CERN releases colibri, a vendor-independent VHDL library for FPGA
CERN has released colibri for everyone: more than 100 RTL components in VHDL-2008 with self-checking testbenches, vendor-independent, under the CERN-OHL-W-2.0 licence.
Summary
CERN released the colibri VHDL library: more than 100 RTL components in VHDL-2008 with self-checking testbenches and partial formal verification, under CERN-OHL-W-2.0.
Overview
On 18 September 2026 the CERN EP department newsletter published an article by Alberto Perro (CERN, LHCb Experiment) on the public release of the colibri library. According to the author, four years ago a group of CERN developers began studying how to improve gateware (FPGA configuration) portability between projects. Until then, designers mostly used homebrew tools, which added maintenance overhead and slowed design and debug; projects also use FPGAs from different vendors.
The library rests on three principles: open source, vendor independence and verification. For openness CERN chose the CERN Open Hardware Licence - Weakly Reciprocal 2.0. Vendor independence, CERN says, lets users evaluate designs on several platforms at once without lock-in to one environment. Verification means self-checking testbenches plus formal verification, but not for every component: CERN writes 'where possible'.
colibri has more than 100 RTL components in pure VHDL-2008, from basic memories (FIFOs, RAMs) to more advanced data manipulation. Hackaday separately notes that SPI and I2C are included. The first adopter was the LHCb Experiment Data Acquisition team for the upcoming upgrade; the library is now used in more than 10 projects, including outside CERN. Development was supported by the CERN EP R&D programme (WP 9.3, Gateware Portability Frameworks). The source is hosted on GitLab.
Verified facts
The CERN EP newsletter published the colibri release article on 18 September 2026. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
colibri provides more than 100 RTL components in pure VHDL-2008 with self-checking testbenches and, where possible, formal verification harnesses. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The licence named by CERN is CERN-OHL-W-2.0 (CERN Open Hardware Licence - Weakly Reciprocal 2.0). Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The first adopter was the LHCb DAQ team; the library is used in more than 10 projects, even outside CERN. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
SPI and I2C are among the components (Hackaday). Source: https://hackaday.com/2026/09/24/fpga-for-all-cern-releases-colibri-vhdl-library/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
The source code is hosted in the colibri-cern/colibri GitLab project. Source: https://gitlab.com/colibri-cern/colibri. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Engineering benefit
Teams get a set of reusable RTL components (from FIFOs and RAMs to more advanced data manipulation, and SPI and I2C per Hackaday) with self-checking testbenches, so common blocks need not be rewritten. Formal verification covers only some components ('where possible'). Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Commercial benefit
CERN states that vendor independence lets users evaluate designs on different platforms simultaneously without lock-in to a specific environment; this can lower the cost of switching FPGA vendors (editorial inference). The claim is the authors' own; no independent cost data is given. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 3/5.
Community benefit
CERN invites the worldwide FPGA community to use colibri and, if they wish, to contribute; the library is already used in more than 10 projects, even outside CERN. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Critical review
The library was built for CERN gateware projects; the article does not show how well it fits designs unlike CERN's, so the 'for everyone' title promises availability, not universal fit. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Vendor independence and 'tested on multiple platforms' are claims by CERN and Hackaday; FPGA.camp has not reproduced them on any device. Source: https://hackaday.com/2026/09/24/fpga-for-all-cern-releases-colibri-vhdl-library/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Formal verification covers some components only, so 'verified' does not mean every block is formally proven. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
The library is pure VHDL-2008, which may constrain mixed-language flows or older tool versions. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 3/5.
The same article reports real use: the LHCb DAQ team adopted colibri first and more than 10 projects use it now, even outside CERN. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The repository is public on GitLab, so every claim about testbenches and licence can be checked against the source. Source: https://gitlab.com/colibri-cern/colibri. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Practical recommendations
Do not pull in a hundred-plus components at once: take one, for example a FIFO or SPI, and run its self-checking testbench in your own simulator before integrating it.
The library is written in VHDL-2008. Confirm that your toolchain supports it and pin the version you work with.
CERN-OHL-W-2.0 is weakly reciprocal. Read its text before using the library in a commercial product: it is cheaper to learn the terms early than at certification time.
The vendor-independence claim comes from CERN and Hackaday; for your own FPGA and tool version, confirm it with a build and a simulation.
Official links
CERN EP newsletter: colibri released
Evidence
CERN EP department newsletter, 18 September 2026, by Alberto Perro (CERN, LHCb Experiment): CERN releases the colibri VHDL common library to the worldwide FPGA community for use and contributions. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02.
colibri offers more than 100 RTL components written in pure VHDL-2008, with self-checking testbenches and, where possible, formal verification harnesses. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The CERN article states the library is licensed under the CERN Open Hardware Licence - Weakly Reciprocal 2.0. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02.
colibri's first adoption was by the LHCb Experiment Data Acquisition team for the upcoming upgrade; it is now used in more than 10 projects, even outside CERN. Source: https://ep-news.web.cern.ch/colibri-cern-vhdl-common-library-released-for-everyone-to-use/. Checked: 2026-10-02.
Hackaday (24 September 2026) reports the library is vendor-independent, tested on multiple platforms, has formal verification 'at least for some things', and includes SPI and I2C among its components. Source: https://hackaday.com/2026/09/24/fpga-for-all-cern-releases-colibri-vhdl-library/. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The colibri GitLab project describes itself as 'Vendor-Independent, Fully Verified, Open Source VHDL Common Library' and lists 4 releases. Source: https://gitlab.com/colibri-cern/colibri. Checked: 2026-10-02.