Add -bazel and -bazel-dev options to DependencyInstaller and Build scripts by alokkumardalei-wq · Pull Request #9762 · The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-14T11:25:56Z

What does this PR solves?

Adds Bazel setup options to DependencyInstaller.sh and Build.sh to make it easier for developers to get started with the Bazel build.

Changes
DependencyInstaller.sh:

bazel — installs bazelisk (so the correct Bazel version is picked up from .bazelversion automatically) + xcb libs needed for GUI support
bazel-dev — installs buildifier for formatting BUILD/.bzl files
Both flags work standalone or combined with -all/-base/-common
Build.sh:
bazel — use Bazel instead of CMake to build; prefers bazelisk if available

Testing/Verification:

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh -bazel

Expected output:

[INFO] Checking Bazel (via bazelisk)
[INFO] Downloading bazelisk...... ✔
[INFO] Installing bazelisk...... ✔
[INFO] Installing xcb libraries for GUI support...... ✔

[INFO] Installation Summary
====================================================================================
Package              | System Version       | Required Version     | Status
-------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- | ----------
Bazel                | none                 | latest               | installed
==================================================================================

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh -bazel-dev

Expected output:

[INFO] Checking Bazel dev tools (buildifier)
[INFO] Downloading buildifier...... ✔
[INFO] Installing buildifier...... ✔

[INFO] Installation Summary
====================================================================================
Package              | System Version       | Required Version     | Status
-------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- | ----------
buildifier           | none                 | latest               | installed
====================================================================================

github-actions · 2026-03-14T11:29:07Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

gemini-code-assist

Code Review

This pull request introduces Bazel support for building and dependency installation. The changes to Build.sh and DependencyInstaller.sh add new flags (-bazel, -bazel-dev) to use Bazel. My review focuses on improving the portability and robustness of these new scripts. I've suggested adding support for macOS in the dependency installer and improving shell script practices by removing an unnecessary eval. I also noted a point for future improvement regarding package manager support for GUI dependencies.

gemini-code-assist · 2026-03-14T11:30:16Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+_install_bazel() {
+    local bazel_prefix=${PREFIX:-"/usr/local"}
+    log "Checking Bazel (via bazelisk)"
+    if _command_exists "bazelisk"; then
+        log "bazelisk already installed, skipping."
+        INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("Bazel: system=found, required=any, status=skipped")
+        return
+    fi
+    local arch
+    arch=$(uname -m)
+    local bazelisk_arch="amd64"
+    if [[ "${arch}" == "aarch64" ]]; then
+        bazelisk_arch="arm64"
+    fi
+    (
+        cd "${BASE_DIR}"
+        _execute "Downloading bazelisk..." curl -Lo bazelisk \
+            "https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazelisk/releases/latest/download/bazelisk-linux-${bazelisk_arch}"
+        chmod +x bazelisk
+        _execute "Installing bazelisk..." mv bazelisk "${bazel_prefix}/bin/bazelisk"
+    )
+    # Install xcb libraries needed for GUI support with Bazel builds
+    if _command_exists "apt-get"; then
+        _execute "Installing xcb libraries for GUI support..." \
+            apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends \
+            libxcb1-dev libxcb-util-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev libxcb-image0-dev \
+            libxcb-keysyms1-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxcb-render-util0-dev \
+            libxcb-xinerama0-dev libxcb-xkb-dev
+    fi
+    INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("Bazel: system=none, required=latest, status=installed")
+}


This function currently only supports installing bazelisk on Linux. On macOS, it will fail because it tries to download a Linux binary. Please add support for macOS, for example by using Homebrew (brew install bazelisk).

_install_bazel() { local bazel_prefix=${PREFIX:-/usr/local} log "Checking Bazel (via bazelisk)" if _command_exists "bazelisk"; then log "bazelisk already installed, skipping." INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("Bazel: system=found, required=any, status=skipped") return fi if [[ "$(uname -s)" == "Darwin" ]]; then if ! _command_exists "brew"; then error "Homebrew not found, which is required to install bazelisk on macOS." fi _execute "Installing bazelisk..." brew install bazelisk else local arch arch=$(uname -m) local bazelisk_arch="amd64" if [[ "${arch}" == "aarch64" ]]; then bazelisk_arch="arm64" fi ( cd "${BASE_DIR}" _execute "Downloading bazelisk..." curl -Lo bazelisk \ "https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazelisk/releases/latest/download/bazelisk-linux-${bazelisk_arch}" chmod +x bazelisk _execute "Installing bazelisk..." mv bazelisk "${bazel_prefix}/bin/bazelisk" ) # Install xcb libraries needed for GUI support with Bazel builds if _command_exists "apt-get"; then _execute "Installing xcb libraries for GUI support..." \ apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends \ libxcb1-dev libxcb-util-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev libxcb-image0-dev \ libxcb-keysyms1-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxcb-render-util0-dev \ libxcb-xinerama0-dev libxcb-xkb-dev fi fi INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("Bazel: system=none, required=latest, status=installed") }

