# gtkwave/gtkwave

GTKWave is a fully featured GTK+ based wave viewer for Unix and Win32 which reads LXT, LXT2, VZT, FST, and GHW files as well as standard Verilog VCD/EVCD files and allows their viewing.

Repository: https://github.com/gtkwave/gtkwave
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/gtkwave
Homepage: https://gtkwave.github.io/gtkwave/
Language: C
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: fst, ghw, vcd, viewer, waveform
Last push: 2026-08-23T00:07:35+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2483, "days_push": 11, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1009, forks 180 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:12.734245+00:00)

## What it is
GTKWave is a GTK-based waveform viewer for Unix, Windows, and macOS that reads FST, LXT, LXT2, VZT, GHW, and Verilog VCD/EVCD dump files. It is primarily used for post-mortem debugging of Verilog and VHDL simulations, with search, filtering, and signal-save features plus helper conversion tools.

## Use cases
- view vcd waveform dumps from a verilog simulation
- debug vhdl simulation output with ghw files
- analyze fst waveform files after simulation
- inspect digital and analog signals from a simulation dump
- convert vcd files to fst format
- search signals in a large simulation dumpfile

## When to choose
- you need a free, cross-platform waveform viewer for VCD/FST/GHW dumps
- you are debugging Verilog or VHDL simulation results post-mortem
- you want Tcl scripting and helper tools for waveform conversion

## When to avoid
- you need real-time waveform viewing during an active simulation
- you need a commercial EDA-grade viewer with advanced verification features
- you only work with proprietary vendor dump formats

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: gui, data-visualization, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, hardware, simulation
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cpp
- tags: waveform-viewer, vcd, fst, ghw, verilog, vhdl, simulation-debugging, gtk, eda, debugging, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- gtkwave/gtkwave (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:12.734245+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:12:03.186681+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/gtkwave/gtkwave (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:12.734245+00:00, sha d10398987692)
  - homepage: https://gtkwave.github.io/gtkwave/ (fetched 2026-08-29T13:11:59.279055+00:00, sha 8e0cdcb22bab)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.