get_project_config() only checks for .gds (uncompressed), misleading error message implies .gds.gz is also accepted

[shivarammysore]

Summary

cf_precheck/config.py:get_project_config() only checks for the uncompressed .gds form of the wrapper GDS — but the error message it raises tells the user that .gds.gz is also a valid input. The detection and the error are inconsistent.

Code reference

src/cf_precheck/config.py lines 50-72 (current main):

analog_gds = project_path / "gds/user_analog_project_wrapper.gds"
digital_gds = project_path / "gds/user_project_wrapper.gds"
openframe_gds = project_path / "gds/openframe_project_wrapper.gds"
mini_gds = project_path / "gds/user_project_wrapper_mini4.gds"

gds_files = {
    "analog": analog_gds,
    "digital": digital_gds,
    "openframe": openframe_gds,
    "mini": mini_gds,
}
present = {k: v for k, v in gds_files.items() if v.exists()}

if len(present) != 1:
    logging.critical(
        "A single valid GDS was not found. "
        "Digital projects need 'gds/user_project_wrapper(.gds/.gds.gz)'. "
        "Analog projects need 'gds/user_analog_project_wrapper(.gds/.gds.gz)'."
    )

Detection only looks at the .gds form (uncompressed). The error message lists .gds/.gds.gz as accepted forms.

Why this matters in practice

The intended flow is: uncompress_gds() runs Caravel's make uncompress (gunzips .gds.gz → .gds), then get_project_config() finds the resulting .gds. That works as long as make uncompress actually produces a .gds.

But several real failure modes leave .gds.gz un-extracted (e.g., the file is a Git LFS pointer not pulled by the remote runner — see chipfoundry/cf-cli#20). In those cases, get_project_config() reports "A single valid GDS was not found" — leaving the user thinking they need to commit a .gds, when in fact the issue is upstream of detection.

Suggested fix

Either:

1. Make get_project_config() also accept .gds.gz directly (and let downstream stages call uncompress on demand), so the error message becomes accurate; OR
2. Tighten the error message to reflect what is actually checked, e.g. "Digital projects need an uncompressed gds/user_project_wrapper.gds (commit it directly, or make uncompress your .gds.gz first)."

(1) is friendlier to users. (2) is at least truthful.

Suggested patch for option (1):

gds_suffixes = (\".gds\", \".gds.gz\")

def first_existing(base: str) -> Path | None:
    for suf in gds_suffixes:
        p = project_path / (\"gds/\" + base + suf)
        if p.exists():
            return p
    return None

bases = {
    \"analog\": \"user_analog_project_wrapper\",
    \"digital\": \"user_project_wrapper\",
    \"openframe\": \"openframe_project_wrapper\",
    \"mini\": \"user_project_wrapper_mini4\",
}
present = {k: p for k, b in bases.items() if (p := first_existing(b))}

Then call uncompress_gds() only on the matched file if its suffix is .gds.gz, instead of unconditionally running it.

Evidence

• Failed run: chipfoundry-bot PR ChipFoundry: precheck results vyges/vyges-edge-sensor-soc#7
• Log:

  2026-05-04 02:10:57 [INFO] Extracting compressed files in: /tmp/tmptbfmjjad/repo
  2026-05-04 02:10:57 [CRITICAL] A single valid GDS was not found.
  

• Local repo had gds/user_project_wrapper.gds.gz committed (not .gds). The make uncompress step ran but produced no .gds because the input was a 133-byte LFS pointer (cf precheck --remote: runner does not git-lfs-pull, sees 133-byte LFS pointers instead of real GDS files cf-cli#20). Detection then reported the misleading message.

Environment

• cf-precheck: current main
• Reproduces with any project that ships .gds.gz instead of .gds and has make uncompress fail silently for any reason (LFS pointer, permission issue, missing make target, etc.)