⚡ Electric VLSI Design Free Tool – Cross-Platform Installation Guide

This repository provides step-by-step instructions to install and run Electric VLSI on:

• 🐧 Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
• 🪟 Windows 10/11
• 🍎 macOS (Intel/Apple Silicon)

🔧 Electric VLSI is a powerful open-source EDA tool for VLSI layout and schematic design, written in Java.

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🔗 Downloads

• Official JAR (v9.08): Electric VLSI Downloads Page
• Or clone this repo to use the .jar directly.

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⚙️ Prerequisites

• ✅ Java JDK (8 or later)
• ✅ Internet connection for initial download

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⚙️ Steps to Install and Run Electric VLSI Design Free tool on Linux ( e.g. Ubuntu )

Step 1: Update your system

Always good practice to make sure your repositories are fresh.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

(for Ubuntu/Debian based systems; for Fedora/RHEL/CentOS, use sudo dnf update.)

Step 2: Install Java

You have a couple of options:

• Default JDK (good enough for 99% cases like running .jar files)
• Specific JDK version (say OpenJDK 17 or 21 if your application needs a particular version)

Option 1: Install Default Java (Quickest way)

sudo apt install default-jdk -y

This installs the default Java Development Kit (JDK), which includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) needed to run .jar files.

You can check after installing:

java -version

You should see something like:

openjdk version "XX" 

Option 2: Install Specific Java Version (example: OpenJDK 17)

If you need a particular version:

sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk -y

Similarly check:

java -version

Professional Tip: JDK includes JRE, so you don't have to install JRE separately unless you only want the runtime.

Step 3: Verify Java Installation

After installation, make sure Java is properly installed:

java -version
javac -version

java -version → shows Java Runtime

javac -version → shows Java Compiler (useful if you later want to compile .java files too).

Step 4: Download Electric ( .jar file )

Download (.jar) file directly from this Repo or Open this link and download the file ( .jar ):

https://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/electric/electric-9.08.jar

Step 5: Run your .jar file

Assuming you have a .jar ready, just navigate to the directory containing your jar file and run:

java -jar electric-9.08.jar

Example:

cd Downloads
java -jar electric-9.08.jar

And boom! 🎯 it should run.

⚙️ Steps to Install and Run Electric VLSI Design Free tool on Windows 10/11:

• Download and install Java JDK

• Download electric.jar from:

  • This repo or
  • official site: https://www.staticfreesoft.com/productsFree.html

• Double-click electric.jar to run.

• If it doesn't run:

  • Open Command Prompt:

  java -jar electric.jar
  

🍎 macOS Setup

brew install openjdk
brew link --force --overwrite openjdk

java -version   # confirm installation

# Download and run
curl -O https://www.staticfreesoft.com/jars/electricBinary.jar
java -jar electricBinary.jar

If GUI doesn’t open, allow permissions:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine electricBinary.jar

💡 Tips

• 🔁 Always use the latest Java version compatible with Electric
• ⚠️ Avoid spaces in file paths (especially on Windows)
• 📂 Save all your layouts in a dedicated design folder
• 📝 Electric supports exporting to SPICE and GDS

⚡ Resources

• Electric VLSI - Static Free Software Official Website
• Download Page
• Electric VLSI Online User Manual

🧠 Author

• Maintained by: Dutt Panchal
• 🔗 Email: dattpanchal2904@gmail.com
• 🔗 LinkedIn
• 💻 GitHub

📜 License

This repo is for educational purposes. Electric VLSI is © Static Free Software.