Install Vivado and Vitis (Xilinx Unified Installer)

The Xilinx Unified Installer can be used to install a variety of different Xilinx tools that can be used to design applications for your FPGA development board.

Open Xilinx's Downloads page in a new tab. Find the section of the page entitled “Vivado Design Suite - HLx Editions - <Version #>”.

Select the “Self Extracting Web Installer” download for the appropriate operating system. Follow the prompts to sign in or create an account for Xilinx's website. Once signed in, the browser will download the selected installer.

To launch the installer, choose the dropdown for the appropriate operating system:

Windows
Use Windows Explorer to find the installer executable in your Downloads directory. Double click on the executable to run it.
Linux
Navigate to the directory that the installer binary was downloaded to in a terminal application, then enter the command below with the correct filename to execute it as a super-user: 
chmod +x <installer>.bin && sudo ./<installer>.bin

The rest of the steps in Section 1 are the same for both Windows and Linux.

At the Welcome screen, make sure that the operating system of the computer being used is listed in the compatibility list, then click Next.

Use the same credentials as on the Xilinx website for user authentication. Select the Download and Install Now option and click Next.

Read and accept all three license agreements, then click Next.

On the “Select Product to Install” screen, several options are presented. Select the Vitis option to install both the Vitis Unified Software Platform and Vivado Design Suite. Selecting Vivado will not provide you with all of teh tools you need.

After selecting Vitis as the product to install, only one option is available for the edition. Click Next

This screen provides more detailed options for the customization of the installation. The majority of these options do not need to be changed for a basic installation, but unnecessary features can be removed to reduce the installation's footprint on the file-system - for example, most users will not need their Vivado installation to support Ultrascale, Kintex, or Virtex devices. The important options for a beginner to note here are described in the list below. Review the selections, then click Next.

  • Design Tools:
    • Vitis:
      • Installs a development environment for writing software targeting processors on Xilinx FPGAs.
    • Vivado Design Suite:
      • Installs a development environment for creating hardware designs targeting FPGA fabric on Xilinx FPGAs.
    • DocNav:
      • Installs a navigation tool to quickly find appropriate Xilinx documentation of IP and examples.
  • Devices:
    • Allows customization of the set of Xilinx FPGA parts that can be designed for after installation. Deselecting some of these options can greatly reduce the size of the installation. Make sure that your installation will support the devices on your FPGA boards!
  • Installation Options:
    • Install Cable Drivers:
      • Installs the appropriate drivers so that a connected FPGA can be programmed. If Vivado has not been installed before, make sure to check this!
    • Acquire or Manage a License Key:
      • Launches the Xilinx License manager after installation is complete. Many new users will not need to manage licenses.

NOTE: Changes can be made to the installation after it is complete by going to Help → Add Design Tools or Devices in the Vivado toolbar.

The “Select Destination Directory” screen shows how and where the installation will be placed in the computer's file system. Leaving all of these settings as default is typically fine. Click Next and then Yes if prompted to confirm that the installer will be creating a new directory.

Review the “Installation Summary”, then click Install.

The installation process may take quite a while. Find something else to work on until it completes.