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QUARTUS PRIME HWLAB SETUP

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Revision as of 13:16, 2 August 2025 by Ordinary0x (talk | contribs) (quartus installation on arch)

The course Hardware Lab (CS2092E) requires students to use Intel's Quartus Prime Lite — a proprietary software to run Verilog programs. This page aims to give basic documentation on how to install the program in windows and different Linux distributions.

Windows

This guide will help you install and setup Intel Quartus Prime Lite on Windows. Follow the steps below

Step 1: Download Quartus Prime

  • Go to Intel Quartus Prime and download the installer for windows.
  • Run the downloaded installer.
  • Choose “Full Installation” if you want software + device support.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions.
  • Wait for the installation to complete (may take time depending on selected devices).
  • Once done, launch Intel Quartus Prime from the Start menu.

Step 2: Setting up Questa License for RTL simulation

Check out Setting up Questa license for RTL Simulations to create a license.dat file for Questa. After downloading the license

follow the instructions below:

  • Save the license file to any location:
C:<file_path>\license.dat
  • Open the Start Menu → search for "Edit the system environment variables".
  • Under System Properties, click Environment Variables.
  • Under System Variables, click New and add:
    • Variable name: LM_LICENSE_FILE
    • Variable value: C:<file_path>\license.dat
  • Apply the changes and exit.

Step 3: Verify Questa Is Linked to Quartus

  • Open Intel Quartus Prime.
  • Go to: Tools → Options → EDA Tool Options
  • Under Questa Intel FPGA Edition, set the path to the simulator executable. This is the default path in Windows:
C:\intelFPGA\2x.x\questa_fse\win64\vsim.exe
  • Apply the changes and Click OK

You're now ready to run RTL simulations in Intel Quartus Prime Lite with Questa Intel FPGA Edition.

NixOS

Edit your configuration.nix file to include the package quartus-prime-lite.

Add the following Nix code to your NixOS configuration, usually located in /etc/nixos/configuration.nix: 

environment.systemPackages = [ 
    pkgs.quartus-prime-lite 
];

Save the file, and rebuilding your system configuration will install Quartus Prime Lite on your NixOS system. Run quartus in your terminal to launch the application. You can create and open projects, compile your Verilog files, but to view/run RTL simulations you need to set up a valid Questa license and set the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable with the path to the .dat license file. If you use home manager you use this configuration to set up the environment variable. 

home.sessionVariables = {
    LM_LICENSE_FILE = "/path/to/questa_license.dat";
};

Launching Quartus in an application launcher like rofi might not include the environment variable. If that's the case open a new terminal and run quartusand it should work as intended.

Fedora

To install Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition on Fedora, follow the steps below:

1. Download the Installer

   Download the installer from the official Intel website:

   Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition (Linux) – Version 24.1

2. Make the Installer Executable

   After downloading, make the .run file executable: 

chmod +x <File Name>.run

3. Run the Installer

   Run the installer to start the installation process: 

./<File Name>.run

   An installation window will open. Follow the prompts, choose the required components, and begin the installation. This process typically takes around 10–15 minutes.

4. Locate the Installed Files

   After installation, a new directory called intelFPGA_lite will be created in your home folder (~/). Inside it, you’ll find a versioned folder (e.g., 24.1std), which contains the quartus folder.

   The Quartus executable is located at: 

~/intelFPGA_lite/24.1std/quartus/bin/quartus

   You can run Quartus by executing: 

./intelFPGA_lite/24.1std/quartus/bin/quartus

5. Fixing libcrypt.so.1 Error

   When running Quartus for the first time, you may encounter a missing library error related to libcrypt.so.1. To resolve this, install the compatibility package: 

sudo dnf install libxcrypt-compat

   If the issue persists, try explicitly installing the 64-bit version: 

sudo dnf install libxcrypt-compat.x86_64

   After this, Quartus should launch normally.


For running Questa simulations (QuestaSim), you need to set up a valid Questa license.

6. Setting up LW_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

Edit your ~/.bashrc and add this line in the bottom of the file. 

export LM_LICENSE_FILE="/path/to/questa_license.dat"

Save the file and open a new terminal. You can check if it's set up by running: 

echo $LM_LICENSE_FILE

Ubuntu-Based Distributions

To install Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition on Ubuntu or any Ubuntu-based distros (Mint, Pop!_OS, etc.), follow the steps below:

Step 0. Prepare Your System

Quartus Prime Lite include some legacy 32-bit binaries, so to ensure smooth functioning it is necessary to enable 32-bit architecture.

To do so, open a terminal and run the following command: 

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

Further, it is required to install the following libraries: 

sudo apt install libxft2 libxext6 libx11-6 libxtst6 libncurses5 libtinfo5 libxft2:i386 libxext6:i386 libx11-6:i386 libxtst6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libtinfo5:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libc6:i386

Step 1. Download the Quartus Prime Lite Installer

Download the Quartus Prime Lite Installer from the official Intel FPGA downloads page.

Choose the .run file for the version of your choice.

Step 2. Make the Installer Executable, and Run It

To make the installer executable, open a terminal and type the following command: 

chmod +x <file_name>.run

where <file_name> is the name of the .run file.


