SynDebug enables practical debugging in fault tolerant quantum computing
SynDebug: A Framework to Debug Logic Bugs in Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing Programs
Emerging Technologies
Summary
Debugging programs that run on fault-tolerant quantum computers is very hard because of complex error correction layers. The authors present SynDebug, a system that lets programmers check for errors inside these complicated quantum programs without adding much overhead or risk of errors. SynDebug uses simple assertions that work directly within the encoded quantum data, making it efficient and safe. Their tests show it barely slows down the programs and does not increase error rates, proving such debugging is practical.
What this means in practice
- •For quantum software developers: Debug encoded quantum programs efficiently while maintaining low error rates and minimal overhead.
- •For hardware-software integration teams: Validate complex fault-tolerant quantum program behaviors across various quantum error correction codes and code distances.
Authors
Nicholas S. DiBrita, Jack Lange, Tirthak Patel
Abstract
Fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) introduces substantial systems-level complexity through quantum error correction (QEC), making debugging FTQC programs challenging. Existing quantum debugging approaches primarily target logical-level circuits and do not naturally support debugging within realistic FTQC execution flows. We present SynDebug, the first systems-level debugging framework for FTQC programs. SynDebug introduces lightweight assertion-based debugging primitives that operate directly within encoded FTQC infrastructures while avoiding additional logical surface area and minimizing temporal overhead. We evaluate SynDebug across multiple QEC code families, code distances, and encoded workloads, including state preparation, entanglement validation, and Shor-style programs. Our results demonstrate that SynDebug enables practical FTQC debugging with an average 1.8% additional circuit depth overhead (0% in most cases) and no measurable increase in the logical error rate, showing that systems-level debugging for large-scale FTQC applications is both feasible and practical.