These handbooks serve as the primary documentation for the Nios® II processor.
- The Nios II Processor Reference Handbook answers the question “What is the Nios II processor?” and is the primary reference for the Nios II processor architecture.
- The Nios II Software Developer’s Handbook answers the question “How do I write programs for the Nios II processor?” and is the primary reference for programming the Nios II processor.
- The Quartus® II Development Software Handbook, Volume 5: Embedded Peripherals describes peripherals provided by Altera that work seamlessly with the Nios II processor and are included with Quartus II software.
Other related documents, such as tutorials and user guides, cover specific topics that are not included in the handbooks.
Embedded Documentation One-Click Download
The files provide a snapshot of the Nios II processor, the Nios II C-to-Hardware (C2H) acceleration compiler, SOPC Builder, and embedded peripherals documentation. After extracting the files, refer to the documentation.htm file for a list of included documents.
Additional Documentation
- Nios II Performance Benchmarks
- Nios II Design Contest Papers
- Nios II Hardware Development
- Software Development
- C-to-Hardware (C2H) Acceleration Compiler
- Development Tools, Kits, and Boards
- SOPC Builder System Development
- Using Megafunctions
- Other Related Documentation
Nios II Processor Reference Handbook (ver 9.1, Nov 2009, 2 MB)
Nios II Software Developer's Handbook (ver 9.1, Nov 2009, 2 MB)
Volume 4: SOPC Builder (ver 9.1, Nov 2009, 1 MB)
Volume 5: Embedded Peripherals (ver 9.1.1, Feb 2010, 3 MB)
Embedded Design Handbook (ver 2.5, Dec 2009, 2 MB)
Related Documentation
Release Notes
- MegaCore IP Library Release Notes and Errata (ver 9.1.1, Dec 2009, 954 KB)

(All IP and Nios II errata and release notes are combined into one document beginning with version 7.2)
- MegaCore IP Library Release Notes and Errata (v8.0 to v9.0) (ver 4.5, Jul 2009, 939 KB)
(Archive copy for v8.0, v8.1, and v9.0.)
- MegaCore IP Library Release Notes and Errata (v7.2 to v8.1) (ver 3.3, Feb 2009, 1 MB)
(Archive copy for v7.2, v8.0 and v8.1.)
- Nios II Embedded Design Suite Release Notes and Errata (ver 5.0, Nov 2009, 293 KB)
Nios II Hardware Development
- AN 548: Nios II Compact Configuration System for Cyclone III (ver 1.0, Nov 2008, 320 KB)
Design Files for AN 548 (597 KB)
- AN 531: Reducing Power with Hardware Accelerators (ver 1.0, May 2008, 151 KB)
Design Files for AN 531 (1 MB)
- Using Nios II Floating-Point Custom Instructions Tutorial (ver 2.0, Feb 2010, 235 KB)

Tutorial design files (4 KB)
- Nios II Flash Programmer User Guide (ver 2.1, Feb 2010, 273 KB)

- Nios II Hardware Development Tutorial (ver 3.0, Dec 2009, 743 KB)
Design Files for Nios II Hardware Development Tutorial (5 KB)
- AN 595: Vectored Interrupt Controller Usage and Applications (ver 1.0, Nov 2009, 246 KB)
Example Designs for AN595 (503 KB)
- Using Nios II Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (ver 1.2, Jul 2009, 210 KB)
Design Files for Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (15 KB)
- Nios II 3C25 Microprocessor with LCD Controller Data Sheet (ver 1.1, Mar 2009, 580 KB)
- Nios II 3C120 Microprocessor with LCD Controller Data Sheet (ver 1.1, Mar 2009, 634 KB)
- AN 351: Simulating Nios II Embedded Processor Designs (ver 1.2, Nov 2008, 323 KB)
AN 351 Software Files (6 KB)
- AN 391: Profiling Nios II Systems (ver 1.3, Jul 2008, 406 KB)
AN 391 Profiler Example Files (15 KB)
- Nios II Custom Instruction User Guide (ver 1.5, Jun 2008, 701 KB)
Design Files for Nios II Custom Instruction User Guide (19 KB)
- AN 446: Debugging Nios II Systems with the SignalTap II Embedded Logic Analyzer (ver 1.2, Jun 2008, 257 KB)
signal_tap_test software file (4 KB)
- AN527: Implementing an LCD Controller (ver 1.0, May 2008, 344 KB)
- Creating Multiprocessor Nios II Systems Tutorial (ver 1.3, Dec 2007, 1 MB)
Multiprocessor “Hello World” Design file for Stratix II RoHS (523 KB)
- AN 350: Upgrading Nios Processor Systems to the Nios II Processor (ver 1.1, Jul 2006, 617 KB)
Software Development
- My First Nios II Software Tutorial (ver 2.0, Jan 2010, 507 KB)

