---
name: "catal"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "alliance"
version: "5.1.1-3"
release: "Debian 10 (Buster)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/catal"
---

# catal(5)

catalog file format

## NAME

catal - catalog file format

## DESCRIPTION

- Predefined libraries

  The environment variable [**MBK\_CATA\_LIB**(1)](/MBK_CATA_LIB/1.md) defines several paths corresponding to the *Alliance* predefined cell libraries. Each library is in one unix directory.

  - *sxlib*

    standard cell library

  - *dp\_sxlib*

    data-path compiler library

  - *rflib*

    registers library

  - *ramlib*

    ram library

  - *romlib*

    rom library

  - *padlib*

    pads lib

  - For each library, a special file named **CATAL** describes the library

    contents. This file must be in the same directory as the library cells. For the **Alliance** tools, the cells described in the predefined libraries are read only.

- The working library

  The environment variable [**MBK\_WORK\_LIB**(1)](/MBK_WORK_LIB/1.md) defines the current working directory. Its default value is **.** (dot). This directory will contain the user cells, seen as read write by the *Alliance* tools. It is not necessary to describe all the user cells in a catalog file. But the user can locally define a catalog file for the working library. The local catalog file name is set by the environment variable [**MBK\_CATAL\_NAME**(1)](/MBK_CATAL_NAME/1.md), **CATAL** by default. *Alliance* will concatenate all catalog files of the predefined libraries and the optional catalog file of the working library to access the attributs of each cell.

- Cells attributs

  A cell may be characterized by four attributs:

  - **C**

    this attribut means that the cell is a leaf cell in the context of a recursive flatten, for either the layout or netlist view. The cell will not be flattened.

  - **G**

    this attribut means that the cell has an existing equivalent *GDS* or *CIF* representation. It is used by the symbolic to real translation tool, [**s2r**(1)](/s2r/1.md), to make direct replacements.

  - **F**

    this attribut means that the cell is used as a feed through.

  - **D**

    this attribut is used only in the user defined catalog. As the user is not allowed to delete a cell in a predefined library, it is  possible to virtually remove a cell of a predefined library with the **D** attribut in the user defined catalog.

## EXAMPLE

```
a2_y    C
a2p_y   C
a3_y    C
a3p_y   C
n1_y    C
na2_y   C
p1_y    C
tie_y   C
	.
	.
	.
p1_y    G
	.
	.
	.
tie_y   F
```

## SEE ALSO

**mbk**(1), **sxlib**(1), [**incatalog**(3)](/incatalog/3.md), [**incatalogdelete**(3)](/incatalogdelete/3.md), [**incatalogfeed**(3)](/incatalogfeed/3.md), [**incataloggds**(3)](/incataloggds/3.md), [**MBK\_CATA\_LIB**(1)](/MBK_CATA_LIB/1.md), [**MBK\_CATAL\_NAME**(1)](/MBK_CATAL_NAME/1.md), [**MBK\_WORK\_LIB**(1)](/MBK_WORK_LIB/1.md).