Multicycle Paths - Multicycle Paths - 2026.1 English - UG903

Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Using Constraints (UG903)

Document ID
UG903
Release Date
2026-07-01
Version
2026.1 English

Use the multicycle path constraint to modify setup and hold relationships computed by the timer from the design’s clock waveforms. By default, the Vivado IDE timing engine performs single-cycle analysis. That analysis can be too restrictive and inappropriate for certain logic paths.

A common case is a logical path that needs more than one clock cycle for data to stabilize at the endpoint. If your startpoint and endpoint control logic allows it, use a multicycle path to relax the setup requirement.

The hold requirement can keep the original relationship, depending on your intent. This lets timing-driven algorithms focus on tighter paths and can also reduce runtime.