gemini-code-assist · 2026-03-14T11:30:16Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+_install_bazel_dev() {
+    local bazel_prefix=${PREFIX:-"/usr/local"}
+    log "Checking Bazel dev tools (buildifier)"
+    if _command_exists "buildifier"; then
+        log "buildifier already installed, skipping."
+        INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("buildifier: system=found, required=any, status=skipped")
+        return
+    fi
+    local arch
+    arch=$(uname -m)
+    local buildifier_arch="amd64"
+    if [[ "${arch}" == "aarch64" ]]; then
+        buildifier_arch="arm64"
+    fi
+    (
+        cd "${BASE_DIR}"
+        _execute "Downloading buildifier..." curl -Lo buildifier \
+            "https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools/releases/latest/download/buildifier-linux-${buildifier_arch}"
+        chmod +x buildifier
+        _execute "Installing buildifier..." mv buildifier "${bazel_prefix}/bin/buildifier"
+    )
+    INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("buildifier: system=none, required=latest, status=installed")
+}


Similar to _install_bazel, this function only supports Linux. Please add support for macOS. buildifier can be installed with Homebrew (brew install buildifier).

_install_bazel_dev() { local bazel_prefix=${PREFIX:-/usr/local} log "Checking Bazel dev tools (buildifier)" if _command_exists "buildifier"; then log "buildifier already installed, skipping." INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("buildifier: system=found, required=any, status=skipped") return fi if [[ "$(uname -s)" == "Darwin" ]]; then if ! _command_exists "brew"; then error "Homebrew not found, which is required to install buildifier on macOS." fi _execute "Installing buildifier..." brew install buildifier else local arch arch=$(uname -m) local buildifier_arch="amd64" if [[ "${arch}" == "aarch64" ]]; then buildifier_arch="arm64" fi ( cd "${BASE_DIR}" _execute "Downloading buildifier..." curl -Lo buildifier \ "https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools/releases/latest/download/buildifier-linux-${buildifier_arch}" chmod +x buildifier _execute "Installing buildifier..." mv buildifier "${bazel_prefix}/bin/buildifier" ) fi INSTALL_SUMMARY+=("buildifier: system=none, required=latest, status=installed") }

gemini-code-assist · 2026-03-14T11:30:16Z

etc/Build.sh

+    if command -v bazelisk &> /dev/null; then
+        bazel_cmd="bazelisk"
+    fi
+    eval "${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad


Using eval is unnecessary here and can be a security risk if the variable was not tightly controlled. You can directly execute the command stored in bazel_cmd.

Suggested change

eval "${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad

"${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad

gemini-code-assist · 2026-03-14T11:30:16Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+    if _command_exists "apt-get"; then
+        _execute "Installing xcb libraries for GUI support..." \
+            apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends \
+            libxcb1-dev libxcb-util-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev libxcb-image0-dev \
+            libxcb-keysyms1-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxcb-render-util0-dev \
+            libxcb-xinerama0-dev libxcb-xkb-dev
+    fi


The installation of xcb libraries for GUI support is only implemented for apt-based systems. To improve portability, consider adding support for other package managers like yum for RHEL-based systems.

…Build.sh Signed-off-by: alokkumardalei-wq <alokkumardalei2@gmail.com>

github-actions · 2026-03-14T11:44:15Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

github-actions · 2026-03-14T12:00:39Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

github-actions · 2026-03-14T12:06:55Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-14T12:56:27Z

Hello @maliberty the https://jenkins.openroad.tools/job/OpenROAD-Public/job/PR-9762-merge/4/display/redirect is failing at build 4 as I checked but has passed in build 1, 2 and 3 . I have no idea why is it so . Could you please look into this when you have time.

