AMD Ross AI Assistant: agent skills for Vivado, Vitis HLS and debug
MIT-licensed repository from AMD with 50 agent skill folders, docs and examples for Vivado, Vitis HLS, hardware debug and Vitis AI. The Vivado MCP server is installed separately.
Summary
MIT-licensed AMD repository of 50 agent skill folders, docs and examples for Vivado, Vitis HLS, hardware debug and Vitis AI.
Overview
xilinx/ross-ai-assistant is the public GitHub repository of agent skills for AMD FPGA and SoC development, released by AMD as part of AMD Ross. The README groups the skills into Vivado (RTL simulation, RTL lint, timing methodology checks, revision control, IP configuration), Vitis HLS (architecture, optimization, build flow), hardware debug (ILA and VIO) and Vitis AI.
The repository contains skills, documentation, examples and agent definitions, plus plugin manifests for Claude, Codex and Cursor clients. The Vivado MCP server is not part of it: the README directs users to install the server or the Vivado AI Extension from the AMD Ross download page. The skills directory lists 50 folders, including helper skills called by the main ones.
The license is MIT, confirmed by the LICENSE file. The first synced release, 2026.9.1, is dated 30 September 2026. See also the news item /news/amd-ross-agentic-ai-2026-09.
Verified facts
The LICENSE file is the MIT License (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 2026). Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/LICENSE. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Release 2026.9.1 dated 2026-09-30 is recorded as the initial synced release. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/CHANGELOG.md. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The skills folder lists 50 skill directories. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/tree/main/skills. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The Vivado MCP server is installed separately; the repository holds skills, docs and examples. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Implementation languages reported by GitHub: Python, Tcl, C++, Shell, Batchfile. Source: https://api.github.com/repos/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/languages. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Engineering benefit
Skills encode repeatable Vivado and Vitis HLS procedures (lint, timing methodology checks, HLS optimization, ILA and VIO debug) that an agent can follow step by step. No measured effect is published in the repository. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Commercial benefit
The MIT license in the LICENSE file lets companies use, copy and modify the skills under its stated conditions. Vivado, Vitis and any LLM service keep their own licenses and costs. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/LICENSE. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Community benefit
Open, readable skills with a changelog make agent workflows reviewable and shareable by the community. Only one synced release (2026.9.1) exists, so community track record is short. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/CHANGELOG.md. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
Critical review
The repository alone is not a working setup: the Vivado MCP server must be obtained separately from AMD. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
The project is new (one synced release dated 2026-09-30), so stability and maintenance are not yet proven. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/CHANGELOG.md. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 4/5.
The MIT license, release record and plugin metadata are verifiable in the repository files. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/plugin.json. Checked: 2026-10-02. Confidence: 5/5.
Practical recommendations
Clone the repository locally: the README recommends it because it holds docs and examples as well as skills.
Install skills by one method only (plugin or copy); the README warns that mixing them loads each skill twice.
Run the example projects on a copy of your design before pointing an agent at the real one; a skill that edits constraints deserves a diff review, not trust.
Official links
Evidence
The LICENSE file in the repository xilinx/ross-ai-assistant is the MIT License, copyright 2026 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/LICENSE. Checked: 2026-10-02.
plugin.json declares the package amd-ross-agentic-ai-assistant, version 2026.9.1, license MIT, author Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/plugin.json. Checked: 2026-10-02.
CHANGELOG.md records release 2026.9.1 dated 2026-09-30 as the initial synced release. Source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/main/CHANGELOG.md. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The skills directory lists 50 skill folders, with names such as vivado-rtl-lint, vivado-timing-methodology-checks, hls-optimize, hw-ila-debug and vai-quantization-guide. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/tree/main/skills. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The README describes the repository as agent skills for AMD FPGA/SoC development, with skill groups for Vivado, Vitis HLS, hardware debug and Vitis AI. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The README states that the Vivado MCP Server or the Vivado AI Extension is installed separately from the AMD Ross download page; the repository holds skills, docs and examples. Source: https://github.com/xilinx/ross-ai-assistant. Checked: 2026-10-02.
The GitHub languages API reports Python, Tcl, C++, Shell and Batchfile for the repository. Source: https://api.github.com/repos/Xilinx/ross-ai-assistant/languages. Checked: 2026-10-02.