---
title: generate_preset_pass_manager (v1.4)
description: API reference for qiskit.transpiler.generate_preset_pass_manager in qiskit v1.4
source: https://eu-de.quantum.cloud.ibm.com/docs/en/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.generate_preset_pass_manager
---

# qiskit.transpiler.generate\_preset\_pass\_manager

`qiskit.transpiler.generate_preset_pass_manager(optimization_level=2, backend=None, target=None, basis_gates=None, inst_map=None, coupling_map=None, instruction_durations=None, backend_properties=None, timing_constraints=None, initial_layout=None, layout_method=None, routing_method=None, translation_method=None, scheduling_method=None, approximation_degree=1.0, seed_transpiler=None, unitary_synthesis_method='default', unitary_synthesis_plugin_config=None, hls_config=None, init_method=None, optimization_method=None, dt=None, qubits_initially_zero=True, *, _skip_target=False)`

[GitHub](https://github.com/Qiskit/qiskit/tree/stable/1.4/qiskit/transpiler/preset_passmanagers/generate_preset_pass_manager.py#L47-L478)

Generate a preset [`PassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.PassManager "qiskit.transpiler.PassManager")

This function is used to quickly generate a preset pass manager. Preset pass managers are the default pass managers used by the [`transpile()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/compiler#qiskit.compiler.transpile "qiskit.compiler.transpile") function. This function provides a convenient and simple method to construct a standalone [`PassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.PassManager "qiskit.transpiler.PassManager") object that mirrors what the [`transpile()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/compiler#qiskit.compiler.transpile "qiskit.compiler.transpile") function internally builds and uses.

The target constraints for the pass manager construction can be specified through a [`Target`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.Target "qiskit.transpiler.Target") instance, a [`BackendV1`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.BackendV1 "qiskit.providers.BackendV1") or [`BackendV2`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.BackendV2 "qiskit.providers.BackendV2") instance, or via loose constraints (`basis_gates`, `inst_map`, `coupling_map`, `backend_properties`, `instruction_durations`, `dt` or `timing_constraints`). The order of priorities for target constraints works as follows: if a `target` input is provided, it will take priority over any `backend` input or loose constraints. If a `backend` is provided together with any loose constraint from the list above, the loose constraint will take priority over the corresponding backend constraint. This behavior is independent of whether the `backend` instance is of type [`BackendV1`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.BackendV1 "qiskit.providers.BackendV1") or [`BackendV2`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.BackendV2 "qiskit.providers.BackendV2"), as summarized in the table below. The first column in the table summarizes the potential user-provided constraints, and each cell shows whether the priority is assigned to that specific constraint input or another input (target/backend(V1)/backend(V2)).

| User Provided              | target | backend(V1)            | backend(V2)            |
| -------------------------- | ------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **basis\_gates**           | target | basis\_gates           | basis\_gates           |
| **coupling\_map**          | target | coupling\_map          | coupling\_map          |
| **instruction\_durations** | target | instruction\_durations | instruction\_durations |
| **inst\_map**              | target | inst\_map              | inst\_map              |
| **dt**                     | target | dt                     | dt                     |
| **timing\_constraints**    | target | timing\_constraints    | timing\_constraints    |
| **backend\_properties**    | target | backend\_properties    | backend\_properties    |

> **Deprecated since version 1.3**
>
> `qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.generate_preset_pass_manager.generate_preset_pass_manager()`’s argument `inst_map` is deprecated as of Qiskit 1.3. It will be removed in Qiskit 2.0. The entire Qiskit Pulse package is being deprecated and this argument uses a dependency on the package.

> **Deprecated since version 1.3**
>
> `qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.generate_preset_pass_manager.generate_preset_pass_manager()`’s argument `backend_properties` is deprecated as of Qiskit 1.3. It will be removed in Qiskit 2.0. The target parameter should be used instead. You can build a Target instance with defined properties with Target.from\_configuration(…, backend\_properties=…)

> **Deprecated since version 1.3**
>
> `qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.generate_preset_pass_manager.generate_preset_pass_manager()`’s argument `timing_constraints` is deprecated as of Qiskit 1.3. It will be removed in Qiskit 2.0. The target parameter should be used instead. You can build a Target instance with defined timing constraints with Target.from\_configuration(…, timing\_constraints=…)

> **Deprecated since version 1.3**
>
> `qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.generate_preset_pass_manager.generate_preset_pass_manager()`’s argument `instruction_durations` is deprecated as of Qiskit 1.3. It will be removed in Qiskit 2.0. The target parameter should be used instead. You can build a Target instance with defined instruction durations with Target.from\_configuration(…, instruction\_durations=…)

