Reproducible Builds for Quantum Computing

Abstract

Reproducible builds are a set of software development practices that establish an independently verifiable path from source code to binary artifacts, helping to detect and mitigate certain classes of supply chain attacks. Although quantum computing is a rapidly evolving field of research, it can already benefit from adopting reproducible builds. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the quantum computing and reproducible builds communities. We propose a generalization of the definition of reproducible builds in the quantum setting, motivated by two threat models: one targeting the confidentiality of end users' data during circuit preparation and submission to a quantum computer, and another compromising the integrity of quantum computation results. This work presents three examples that show how classical information can be hidden in transpiled quantum circuits, and two cases illustrating how even minimal modifications to these circuits can lead to incorrect quantum computation results. Our work provides initial steps towards a framework for reproducibility in quantum software toolchains.