Effective immediately, LibreCores, the community hub and IP core directory site is closing its virtual doors.
Seven years ago, we at the FOSSi Foundation started LibreCores to show the world what’s possible with free and open source silicon. We showcased the diversity and the quality of IP blocks, and how easy it is to get started with a complex design by putting together freely available blocks.
LibreCores started as a directory of user-contributed, freely available IP blocks and quickly grew as we added tagging and advanced search features. One key question guided the design from the start: how can we help users to make an informed decision if a certain IP block was right for them? For example, we explored integrating information from the git repository directly into the project page, such as its update frequency, the number of contributors, and the availability of documentation.
Over time, LibreCores has become not only a place to look for building blocks for hardware designs, but also a “shop window”, showing what the free and open source community is capable of.
Seven years have passed, and free and open source silicon is no longer a dream. It’s a reality, and it’s here to stay. With that we feel the job LibreCores set out to accomplish is done. Today, finding good building blocks for hardware designs is only an internet search away. Blog posts, video tutorials, and our own El Correo Libre newsletter regularly inform readers about what’s new in the world of free and open source silicon and discuss the developments. Most importantly, we have seen a large number of tape-outs, boosting the industry’s confidence in the ability for free and open source silicon to deliver high-quality results.
The FOSSi Foundation is a small organization, and we’re always looking into ways to apply our resources most effectively. At this time, we felt that the free and open source silicon community is best served by us focusing on projects such as our conferences (including Dial-Up and ORConf), our monthly newsletter El Correo Libre, cocotb, and other initiatives.
Are you interested in making free and open source silicon a success as well? Have a look at the projects page for ways to contribute, or reach out to any FOSSi Foundation director.
We are extremely thankful to all contributors and GSoC students who helped to develop and maintain LibreCores over the years. You rock!