A topology metadata file is identified that describes a topology of a system on chip (SoC) to be created, where the topology includes a plurality of computing blocks to be interconnected by a fabric. A corresponding computing block metadata file is identified for each of the plurality of computing blocks, where each of the computing block metadata files is to describe attributes of the corresponding computing block. The topology metadata file and the computing block metadata files are parsed to identify configuration attributes of the SoC. An intermediate representation of the SoC is generated based on the configuration attributes.