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BitFly

BitFly is a research codebase for studying low-bit LLM GEMM execution on top of the Ara RISC-V vector architecture. The repository contains:

  • a proposed BMPU/BMPMM execution path for low-bit mixed-precision GEMM
  • an RVV baseline path under the same Ara-based software and simulation stack
  • application overlays derived from model-layer GEMM workloads
  • analysis and automation scripts for correctness, benchmarking, tiling search, and roofline-style post-processing

The central evaluation question is:

Under the same model-derived workload slices and the same Ara-based execution stack, how does the proposed BMPMM path compare against an RVV baseline?

Highlights

  • Persistent project-owned sources live under src/; the synced Ara working tree lives under ara/.
  • Benchmark apps are organized as a model-split matrix: bmpmm_* versus rvv_*, across binary, INT2, and INT4.
  • The repository includes both fast correctness checks such as bmpu_verify and paper-oriented benchmark runners.
  • Tiling search and roofline analysis are implemented in scripts/analysis/ and operate on the same execution assumptions used by the software template and RTL.

Repository Status

This repository is best understood as a research artifact workspace rather than a polished end-user package manager distribution. The maintained workflow is:

src/  ->  sync into ara/  ->  build and simulate  ->  logs and plots under tmp/ or repository outputs

If you want to preserve a change as part of BitFly, edit src/ first and treat ara/ as the working build tree.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

git clone --recursive git@github.com:hypertseng/bitfly.git
cd bitfly
git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Check host dependencies

Recommended host tools:

  • git
  • make
  • python3
  • gcc / g++
  • rsync
  • Verilator
  • optional: QuestaSim, gtkwave

Ara-specific prerequisites are documented in ara/DEPENDENCIES.md.

3. Sync BitFly overlays into Ara

scripts/dev/sync_src_to_ara.sh

4. Run the fastest correctness check

make -C ara/hardware verilate -j8
make -C ara/apps bin/bmpu_verify -j8
make -C ara/hardware simv app=bmpu_verify

A healthy run ends with ALL CASES PASSED.

5. Run a benchmark app or campaign

One smoke-check benchmark app:

scripts/benchmarks/run_model_split_apps.sh \
  --mode run \
  --apps bmpmm_INT2_gemma3_270m \
  --parallel 1 \
  --batch-size 1

Paper-style benchmark matrix:

scripts/benchmarks/run_model_split_apps.sh \
  --mode all \
  --build-jobs 16 \
  --parallel 5 \
  --batch-size 5

6. Regenerate roofline analysis

python3 scripts/analysis/roofline.py

This produces:

  • roofline_search_results.png
  • roofline_search_results.pdf

How To Read The Repository

Top-level layout

Path Role Notes
src/ BitFly source of truth Project-owned overlays for apps, RTL, and LLVM-side instruction support
ara/ Working Ara tree Main build and simulation workspace
scripts/ Automation entry points Benchmark runners, sync scripts, analysis, and debug helpers
docs/ Reproducibility and workflow notes Start here for artifact-style documentation
tmp/ Generated outputs Logs, CSV summaries, and intermediate artifacts
build/ Local build outputs Disposable products
patches/ Sync-side review artifacts Optional exported diffs from sync workflows

Recommended reading order

  1. docs/artifact_quickstart.md
  2. docs/artifact_checklist.md
  3. docs/repo_structure.md
  4. src/README.md
  5. src/apps/README.md
  6. scripts/README.md
  7. docs/benchmark_workflow.md

Experimental Contract

The main benchmark matrix treats each app as one workload slice:

<implementation>_<precision>_<model>

Examples:

  • bmpmm_binary_gemma3_270m
  • bmpmm_INT2_qwen25_15b
  • rvv_INT4_opt_13b

The intended comparison is always:

  • proposed path: bmpmm_*
  • baseline path: rvv_*

under:

  • the same model-derived GEMM shape set
  • the same precision
  • the same Ara-based build and simulation stack unless intentionally changed

bmpu_verify is a correctness regression app, not a paper-performance data point.

Reproducing Main Results

For artifact-quality runs, keep the following together:

  • the exact launcher command
  • the run directory under tmp/model_app_runs/<run>/
  • apps.txt
  • runner.log
  • summary.csv
  • per-app logs under batch_XX/

For a complete workflow, including runner options and log interpretation, see docs/benchmark_workflow.md.

Development Conventions

src/ versus ara/

  • Edit src/ when the change should be maintained by BitFly.
  • Edit ara/ only for local working-tree experiments or upstream Ara concerns.
  • Use scripts/dev/sync_src_to_ara.sh to propagate maintained overlays into ara/.

Generated files

Treat these as generated or runtime artifacts, not primary source:

  • tmp/
  • build/
  • simulator logs
  • large local model binaries
  • generated figures and CSV summaries unless explicitly versioned for a reason

Bench and analysis outputs

The repository intentionally separates source from outputs. Measurements should live in dedicated run directories rather than being mixed with maintained source overlays.

Documentation Map

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for repository conventions, patch boundaries, and pre-PR checks.

Citation

If BitFly is used in academic work, cite the repository and the associated paper when available. Citation metadata is provided in CITATION.cff.

License

This repository is released under the MIT License. The ara/ submodule and other vendored dependencies keep their own upstream licenses.