Thank you.

gadfort · 2026-03-15T17:10:32Z

etc/Build.sh

+    if command -v bazelisk &> /dev/null; then
+        bazel_cmd="bazelisk"
+    fi
+    "${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad


this should honor the GUI flag and numThreads, and should build release or opt

oharboe · 2026-03-15T21:24:39Z

I think this is a bad idea. We want to ultimately phase out DependencyInstaller and install only bazel and let it pull in dependencies. DependencyInstaller should be kept as is for the CMake use-case, IMO.

gadfort · 2026-03-16T00:20:10Z

@oharboe I think this will provide for a smoother transition and if bazel can handle it all then maybe it can be retired in the future. (although we still need to install bazel/bazelisk and buildifier, so something is needed to get folks onboarded quickly and easily).

gadfort · 2026-03-16T00:21:40Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+            cd "${BASE_DIR}"
+            _execute "Downloading bazelisk..." curl -Lo bazelisk \
+                "https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazelisk/releases/latest/download/bazelisk-linux-${bazelisk_arch}"
+            chmod +x bazelisk


need to verify the checksum _verify_checksum

gadfort · 2026-03-16T00:21:53Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+            cd "${BASE_DIR}"
+            _execute "Downloading buildifier..." curl -Lo buildifier \
+                "https://github.com/bazelbuild/buildtools/releases/latest/download/buildifier-linux-${buildifier_arch}"
+            chmod +x buildifier


need to verify the checksum _verify_checksum

gadfort · 2026-03-16T00:23:12Z

etc/DependencyInstaller.sh

+        error "You must use one of: -all, -base, -common, -bazel, or -bazel-dev."
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "${INSTALL_BAZEL}" == "yes" ]]; then


probably should include bazel if doing -bazel-dev
"|| ${INSTALL_BAZEL_DEV}" == "yes"

oharboe · 2026-03-16T04:11:26Z

Being a user of bazel, what I would be more interested in is:

install bazelisk using non-ORFS bazel idiomatic instrunctions. use the bazel up to date insructions
add a bazelisk run //:build-deps that builds ORFS dependencies to complement //:install

This would probably require framework inverting DependencyInstaller so that it calls one decomposed build per tool.

Claude should do that automatically.

oharboe · 2026-03-16T04:41:33Z

as for dev dependencies and linters and such, I think a better path is to add e.g. lint targets and let those lint targets handle dependencies in a bazel idiomatic fashion #9734

oharboe · 2026-03-16T04:42:15Z

in that same vein check docs with bazel #9733

oharboe · 2026-03-16T04:46:30Z

I think that this PR rightly identifies some real pain-points that I have myself.

oharboe · 2026-03-16T06:08:01Z

@alokkumardalei-wq @gadfort Thougths?

The two PRs below build on the findings in this PR and should addresses the concerns:

The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts#4003

#9772

oharboe · 2026-03-16T09:42:39Z

@alokkumardalei-wq Did you see my comments? #9762 (comment)

github-actions · 2026-03-16T09:43:09Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-16T10:27:40Z

Thanks for the feedback! I have updated the PR to address @gadfort 's review comments: I added checksum verification for the tool downloads, made -bazel-dev automatically include the base -bazel tools, and updated Build.sh to respect the -no-gui and -threads flags while defaulting to -c opt."
If anything else I can improve please let me know.
Thank you.

github-actions · 2026-03-16T10:28:35Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-16T10:29:01Z

Thanks @oharboe for your suggestions, I see the architectural point about keeping DependencyInstaller.sh purely for CMake and moving Bazel dependency management entirely into bazel run targets (as proposed in PR #9772). Since @gadfort suggested this PR could serve as a useful transition step, I am open to whatever the core maintainers decide: either treating this as a temporary bridge while the Bazel-native targets mature, or closing this in favor of PR #9772.

Thank you!

oharboe · 2026-03-16T10:47:19Z

@alokkumardalei-wq Please also read The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts#4003 and let me know what your thoughts are this PR in light of that PR getting accepted.

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-16T12:11:07Z

Thanks @oharboe for linking that! I just reviewed OpenROAD-flow-scripts#4003. Yes, adding bazelisk run //:install to ORFS directly addresses the original paint-point I raised in #9594. It's a much cleaner, Bazel-native approach than trying to overload DependencyInstaller.sh and Build.sh.
Once ORFS#4003 is merged, the onboarding experience for Bazel users will be much smoother. If everyone is in agreement, I am happy to close this PR in favor of your approach in ORFS#4003 and #9772.

Thank you!

oharboe · 2026-03-16T12:13:09Z

@alokkumardalei-wq Is #9772 needed? I thought we were statically linked. Please advice if it should be re-opened with some specific instructions on what exactly it should test for.

gadfort · 2026-03-16T12:18:35Z

@alokkumardalei-wq @oharboe please keep in mind that not all users are using ORFS and we should not expecting that of users and developers.

oharboe · 2026-03-16T12:20:11Z

@alokkumardalei-wq @oharboe please keep in mind that not all users are using ORFS and we should not expecting that of users and developers.

