commands to maintain control over their environment. The skill is designed to be secure, ensuring that any temporary files created during validation are cleaned up after use, unless the user specifies otherwise.

Overall, the HSB IP Def skill is ideal for engineers and designers engaged in HSB IP projects who need a reliable tool for managing macro definitions and ensuring compliance with design requirements. Its structured workflows and validation capabilities facilitate a more efficient development process, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving the quality of the final output.

When to use it

Use this skill when you need to create, validate, or compare HSB IP definition files in your workflow.

When not to use it

This skill is not suitable for generating top-level FPGA wrappers or for packetizer-only derivation tasks.

What you can build with it

Generating a New Macro Definition

When tasked with creating a new `HOLOLINK_def.svh`, the skill guides you through the requirements, ensuring all necessary parameters are confirmed.

Validating Existing Definitions

If you have an existing `HOLOLINK_def.svh`, the skill can validate it against standard rules, highlighting any errors or warnings for correction.

Comparing Macro Definitions

When needing to understand the differences between two macro definitions, the skill provides a semantic comparison to clarify changes.

How to install HSB IP Def

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add nvidia/skills/hsb-ip-def --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by nvidia

HSB IP Def Skill

Purpose

Use this skill through four workflows:

  • Generate a HOLOLINK_def.svh from confirmed board requirements.
  • Validate an existing def file with the bundled validator.
  • Explain / Reason about HSB IP macros, legality, and macro-driven ports.
  • Compare two def files semantically.

Scope

This skill owns the contents of HOLOLINK_def.svh: \definedirectives,localparamarrays, theHOLOLINK_pkgwrapper, and boot-timeinit_reg[]sequence. The surrounding top-level wrapper is owned byhsb-ip-create-top; packetizer-only profile derivation can be delegated to hsb-ip-packetizer`.

The file must use the standard guard plus package HOLOLINK_pkg wrapper. Load references/macro-reference.md for the full wrapper requirement and per-macro semantics.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9+ is required for the bundled scripts; PyYAML is required when reading YAML profiles.
  • The user must confirm file writes and shell commands unless they already asked for that exact operation.
  • A concrete def file path, pasted content, or confirmed generation profile is required before script-backed validation or generation.
  • Live HSB IP source is optional but preferred when validating against a specific checked-out IP revision.

Instructions

  • Run bundled script preflight from references/script-usage.md before Generate, Validate, Compare, or script-backed legality checks.
  • Never silently default a macro during Generate. Show the proposed value or inferred requirement and get user confirmation.
  • Ask one requirements question per turn during chat-driven Generate.
  • Use sensor-agnostic language unless the user says the design is camera-specific.
  • Avoid unsupported "typical", "common", "most designs", or corpus-frequency claims. Anchor choices to IP behavior, documented constraints, or user requirements.
  • Always surface HD-W3xx footgun warnings, even when the user asks only about errors.
  • Do not generate FPGA_top.sv; offer handoff to hsb-ip-create-top after a generated def file is validated.
  • Treat unfamiliar macros as project-specific unless they are documented in this skill's references or live HSB IP source.

Security Considerations

This skill can read and write local files and run shell commands through its bundled scripts. Before running a command or writing a file, state the command or path and get user confirmation unless the user already explicitly requested that exact operation. For pasted HOLOLINK_def.svh content, write only to a safely generated file in an isolated temporary directory and remove it after validation unless the user asks to keep it.

Version, Compatibility, And Live Source

This skill targets HSB IP rev 16'h2604 and is backward-compatible with 16'h2603. Live HSB IP source supersedes bundled references.

When source-sensitive behavior matters:

  1. Locate <hsb-ip-root>/top/HOLOLINK_top.sv. Known roots include hw/nvcpu_dgx_fpga/vrtl/hololink/ and public-release fpga/nv_hsb_ip/.
  2. Read HOLOLINK_REV and HOLOLINK_BACKWARD_COMPAT_REV.
  3. Trust live source for consumed macros, port gates, and RTL behavior when it differs from bundled references.
  4. Pass --ip-source <root> to scripts/validate_def.py when validating against a known source root.

Public-doc baseline:

  • https://github.com/nvidia-holoscan/holoscan-sensor-bridge/blob/release-2.6.0-EA/docs/user_guide/ip_integration.md
  • https://github.com/nvidia-holoscan/holoscan-sensor-bridge/blob/release-2.6.0-EA/docs/user_guide/port_description.md

Workflow Decision

  1. Generate when the user asks to create, scaffold, draft, design, or produce a HOLOLINK_def.svh.
  2. Validate when the user asks to lint, check, validate, or review a HOLOLINK_def.svh.
  3. Explain / Reason when the user asks what a macro does, whether a combination is legal, why validation fails, or how a macro affects HOLOLINK_top.
  4. Compare when the user asks to diff two def files or understand what changed between configurations.

Generate

Load references/generate-workflow.md and references/script-usage.md.

Follow the detailed Generate workflow in the reference: run preflight, classify supplied requirements, ask one requirements question per turn, build a flat YAML profile, run scripts/generate_def.py, show provenance for generated fields, and offer handoff to hsb-ip-create-top.

When packetizer fields are needed, invoke hsb-ip-packetizer with the known RX count, RX widths, and the user's data-manipulation description. Consume only that skill's packetizer_profile_overlay YAML keys, merge them into the in-progress profile, and continue full-file generation and validation here.

