various approaches for converting configuration data for programmable circuits are disclosed . in one embodiment , a first configuration bitstream is provided . the first configuration bitstream has a format compatible with a first protocol for communicating with and configuring the programmable circuit . a second protocol is selected for communicating with and configuring the programmable circuit , and the first configuration bitstream is converted to a second configuration bitstream . the second configuration bitstream has a format compatible with the second protocol . the programmable circuit is configured with the second configuration bitstream .