Check vl first
The current vl determines the number of body elements. Typical code executes vsetvli, vsetivli, or vsetvl before this instruction.
VWADD.VV
RISC-V VWADD.VV Instruction Details
Instruction ManualR-typeVWADD.VV performs signed widening add; SEW source elements are sign-extended and written as 2*SEW-wide results.
Instruction Syntax
vwadd.vv vd, vs2, vs1, vm
Operand Breakdown
vd: destination vector register group.
vs2/vs1 or scalar source: selected by suffixes such as .vv, .vx, .vi, or .vf.
vm: when present, vm=0 uses v0 as the execution mask and vm=1 is unmasked.
VVector Operations
Instruction Behavior
vwadd.vv is a RISC-V V extension vector-vector signed widening add instruction. For active elements, the SEW values from vs2 and vs1 are sign-extended to 2*SEW, then added and written to the 2*SEW-wide vd destination.
VWADD.VV Decode And Execute Animation
Starts from OP-V encoding fields, then shows how VWADD sign-extends SEW source elements before writing 2*SEW-wide add results to vd.
Instruction input
vwadd.vv
OP-V encodingvwadd.vv
funct6
110001
vm
0
vs2
01000
vs1
01100
funct3
000
vd
00100
opcode
1010111
lane
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
v8
0x00fa
0x010b
0x011c
0x012d
0x013e
0x014f
0x0160
0x0171
w+
w+
w+
w+
w+
w+
w+
w+
v12
0x000d
0x0016
0x001f
0x0028
0x0031
0x003a
0x0043
0x004c
v0.t
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
v4
...
-
...
...
...
-
...
...
Current step
Show OP-V 32-bit encoding fields
vwadd.vv uses OP-V encoding. The animation places fixed fields, register fields, vm, and the vs1 field in one encoding strip.
This animation shows only ISA-visible relationships from the official V extension: OP-V field decode, active-element reads, 2*SEW widening integer signed widening addition, mask control, and vd writeback. It does not model pipelines, caches, or timing.
Quick Understanding & Search Notes
VWADD.VV is not ordinary SEW-wrapping addition: it first sign-extends both source elements, then keeps the addition result in a 2*SEW-wide destination element.
Official syntax is `vwadd.vv vd, vs2, vs1, vm`; vm=1 is unmasked, while vm=0 uses v0.t to select active elements for this instruction.
For this batch's .vv/.vx forms, both source operands are SEW-wide, are sign-extended to 2*SEW, and are then added.
Destination elements are 2*SEW wide and destination EMUL is twice the source EMUL; this is not an accumulator instruction that reads old vd.
Tail elements and masked-off elements follow the current vtype tail/mask policy; the mnemonic alone does not imply fixed zeroing.
Vector Execution Context
When reading VWADD.VV, do not stop at the mnemonic. Official V-extension semantics also depend on the current vl, vtype, and mask state. .vv: two vector sources participate element by element.
Then check vtype
The current vtype supplies SEW, LMUL, tail policy, and mask policy; these affect element width, register-group size, and inactive/tail destination elements.
Then check vm/v0
For ordinary vector instructions with vm, vm=0 uses v0 as the execution mask and vm=1 is unmasked. A few forms such as VMERGE use v0 as data-selection input.
Common Usage Scenarios
Vector Integer Arithmetic
Understand this scenario with real code like «vwadd.vv v8, v12, v4, v0.t».
Widening Operations
Understand this scenario with real code like «vwadd.vv v8, v12, v4, v0.t».
Vectorized Loops
Understand this scenario with real code like «vwadd.vv v8, v12, v4, v0.t».
Pre-Use Checklist
Syntax Check
- Confirm the current instruction format is R-type.
- Confirm the operand order matches the example.
Semantic Check
- Ensure the destination register usage is compatible with the calling convention.
- Confirm this is not the lower-level form of a pseudo-instruction expansion.
Pitfalls / Common Confusions
Destination elements are 2*SEW wide, so the destination register group EMUL widens too.
Signed forms sign-extend inputs.
This is widening addition, not saturating addition; it does not set vxsat.
FAQ
How is VWADD.VV different from ordinary addition?
VWADD.VV sign-extends SEW source elements and produces a 2*SEW-wide result; ordinary single-width vector addition writes only a SEW-wide result.
Does VWADD.VV read old vd as an accumulator?
No. This page covers the .vv/.vx widening add/subtract form, where the result is computed from the current source operands and written to vd; see the .wv/.wx related instructions for wide-source forms.