Validate

Load references/script-usage.md. Load references/validation-rules.md only when explaining specific rule IDs or validation behavior.

Steps:

  1. Run bundled script preflight once per session.
  2. Locate the file. If the user pastes content, tell them the generated temporary path before writing, ask for confirmation, use an isolated safe temp path, and clean it up after validation unless they ask to keep it. Otherwise use the provided path.
  3. Run <PY> scripts/validate_def.py <path> --json and do not reimplement validation in context.
  4. Group findings by severity: errors, warnings, then info. For each error, cite rule ID, line number, and macro when available.
  5. Always surface footgun warnings, especially HD-W3xx silent-fallback warnings.
  6. If clean, confirm the inferred archetype and IP version, then suggest the likely next check or handoff.

Explain / Reason

Load only the reference needed for the question:

Question typeReference
Macro semantics or legal valuesreferences/macro-reference.md
Validation rule behaviorreferences/validation-rules.md
Macro-driven port effectsreferences/top-port-map.md
init_reg[] and N_INIT_REGreferences/init-reg-cookbook.md
Advanced macrosreferences/advanced-macros.md
Example legal configurationsreferences/archetypes.md

For grounded legality questions, run preflight and prefer validating a concrete file or minimal synthetic file with scripts/validate_def.py over hand reasoning. Cite RTL line ranges from references when explaining why a rule exists.

Compare

Load references/script-usage.md, run preflight, then use <PY> scripts/compare_defs.py <a.svh> <b.svh> [--json|--text]. Summarize semantic differences, not whitespace or comment-only changes.

Limitations

  • Do not generate FPGA_top.sv; use hsb-ip-create-top after the defs file validates.
  • Do not derive packetizer-only field sets here when the packetizer behavior is underspecified; delegate that slice to hsb-ip-packetizer.
  • Do not treat bundled archetypes or corpus metadata as norms. They are examples and maintenance metadata, not defaults.
  • Do not silently accept unknown macros as validated HSB IP behavior unless live source or references document them.

Troubleshooting

  • Script preflight fails: report the missing Python or PyYAML requirement and stop before generation or validation.
  • Validation reports errors: group by severity, cite rule ID and line, and fix the defs file before offering top-level handoff.
  • Validation reports HD-W3xx warnings: surface them even when there are no errors because they describe silent RTL fallback risks.
  • Unknown macro appears: treat it as project-specific unless live HSB IP source or bundled references document it.

Available Scripts

Use <PY> selected during preflight from references/script-usage.md for every command.

ScriptPurposeArguments
scripts/generate_def.pyGenerate HOLOLINK_def.svh from an archetype and/or YAML/JSON profile; validates before writing--profile <path>, --archetype <slug>, -o <output>, optional --allow-random-uuid compatibility flag
scripts/validate_def.pyValidate a HOLOLINK_def.svh and emit JSON or text findings<path/to/HOLOLINK_def.svh>, optional --json or --text, optional --ip-source <root>
scripts/compare_defs.pyCompare two def files semantically, ignoring whitespace/comment-only changes<a.svh> <b.svh>, optional --json or --text
scripts/build_corpus_metadata.pyMaintenance helper to rebuild anonymized corpus metadata; do not run during normal user workflows<path1> [<path2> ...]

Bundled Resources

ResourceUse
references/generate-workflow.mdDetailed Generate workflow, requirement order, question style, and per-topic prompt guidance
references/script-usage.mdPreflight, command forms, and run_script() examples for bundled scripts
references/macro-reference.mdWrapper requirement, macro semantics, legal constraints, and RTL citations
references/validation-rules.mdRule catalog for validator findings
references/archetypes.mdIllustrative legal configurations; never treat as templates or frequency guidance
references/init-reg-cookbook.mdBoot-time APB write sequence patterns and address conventions
references/top-port-map.mdMacro-to-HOLOLINK_top port effects
references/advanced-macros.mdSYNC_CLK_HIF_APB, SYNC_CLK_HIF_PTP, PERI_RAM_DEPTH, and DISABLE_COE
assets/metadata/corpus.json, assets/metadata/corpus-stats.jsonMaintenance metadata only; do not cite corpus counts as user guidance
scripts/generate_def.pyGenerate a def file from a profile
scripts/validate_def.pyValidate a def file and emit JSON/text findings
scripts/compare_defs.pyCompare two def files semantically

Examples

  • Use hsb-ip-def to generate a HOLOLINK_def.svh for a new HSB board. Treat as Generate, run script preflight, classify supplied requirements, ask one requirement question per turn, and run scripts/generate_def.py only after the profile is confirmed.
  • Use hsb-ip-def to validate my existing HOLOLINK_def.svh and tell me whether any warnings are important. Treat as Validate, ask for or locate the file, run scripts/validate_def.py <path> --json, group findings by errors, warnings, and info, and always surface HD-W3xx footgun warnings.
  • Use hsb-ip-def to explain whether HOST_WIDTH=512 and PTP_CLK_FREQ=90_000_000 is legal. Treat as Explain / Reason, prefer a concrete validator-backed check over hand reasoning, and load only the macro or validation reference needed to explain the result.

Frequently asked questions about HSB IP Def

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