02. OpenLane1 Setup

— Freeze a Known-Good Production Flow —

1. Position of This Chapter (Critical)

This chapter is not about installing the “latest” OpenLane.

The sole purpose is:

• Install OpenLane1 once
• Confirm it works
• Freeze the entire environment
• Never update it in-place again

In this guide:

A working OpenLane1 environment is a frozen asset, not a moving target.

2. Preconditions

You must have completed:

• 01_WSL_Docker_Setup.md
• WSL2 enabled
• Docker Desktop working with WSL
• docker run hello-world succeeds

If any of these are uncertain, stop and fix them first.

3. Directory Policy (Non-Negotiable)

Required Rule

All work must be done inside WSL home.

Recommended location:

~/OpenLane

Forbidden

• /mnt/c
• Windows filesystem paths
• Shared folders

Violating this rule causes I/O instability and Docker issues.

4. Clone OpenLane1

4.1 Clone Repository

Inside WSL:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenLane.git
cd OpenLane

This repository currently contains OpenLane1 (Makefile-based flow).

4.2 Version Policy

• Use the cloned state as-is
• Do not switch branches
• Do not pull updates

The commit that works is the correct version.

5. Initial OpenLane1 Setup

5.1 Pull Docker Image

Run:

make pull-openlane

This step:

• Pulls the official OpenLane Docker image
• Prepares the toolchain

This may take several minutes.

5.2 Verify Docker Image

docker images | grep openlane

If an OpenLane image appears, this step is complete.

6. PDK Status (Do Not Build Yet)

At this stage:

• Do not build PDK
• Do not modify PDK
• Do not troubleshoot PDK errors

Just verify the directory exists:

ls pdks

Actual PDK setup is handled later in 04_PDK_Setup.md.

7. Smoke Test (Mandatory)

7.1 Run Official Test

From the OpenLane directory:

make test

7.2 Expected Result

A successful run:

• Does not abort
• Completes the flow
• Ends with a PASS message

This moment defines the golden environment state.

8. What You Must NOT Do After This

Once make test passes:

❌ git pull
❌ Docker image updates
❌ Re-clone OpenLane
❌ PDK rebuild attempts

These actions destroy reproducibility.

9. Asset Mindset

From this point forward:

• OpenLane1
• Docker image
• Directory layout

are a single inseparable asset.

Treat this environment like firmware, not software.

10. Next Step

Next, we address OpenLane2 —
without contaminating this stable OpenLane1 setup.

➡️ Next: 03_OpenLane2_Setup.md

Note on Export Timing

Do not export WSL yet.

Reasons:

• PDK is not finalized
• Asset value is incomplete

Export is done after verification, not now.