Design Chat

Design Chat is a conversation with Nelix Agent about one project. It reads the project before it answers: your design, your test, the specification, the build settings and your latest results.

Ask a question#

• "Explain what this design does."
• "What happened in the latest run?"
• "Why did the build miss timing?"

Design Chat reads the latest failed or timed-out run, including the end of its log. You can add one screenshot to a question.

Ask for a design#

Describe the block in plain words. For example:

Design Chat works in three steps, and you approve each one.

1. The specification. Design Chat shows the ports, the clock and what the test must prove.
2. Use this spec. Choose it when the specification is right. That reveals the files.
3. Push. Read a file, then push it. Push writes that one file into your project. Nothing is written before that.

After pushing, run Simulate.

Shortcuts and keys#

Enter sends; Shift+Enter adds a line. Type / in the message box for ready questions: /explain, /run, /review, /testbench, /fix, /timing (and /help for the list; the ? button next to the box shows it too). A shortcut only puts the question into the box, where you can change it before you send; Design Chat answers it like any other message. The line under the box shows how much of your Nelix Agent allowance is left.

Getting good answers#

• Say what the block must do, not how to code it.
• Give the numbers: widths, whether values are signed, the clock period.
• Say what happens at the edges: on overflow, at reset, when the enable is low.
• Ask for one thing at a time. A design, then a change to it, works better than a long list.

Chats are kept#

Recent chats are saved with the project. New chat starts a fresh conversation and leaves the older ones in the list. They are there when you come back, including from another browser.

Your language#

Design Chat answers in the language you choose under Account. Code and signal names stay as they are.

In a class#

If your teacher set the class's AI help to Evidence or Diagnosis, Design Chat explains but does not write code on your graded work: it points to the file and the lines to look at, explains the idea behind the problem and asks you a question to think about. While your class has an open assignment, the same applies to all your projects, so that the assignment stays your own work. A line under each answer says so. See Classes and assignments.

What Design Chat does not do#

It does not write a file from a log or a picture unless you asked for a file change. It does not run your design; you start the stages.