**Parameters**

- **optimization\_level** ([*int*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int)) –

  The optimization level to generate a [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager") for. By default optimization level 2 is used if this is not specified. This can be 0, 1, 2, or 3. Higher levels generate potentially more optimized circuits, at the expense of longer transpilation time:

  > - 0: no optimization
  > - 1: light optimization
  > - 2: heavy optimization
  > - 3: even heavier optimization

- **backend** ([*Backend*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.Backend "qiskit.providers.Backend")) – An optional backend object which can be used as the source of the default values for the `basis_gates`, `inst_map`, `coupling_map`, `backend_properties`, `instruction_durations`, `timing_constraints`, and `target`. If any of those other arguments are specified in addition to `backend` they will take precedence over the value contained in the backend.

- **target** ([*Target*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.Target "qiskit.transpiler.Target")) – The [`Target`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.Target "qiskit.transpiler.Target") representing a backend compilation target. The following attributes will be inferred from this argument if they are not set: `coupling_map`, `basis_gates`, `instruction_durations`, `inst_map`, `timing_constraints` and `backend_properties`.

- **basis\_gates** ([*list*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#list)) – List of basis gate names to unroll to (e.g: `['u1', 'u2', 'u3', 'cx']`).

- **inst\_map** ([*InstructionScheduleMap*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.pulse.InstructionScheduleMap "qiskit.pulse.InstructionScheduleMap")) – DEPRECATED. Mapping object that maps gates to schedules. If any user defined calibration is found in the map and this is used in a circuit, transpiler attaches the custom gate definition to the circuit. This enables one to flexibly override the low-level instruction implementation.

- **coupling\_map** ([*CouplingMap*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.CouplingMap "qiskit.transpiler.CouplingMap")  *or*[*list*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#list)) –

  Directed graph represented a coupling map. Multiple formats are supported:

  1. `CouplingMap` instance
  2. List, must be given as an adjacency matrix, where each entry specifies all directed two-qubit interactions supported by backend, e.g: `[[0, 1], [0, 3], [1, 2], [1, 5], [2, 5], [4, 1], [5, 3]]`

- **instruction\_durations** ([*InstructionDurations*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.InstructionDurations "qiskit.transpiler.InstructionDurations")  *or*[*list*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#list)) –

  Dictionary of duration (in dt) for each instruction. If specified, these durations overwrite the gate lengths in `backend.properties`. Applicable only if `scheduling_method` is specified. The format of `instruction_durations` must be as follows: They must be given as an [`InstructionDurations`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.InstructionDurations "qiskit.transpiler.InstructionDurations") instance or a list of tuples

  `` ` [(instruction_name, qubits, duration, unit), ...]. | [('cx', [0, 1], 12.3, 'ns'), ('u3', [0], 4.56, 'ns')] | [('cx', [0, 1], 1000), ('u3', [0], 300)] ` ``

  If `unit` is omitted, the default is `'dt'`, which is a sample time depending on backend. If the time unit is `'dt'`, the duration must be an integer.

- **dt** ([*float*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#float)) – Backend sample time (resolution) in seconds. If provided, this value will overwrite the `dt` value in `instruction_durations`. If `None` (default) and a backend is provided, `backend.dt` is used.

- **timing\_constraints** (*TimingConstraints*) –

  Hardware time alignment restrictions. A quantum computer backend may report a set of restrictions, namely:

  > - granularity: An integer value representing minimum pulse gate resolution in units of `dt`. A user-defined pulse gate should have duration of a multiple of this granularity value.
  > - min\_length: An integer value representing minimum pulse gate length in units of `dt`. A user-defined pulse gate should be longer than this length.
  > - pulse\_alignment: An integer value representing a time resolution of gate instruction starting time. Gate instruction should start at time which is a multiple of the alignment value.
  > - acquire\_alignment: An integer value representing a time resolution of measure instruction starting time. Measure instruction should start at time which is a multiple of the alignment value.
  >
  > This information will be provided by the backend configuration. If the backend doesn’t have any restriction on the instruction time allocation, then `timing_constraints` is None and no adjustment will be performed.

- **initial\_layout** ([*Layout*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.Layout "qiskit.transpiler.Layout") *| List\[*[*int*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int)*]*) – Initial position of virtual qubits on physical qubits.

