Tools
Tools overview
The seven switches that decide what a run may read and how hard it checks itself.
Seven switches sit behind the Tools button on the composer. Four of them decide what a run is allowed to read; three decide how hard it checks its own work. All seven are off by default, which keeps a plain run fast and cheap.
The seven switches
Context & retrieval
Web Search
✓Exa Search
IP Core Library
Knowledge Base (RAG)
Verification
✓Auto-Verify
✓Exhaustive Verification
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. |
| Exhaustive Verification | Turns Auto-Verify into a full campaign: a corner-case test plan, a golden reference model and a coverage guard. |
| 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, Exhaustive Verification, 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 seven 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 |
| Exhaustive Verification | Requires Auto-Verify, and cannot be combined with the IP Core Library |
| Reflection | None |
These switches only apply to Plan mode
Only a Plan-mode Build run reads them. Agent mode picks its own tools as it goes, and so do Debug and Optimize runs, so on those the switches are drawn greyed out with the reason underneath and the Tools badge counts zero. Nothing is silently ignored; if a toggle looks live, the run is using it.