How do I install the Sim Setup skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add deanyou/sim-setup in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Sim Setup safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Sim Setup?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Sim Setup free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Sim Setup?

deanyou (@deanyou) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Sim Setup by deanyou — Agent Skill

Name: Sim Setup
Author: deanyou

File contents

Simulation Setup

Configure Ocean environment for circuit simulation via virtuoso-cli.

Steps

1. Set simulator and design

virtuoso sim setup --lib <LIB> --cell <CELL> --view <VIEW> --format json

View defaults to schematic. Check available views first if setup returns nil:

virtuoso skill exec 'let((cell) cell=ddGetObj("LIB" "CELL") foreach(mapcar v cell~>views v~>name))' --format json

2. Set model files (if not already configured in ADE)

virtuoso skill exec 'modelFile(list("/path/to/models.lib" "tt") list("/path/to/models.lib" "res_tt"))' --format json

Critical: Do NOT include entries with empty section names "" for .lib files — spectre will fail with SFE-675. Only .ckt files can have empty sections.

3. Set design variables

virtuoso skill exec 'desVar("L" 130e-9)' --format json
virtuoso skill exec 'desVar("VGS" 0.6)' --format json

Check required variables by looking at spectre.out errors — they list undefined parameters.

4. Set results directory

virtuoso skill exec 'resultsDir("/tmp/my_sim_results")' --format json

Critical workflow

The correct order for a fresh simulation is:

# 1. Setup simulator and design
virtuoso sim setup --lib LIB --cell CELL

# 2. Set resultsDir BEFORE anything else
virtuoso skill exec 'resultsDir("/tmp/my_sim")' --format json

# 3. Set modelFile with CORRECT absolute paths (verify files exist!)
virtuoso skill exec 'modelFile(list("/path/to/model.lib" "tt") list("/path/to/model.lib" "res_tt"))' --format json

# 4. Set design variables
virtuoso skill exec 'desVar("L" 130e-9)' --format json

# 5. Run
virtuoso sim run --analysis dc --param saveOppoint=t --timeout 120

# 6. Measure
virtuoso sim measure --analysis dcOp --expr 'value(getData("/NM0:gm" ?result "dcOpInfo"))'

Known issues

simulator('spectre) resets modelFile — always re-set modelFile after sim setup
Ocean functions don't work inside let blocks — call simulator(), design(), analysis(), run() at top level
Ocean state persists across CLI calls — no need to re-setup between runs, but modelFile must be set each session
design() returns nil: the cell may not have the view you specified — check with v~>name
run() takes <0.3s and no spectre.out: modelFile not set or paths wrong — spectre silently fails
run() takes >1s with spectre.out: real execution happened — check spectre.out for errors
Netlisting error OSSHNL-116: a subcell has no spectre/schematic view (e.g., notes cell)
Model path errors: verify paths exist on disk — PDK symlinks can break (use direct path, not through oa/)

---name: sim-setupdescription: Set up Virtuoso simulation with Ocean SKILL. Use when configuring simulator, design target, model files, or design variables before running simulation.---# Simulation SetupConfigure Ocean environment for circuit simulation via virtuoso-cli.## Steps### 1. Set simulator and design```bashvirtuoso sim setup --lib <LIB> --cell <CELL> --view <VIEW> --format json```View defaults to `schematic`. Check available views first if setup returns nil:```bashvirtuoso skill exec 'let((cell) cell=ddGetObj("LIB" "CELL") foreach(mapcar v cell~>views v~>name))' --format json```### 2. Set model files (if not already configured in ADE)```bashvirtuoso skill exec 'modelFile(list("/path/to/models.lib" "tt") list("/path/to/models.lib" "res_tt"))' --format json```**Critical**: Do NOT include entries with empty section names `""` for `.lib` files — spectre will fail with SFE-675. Only `.ckt` files can have empty sections.### 3. Set design variables```bashvirtuoso skill exec 'desVar("L" 130e-9)' --format jsonvirtuoso skill exec 'desVar("VGS" 0.6)' --format json```Check required variables by looking at spectre.out errors — they list undefined parameters.### 4. Set results directory```bashvirtuoso skill exec 'resultsDir("/tmp/my_sim_results")' --format json```## Critical workflowThe correct order for a fresh simulation is:```bash# 1. Setup simulator and designvirtuoso sim setup --lib LIB --cell CELL# 2. Set resultsDir BEFORE anything elsevirtuoso skill exec 'resultsDir("/tmp/my_sim")' --format json# 3. Set modelFile with CORRECT absolute paths (verify files exist!)virtuoso skill exec 'modelFile(list("/path/to/model.lib" "tt") list("/path/to/model.lib" "res_tt"))' --format json# 4. Set design variablesvirtuoso skill exec 'desVar("L" 130e-9)' --format json# 5. Runvirtuoso sim run --analysis dc --param saveOppoint=t --timeout 120# 6. Measurevirtuoso sim measure --analysis dcOp --expr 'value(getData("/NM0:gm" ?result "dcOpInfo"))'```## Known issues- **`simulator('spectre)` resets modelFile** — always re-set modelFile after `sim setup`- **Ocean functions don't work inside `let` blocks** — call `simulator()`, `design()`, `analysis()`, `run()` at top level- **Ocean state persists across CLI calls** — no need to re-setup between runs, but modelFile must be set each session- **`design()` returns nil**: the cell may not have the view you specified — check with `v~>name`- **`run()` takes <0.3s and no spectre.out**: modelFile not set or paths wrong — spectre silently fails- **`run()` takes >1s with spectre.out**: real execution happened — check spectre.out for errors- **Netlisting error OSSHNL-116**: a subcell has no spectre/schematic view (e.g., `notes` cell)- **Model path errors**: verify paths exist on disk — PDK symlinks can break (use direct path, not through `oa/`)

Frequently asked questions

Sim Setup