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<https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenLane/issues/1095|#1095 Add OpenROAD remove_buffers to flow>
New issue created by <https://github.com/antonblanchard|antonblanchard>
<https://github.com/jjcherry56|@jjcherry56> points out that we should have the option of calling `remove_buffers` before we call `repair_design`, to undo any buffer addition that yosys/abc does.

To complicate matters, Openlane currently has an internal command called `remove_buffers`. It's controlled by an undocumented environment variable `DONT_BUFFER_PORTS`. What is it used for? <https://github.com/donn|@donn> any ideas?

I have a distant memory that it was to remove buffers inserted around tristates. I did find it a mention of it in caravel, but it's commented out:

```
# mgmt_gpio_in is driven by a tristate cell
# set ::env(DONT_BUFFER_PORTS) "mgmt_gpio_in"

```

If we are inserting buffers around tristates, I would think we should fix OpenROAD, and just remove this.
<https://github.com/The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenLane|The-OpenROAD-Project/OpenLane>