To run the installer, type the following command: 

./<file_name>.run

This will open an installation window. Choose the installation directory, components, and accept the license agreements to start the download and installation. The download and installation typically takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 4. Running Quartus Prime Lite

Following a successful installation, a directory named "intelFPGA_lite" will be created in your home directory. The executable will be found at 

~/intelFPGA_lite/24.1std/quartus/bin/quartus


To launch Quartus Prime Lite, type the following command in your terminal: 

./intelFPGA_lite/24.1std/quartus/bin/quartus

Step 5. Setting Up Terminal Access to Quartus (Optional)

To prevent typing the whole path everytime we want to launch Quartus, we can add its binary folder to our system's PATH.

To do so, open a terminal and type the following command: 

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/intelFPGA_lite/24.1std/quartus/bin' >> ~/.bashrc

Then apply the changes with the command 

source ~/.bashrc

(replace .bashrc with the your configuration file if you are using a shell other than bash)


Now, you can launch Quartus simply by typing 

quartus

Step 6. Setting up LW_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

Edit your ~/.bashrc and add this line in the bottom of the file. 

export LM_LICENSE_FILE="/path/to/questa_license.dat"

Save the file and open a new terminal. You can check if it's set up by running: 

echo $LM_LICENSE_FILE

Setting up Questa license for RTL Simulations

To view/run RTL simulations you need a valid Questa license from the Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center. Here's a step by step process to obtain the license:

  1. Click on Enroll for Intel® FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (SSLC)
  2. Create an account. It need not be the college email.
  3. Choose profession as student and click submit. You will later receive an email stating that the enrollment has been completed.
  4. Go back to Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center homepage.
  5. Click on Already enrolled ? - Sign In here. Sign in with your account.
  6. You might be prompted to add a sign in method to keep your account secure. You can go with Microsoft Authenticator or click on I want to set up a different method to use your phone number. Then agree to their Terms and Conditions when prompted.
  7. Go back to Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center, You can now sign in to your account.
  8. Click on Sign up for Evaluation or No-Cost Licenses. Choose Questa*- FPGA Starter Edition. Click on next.
  9. Create a new computer. You can give it any name of your choice. Choose License type as FIXED. Select computer type as NIC ID. Your Primary Computer ID is your MAC Address without any colons. Say your mac address is a1:b2:c3:d4:e5:f6, your Primary Computer ID is a1b2c3d4e5f6. Leave companion computer ids as blank.
  10. Click save. Agree to terms of use and click generate. You will receive an email with your license.
  11. Download the license.dat file (attached to the email) and copy it to a safe location. Make sure you don't delete it by accident

Now you have to set up an environment variable LW_LICENSE_FILE with path to your license.dat file. The process differs in various operating systems. After you set up the environment variable, open Quartus Prime Lite, go to Tools -> License Setup -> Check Use LM_LICENSE_FILE and restart the application.

You should now be able to run RTL Simulations in your device.

Quartus Prime Lite Installation on Arch Linux

This guide explains how to install Intel Quartus Prime Lite on an Arch Linux system, including setup of the desktop launcher and licensing.

Step 0: Download the Installer

Go to the Intel Quartus Prime Lite download page.Select Linux as your platform. Choose the Lite Edition (No Cost). Download the full package or individual components. It's recommended to use the offline installer for a smoother experience.

Step 1: Download Quartus Prime Lite Installer

1. Go to the Intel FPGA Download Center

2. Select Quartus Prime Lite Edition

3. Choose the Linux platform

4. Pick either the Full Installer (.tar/.run) or individual components

5. Download the installer

Step 2: Extract and Install

If you downloaded the .tar version: 

cd ~/Downloads

tar -xvf QuartusLite-*.tar

cd quartus-lite-* 

./setup.sh

If you downloaded the .run version: 

cd ~/Downloads chmod +x QuartusLite-*.run ./QuartusLite-*.run

Follow the GUI prompts and complete the installation. By default, Quartus installs to: 

/home/<user>/intelFPGA_lite/<version>/

Step 3: Setting Up the License

After installation, or later, you can configure licensing as follows:

  • Open Quartus.
  • Go to Tools → License Setup.
  • Choose Obtain a no-cost license

Follow the steps in the license wizard to request and activate a free license.

Once activated, it will provide a license file (usually named license.dat).

Copy the license file path (you’ll need this in the launcher config).

Step 4: Create a Desktop Launcher

To create a launcher in your applications menu:

Create a file called '''Quartus.desktop''' in your Quartus or temp folder.

touch Quartus.desktop

  • Open it in a text editor and paste the following:
```

[Desktop Entry]

Type=Application 

Name=Quartus Prime Lite 

Exec=env LM_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/your/license.dat /home/<user>/intelFPGA_lite/<version>/quartus/bin/quartus 

Icon=/home/<user>/intelFPGA_lite/<version>/quartus/adm/quartusii.png Terminal=false 

Categories=Development;

```
Replace:
   /path/to/your/license.dat with the path of the license file you got from the wizard.

   <user> and <version> with your actual username and version.
Make the file executable:
chmod +x ~/Downloads/Quartus.desktop
Install the desktop entry:
desktop-file-install --dir="$HOME/.local/share/applications"                      /path/to/your/Quartus.desktop
Update the application database:
update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications

Done!

You can now launch Intel Quartus Prime Lite from your applications menu or with: 

/home/<user>/intelFPGA_lite/<version>/quartus/bin/quartus

Optional: Add Quartus to PATH

You can add Quartus to your PATH to run it from terminal:

Edit your shell config (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):
export PATH=$PATH:/home/<user>/intelFPGA_lite/<version>/quartus/bin
Reload the shell config:
source ~/.bashrc

Now you can just type quartus in terminal to launch it.

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