Tools
Tools overview
The six switches that decide what a run may read and how hard it checks itself.
Six switches sit behind the Tools button on the composer. Four of them decide what a run is allowed to read; two decide how hard it checks its own work. All six are off by default, which keeps a plain run fast and cheap.
The six switches
Context & retrieval
Web Search
✓Exa Search
IP Core Library
Knowledge Base (RAG)
Verification
✓Auto-Verify
Reflection
| Tool | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Web Search | Looks the topic up on the open web and feeds what it finds into the run. |
| Exa Search | Semantic search aimed at datasheets, standards and papers rather than general pages. |
| IP Core Library | Checks a catalog of verified vendor cores before writing anything from scratch. |
| Knowledge Base | Retrieves relevant RTL from an indexed code corpus and grounds the output in it. |
| Auto-Verify | Builds a test plan and a self-checking testbench, then runs the simulation. |
| Reflection | A second pass where the model reviews and repairs its own module. |
What to actually turn on
More tools is not better; each one costs time and gives the model more material to weigh. A reasonable starting point:
| You are... | Switch on |
|---|---|
| Writing anything you intend to use | Auto-Verify |
| Implementing a published protocol or standard | Auto-Verify, Exa Search |
| Building against a specific chip or datasheet | Auto-Verify, Web Search |
| Writing a block your team has built before | Auto-Verify, IP Core Library |
| Trying to match an existing codebase's idioms | Auto-Verify, Knowledge Base |
| Producing something subtle and high-stakes | Auto-Verify, Reflection |
| Quickly sketching an interface | Nothing |
Tip
If you only ever turn on one thing, make it Auto-Verify. It is the difference between code that looks right and code a simulator agreed with.
Setting them once
The same six switches appear in three places, and they all write to the same run configuration: the Tools menu, the Run setup panel, and Settings under Setup. The first two apply to the next run; the third changes what every new chat starts with.
Availability
| Tool | Restrictions |
|---|---|
| Web Search | None |
| Exa Search | Needs the Exa integration to be configured on the deployment |
| IP Core Library | Verilog only; unavailable when the output language is VHDL |
| Knowledge Base | Verilog only; unavailable when the output language is VHDL |
| Auto-Verify | None |
| Reflection | None |