Sounds good. Please comment in my PR where we're not being use-case agnostic. I've tried to be agnostic w.r.t. nix, cmake and bazel.

gadfort

I think just correct the flag and it should be ready for a full review. Thanks

gadfort · 2026-03-16T12:24:48Z

etc/Build.sh

+    fi
+    bazelArgs=("-c" "opt" "--jobs=${numThreads}")
+    if [[ "$noGui" == "yes" ]]; then
+        bazelArgs+=("--define=enable_gui=false")


this should probably use:

OpenROAD/BUILD.bazel

Line 47 in b39fbaf

string_flag(

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-16T12:30:59Z

Thanks @oharboe ,yes, I checked the Bazel dependency graph . The qt-bazel setup safely downloads xcb-proto and hermetically compiles/statically links the xcb plugins from source inside the sandbox. Because of this, it doesn't depend on system-level libxcb-*-dev packages being installed via apt. Therefore, PR #9772 is not needed but want to hear from you I am if getting wrong somewhere.

Thank you!

oharboe · 2026-03-16T12:35:39Z

@alokkumardalei-wq Thanks for checking! Yes, best I know, #9772 is not needed. We can re-open it or something like it if we find later that it is needed.

Close this one?

oharboe · 2026-03-16T12:37:55Z

@alokkumardalei-wq If approperiate, please consider leaving a note in The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts#4003, it will speed up reading for maintainers as they won't have to trawl through this issue to figure out that you prefer that solution too.

oharboe · 2026-03-16T12:38:03Z

Close?

gadfort · 2026-03-16T12:51:26Z

Close?

No, there is an issue I raised to do this, so no need to close, this should be merged once ready.

oharboe · 2026-03-16T13:08:33Z

My concerns are addressed by The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenROAD-flow-scripts#4003

I have no opinion about or stake in the DependencyInstaller.sh use-case as I view it as deprecated, but still important for the users. Those that still use it know what the pain points are.

1. Add checksum verification to bazelisk and buildifier downloads. 2. Make -bazel-dev auto-install -bazel. 3. Update Build.sh Bazel command to honor -no-gui and -threads, and default to -c opt. Signed-off-by: alokkumardalei-wq <alokkumardalei2@gmail.com>

github-actions · 2026-03-16T14:37:52Z

clang-tidy review says "All clean, LGTM! 👍"

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-16T15:30:28Z

Hello @gadfort thanks for the feedback I think I have addressed all your suggestions/feedback , please have a review when you have time and let know if anything left to work on.

Thank you!

alokkumardalei-wq · 2026-03-20T01:15:36Z

Hello @gadfort and @maliberty I think all CI checks are passing now , also I have done the changes suggested by you, please have a look onto this when you have time and please let me know If still I missed something critical or anything.

Thank you.

gemini-code-assist bot reviewed Mar 14, 2026

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alokkumardalei-wq mentioned this pull request Mar 14, 2026

Add bazel options to DependencyInstaller.sh #9594

Open

etc: add -bazel and -bazel-dev options to DependencyInstaller.sh and …

c2d59d2

…Build.sh Signed-off-by: alokkumardalei-wq <alokkumardalei2@gmail.com>

alokkumardalei-wq force-pushed the feature/bazel-options-dependency-installer branch from 9a72b14 to c2d59d2 Compare March 14, 2026 11:40

alokkumardalei-wq force-pushed the feature/bazel-options-dependency-installer branch from 7739166 to c2d59d2 Compare March 14, 2026 12:04

alokkumardalei-wq mentioned this pull request Mar 14, 2026

bazel - manpage missing #7117

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gadfort reviewed Mar 15, 2026

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gadfort requested changes Mar 16, 2026

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alokkumardalei-wq force-pushed the feature/bazel-options-dependency-installer branch from 83b0442 to d853468 Compare March 16, 2026 10:25

alokkumardalei-wq requested a review from gadfort March 16, 2026 12:14

gadfort requested changes Mar 16, 2026

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alokkumardalei-wq force-pushed the feature/bazel-options-dependency-installer branch from d853468 to 5af28c1 Compare March 16, 2026 14:34

alokkumardalei-wq requested a review from gadfort March 16, 2026 15:30

gadfort requested a review from maliberty March 17, 2026 18:43

This was referenced Mar 18, 2026

Install should not expect an orfs install. #9775

Open

Add a bazelisk run :tidy that tidies up the code across all languages #8495

Open

	eval "${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad
	"${bazel_cmd}" build //:openroad

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