- AN 459: Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver (ver 3.0, Jan 2010, 964 KB)

AN 459 Design Example (52 KB)
- Using Nios II Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (ver 1.2, Jul 2009, 210 KB)
Design Files for Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (15 KB)
- AN 440: Accelerating Nios II Networking Applications (ver 1.1, Jun 2009, 179 KB)
Accelerating Nios II Networking Applications Design (3 MB)
- AN543: Debugging Nios II Software Using the Lauterbach Debugger (ver 1.0, Apr 2009, 278 KB)
Example Design for AN543 (6 MB)
- AN 429: Remote Configuration Over Ethernet with the Nios II Processor (ver 2.0, Mar 2009, 207 KB)
Application Note 429 Design Files (3 MB)
- Nios II IDE Help System (ver 1.7, Mar 2009, 1 MB)
- NicheStack Technical Manuals (PDFs) (ver , Apr 2007, 1 MB)
- NicheStack Technical Reference Manual (HTML) (ver , Apr 2007, 193 KB)
- Using the NicheStack TCP/IP Stack - Nios II Edition Tutorial (ver 1.0, Jan 2007, 1 MB)
- Using MicroC/OS-II RTOS with the Nios II Processor Tutorial (ver 1.2, Jan 2007, 1,014 KB)
C-to-Hardware Acceleration
- Nios II C2H Compiler User Guide (ver 1.6, Dec 2009, 911 KB)

dma_c2h_tutorial.c Tutorial design file for Nios II C2H Compiler User Guide (2 KB)
- AN 531: Reducing Power with Hardware Accelerators (ver 1.0, May 2008, 151 KB)
Design Files for AN 531 (1 MB)
- Adding Hardware Accelerators to Reduce Power in Embedded Systems (ver 1.0, Sep 2009, 722 KB)
- Accelerating Nios II Systems with the C2H Compiler Tutorial (ver 1.3, Aug 2008, 803 KB)
Design files for Stratix II and Cyclone II boards (387 KB)
- AN 417: Accelerating Functions with the C2H Compiler: Scatter-Gather DMA with Checksum (ver 1.1, Jul 2006, 424 KB)
Scatter-Gather DMA Design Files (6 KB)
- Automated Generation of Hardware Accelerators With Direct Memory Access From ANSI/ISO Standard C Functions (ver 1.0, May 2006, 296 KB)
Development Tools, Kits, and Boards
- Nios II Development Kit Getting Started User Guide (ver 2.5, May 2007, 858 KB)
- Nios Development Board Stratix II Edition Reference Manual (ver 1.3, May 2007, 1 MB)
(RoHS Compliant)
Nios Development Board Stratix II Edition PCB Layout Files RoHS Compliant (5 MB)
Nios Development Board Stratix II Edition Schematic RoHS Compliant (789 KB)
- Nios Development Board Cyclone II Edition Reference Manual (ver 1.3, May 2007, 1 MB)
(RoHS Compliant)
Nios Development Board Cyclone II PCB Layout Files RoHS Compliant (35 MB)
Nios Development Board Cyclone II 2C35 Schematic RoHS Compliant (762 KB)
- Industrial Snakebytes sell sheet (ver 1.0, Apr 2007, 112 KB)
- Nios Development Board Reference Manual, Stratix II Edition (ver 1.2, Oct 2006, 2 MB)
(Not RoHS Compliant. This board is no longer in production.)
- Nios II Evaluation Kit User Guide (ver 1.1, Oct 2005, 2 MB)
- Nios Development Board Reference Manual, Cyclone Edition (ver 1.2, Jan 2005, 3 MB)
- Nios Development Board Reference Manual, Stratix Professional Edition (ver 1.1, Oct 2004, 2 MB)
- Nios Development Board Reference Manual, Stratix Edition (ver 1.1, Oct 2004, 2 MB)
SOPC Builder System Development
- System Console User Guide (ver 1.3, Nov 2009, 230 KB)
Design Files for System Console (206 KB)
- Using Nios II Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (ver 1.2, Jul 2009, 210 KB)
Design Files for Tightly Coupled Memory Tutorial (15 KB)
- Nios II System Architect Design Tutorial (ver 1.0, Jun 2009, 1 MB)
Nios II Architect Design Tutorial Design Files (4 MB)
- AN458: Alternative Nios II Boot Methods (ver 1.1, Sep 2008, 334 KB)
AN458 design example files (37 KB)
- AN 323: Using SignalTap II Embedded Logic Analyzers in SOPC Builder Systems (ver 1.1, Nov 2007, 386 KB)
Other Related Documentation
- Nios II Performance Benchmarks (ver 4.0, Jun 2009, 119 KB)
- NicheStack Technical Manuals (PDFs) (ver , Apr 2007, 1 MB)
- NicheStack Technical Reference Manual (HTML) (ver , Apr 2007, 193 KB)