- **layout\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The `Pass` to use for choosing initial qubit placement. Valid choices are `'trivial'`, `'dense'`, and `'sabre'`, representing [`TrivialLayout`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.TrivialLayout "qiskit.transpiler.passes.TrivialLayout"), [`DenseLayout`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.DenseLayout "qiskit.transpiler.passes.DenseLayout") and [`SabreLayout`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.SabreLayout "qiskit.transpiler.passes.SabreLayout") respectively. This can also be the external plugin name to use for the `layout` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"layout"` for the `stage_name` argument.

- **routing\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The pass to use for routing qubits on the architecture. Valid choices are `'basic'`, `'lookahead'`, `'stochastic'`, `'sabre'`, and `'none'` representing [`BasicSwap`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.BasicSwap "qiskit.transpiler.passes.BasicSwap"), [`LookaheadSwap`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.LookaheadSwap "qiskit.transpiler.passes.LookaheadSwap"), [`StochasticSwap`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.StochasticSwap "qiskit.transpiler.passes.StochasticSwap"), [`SabreSwap`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.SabreSwap "qiskit.transpiler.passes.SabreSwap"), and erroring if routing is required respectively. This can also be the external plugin name to use for the `routing` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"routing"` for the `stage_name` argument.

- **translation\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The method to use for translating gates to basis gates. Valid choices `'translator'`, `'synthesis'` representing [`BasisTranslator`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.BasisTranslator "qiskit.transpiler.passes.BasisTranslator"), and [`UnitarySynthesis`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.UnitarySynthesis "qiskit.transpiler.passes.UnitarySynthesis") respectively. This can also be the external plugin name to use for the `translation` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"translation"` for the `stage_name` argument.

- **scheduling\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The pass to use for scheduling instructions. Valid choices are `'alap'` and `'asap'`. This can also be the external plugin name to use for the `scheduling` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"scheduling"` for the `stage_name` argument.

- **backend\_properties** ([*BackendProperties*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.providers.models.BackendProperties "qiskit.providers.models.BackendProperties")) – Properties returned by a backend, including information on gate errors, readout errors, qubit coherence times, etc.

- **approximation\_degree** ([*float*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#float)) – Heuristic dial used for circuit approximation (1.0=no approximation, 0.0=maximal approximation).

- **seed\_transpiler** ([*int*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int)) – Sets random seed for the stochastic parts of the transpiler.

- **unitary\_synthesis\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The name of the unitary synthesis method to use. By default `'default'` is used. You can see a list of installed plugins with [`unitary_synthesis_plugin_names()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.synthesis.plugin.unitary_synthesis_plugin_names "qiskit.transpiler.passes.synthesis.plugin.unitary_synthesis_plugin_names").

- **unitary\_synthesis\_plugin\_config** ([*dict*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#dict)) – An optional configuration dictionary that will be passed directly to the unitary synthesis plugin. By default this setting will have no effect as the default unitary synthesis method does not take custom configuration. This should only be necessary when a unitary synthesis plugin is specified with the `unitary_synthesis_method` argument. As this is custom for each unitary synthesis plugin refer to the plugin documentation for how to use this option.

- **hls\_config** ([*HLSConfig*](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.HLSConfig "qiskit.transpiler.passes.HLSConfig")) – An optional configuration class [`HLSConfig`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.HLSConfig "qiskit.transpiler.passes.HLSConfig") that will be passed directly to [`HighLevelSynthesis`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.passes.HighLevelSynthesis "qiskit.transpiler.passes.HighLevelSynthesis") transformation pass. This configuration class allows to specify for various high-level objects the lists of synthesis algorithms and their parameters.

- **init\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The plugin name to use for the `init` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). By default an external plugin is not used. You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"init"` for the stage name argument.

- **optimization\_method** ([*str*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str)) – The plugin name to use for the `optimization` stage of the output [`StagedPassManager`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager"). By default an external plugin is not used. You can see a list of installed plugins by using [`list_stage_plugins()`](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/transpiler_plugins#qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins "qiskit.transpiler.preset_passmanagers.plugin.list_stage_plugins") with `"optimization"` for the `stage_name` argument.

- **qubits\_initially\_zero** ([*bool*](https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#bool)) – Indicates whether the input circuit is zero-initialized.

**Returns**

The preset pass manager for the given options

**Return type**

[StagedPassManager](/docs/api/qiskit/1.4/qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager "qiskit.transpiler.StagedPassManager")

**Raises**

[**ValueError**](https://docs.python.org/3/library/exceptions.html#ValueError) – if an invalid value for `optimization_level` is passed in.