diff --git a/runtime/mains/dev/Makefile b/runtime/mains/dev/Makefile
index 0b2a1b99..8b8cbb66 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/dev/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/dev/Makefile
@@ -1,14 +1,12 @@
 
-# To set a custom TOOLPATH, call make like this:
-# TOOLPATH=../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin make ...
-TOOLPATH ?= ~/dev/riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
 
-COMP     = $(TOOLPATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
+COMP = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -ffreestanding -nostartfiles
 
-DMP  = $(TOOLPATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = $(TOOLPATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 
 VX_STR  = ../../startup/vx_start.s
diff --git a/runtime/mains/hello/Makefile b/runtime/mains/hello/Makefile
index fcba1361..8f080e1e 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/hello/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/hello/Makefile
@@ -1,20 +1,22 @@
 
-COMP     = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP     = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld
 
-DMP  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 
-NEWLIB  = ../../newlib/newlib.c ../../newlib/newlib_notimp.c ../../newlib/newlib.s
+NEWLIB  = ../../newlib/newlib.c
 VX_STR  = 
 VX_INT  = ../../intrinsics/vx_intrinsics.s
-VX_IO   = 
+VX_IO   = ../../io/vx_io.s ../../io/vx_io.c
 VX_API  = 
 VX_TEST = 
 VX_FIO  = 
-LIBS    = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
+LIBS    = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
 
 VX_MAIN = hello
 
diff --git a/runtime/mains/nativevecadd/Makefile b/runtime/mains/nativevecadd/Makefile
index 763eefa4..1347106e 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/nativevecadd/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/nativevecadd/Makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 
-COMP     = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-g++
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP     = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-g++
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostartfiles
 CC_FLAGS = -ffreestanding -O0 -Wl,--gc-sections -nostartfiles -nostdlib -nostartfiles -nodefaultlibs -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32
 
-DMP  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 # VX_STR  = ../../startup/vx_start.s
 
@@ -18,7 +20,7 @@ VX_IO   = ../../io/vx_io.s ../../io/vx_io.c
 VX_API  = ../../vx_api/vx_api.c
 VX_TEST = ../../tests/tests.c
 VX_FIO  = ../../fileio/fileio.s
-LIBS    = -Wl,--whole-archive ./libs/libvecadd.a -Wl,--no-whole-archive ./libs/libOpenCL.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
+LIBS    = -Wl,--whole-archive ./libs/libvecadd.a -Wl,--no-whole-archive ./libs/libOpenCL.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
 
 VX_MAIN = vx_pocl_main
 
diff --git a/runtime/mains/nlTest/Makefile b/runtime/mains/nlTest/Makefile
index e3f66d80..c7cd3fe6 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/nlTest/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/nlTest/Makefile
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
 
-COMP     = /opt/riscv/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -ffreestanding -nostartfiles -nostdlib
 
-DMP  = /opt/riscv/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = /opt/riscv/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 
-NEWLIB  = ../../newlib/newlib.c ../../newlib/newlib_notimp.c ../../newlib/newlib.s
+NEWLIB  = ../../newlib/newlib.c
 VX_STR  = ../../startup/vx_start.s
 VX_INT  = ../../intrinsics/vx_intrinsics.s
 VX_IO   = ../../io/vx_io.s ../../io/vx_io.c
@@ -26,7 +28,7 @@ HEX: ELF
 	$(CPY) -O ihex vx_nl_main.elf vx_nl_main.hex
 
 ELF: 
-	$(COMP) $(CC_FLAGS) $(VX_STR) $(VX_FIO) $(NEWLIB) $(VX_INT) $(VX_IO) $(VX_API) $(VX_TEST) $(VX_MAIN) /opt/riscv/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a /opt/riscv/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc -o vx_nl_main.elf
+	$(COMP) $(CC_FLAGS) $(VX_STR) $(VX_FIO) $(NEWLIB) $(VX_INT) $(VX_IO) $(VX_API) $(VX_TEST) $(VX_MAIN) $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc -o vx_nl_main.elf
 
 clean:
 	rm -rf *.o *.elf *.dump *.hex *.qemu *.log *.debug
diff --git a/runtime/mains/simple/Makefile b/runtime/mains/simple/Makefile
index 5e534fa7..c77a4675 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/simple/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/simple/Makefile
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 
-COMP     = riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
 CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 
-DMP  = riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 
 NEWLIB  = ../../newlib/newlib.c
@@ -13,7 +15,7 @@ VX_IO   = ../../io/vx_io.s ../../io/vx_io.c
 VX_API  = ../../vx_api/vx_api.c
 VX_TEST = ../../tests/tests.c
 VX_FIO  = ../../fileio/fileio.s
-LIBS    = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
+LIBS    = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
 
 VX_MAIN = vx_simple_main
 
diff --git a/runtime/mains/vecadd/Makefile b/runtime/mains/vecadd/Makefile
index 763eefa4..1347106e 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/vecadd/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/vecadd/Makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 
-COMP     = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-g++
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP     = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-g++
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostdlib
 # CC_FLAGS = -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32 -O0 -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,linker.ld -ffreestanding -nostartfiles
 CC_FLAGS = -ffreestanding -O0 -Wl,--gc-sections -nostartfiles -nostdlib -nostartfiles -nodefaultlibs -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -march=rv32im -mabi=ilp32
 
-DMP  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 # VX_STR  = ../../startup/vx_start.s
 
@@ -18,7 +20,7 @@ VX_IO   = ../../io/vx_io.s ../../io/vx_io.c
 VX_API  = ../../vx_api/vx_api.c
 VX_TEST = ../../tests/tests.c
 VX_FIO  = ../../fileio/fileio.s
-LIBS    = -Wl,--whole-archive ./libs/libvecadd.a -Wl,--no-whole-archive ./libs/libOpenCL.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
+LIBS    = -Wl,--whole-archive ./libs/libvecadd.a -Wl,--no-whole-archive ./libs/libOpenCL.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
 
 VX_MAIN = vx_pocl_main
 
diff --git a/runtime/mains/vector_test/Makefile b/runtime/mains/vector_test/Makefile
index f8bc6161..698718e8 100644
--- a/runtime/mains/vector_test/Makefile
+++ b/runtime/mains/vector_test/Makefile
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 
-COMP     = /home/priya/dev/riscv_vec/riscv-gnu/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
+RISCV_TOOL_PATH ?= $(wildcard ../../../../riscv-gnu-toolchain/drops)
+
+COMP = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
 
 CC_FLAGS = -ffreestanding -O0 -Wl,--gc-sections -nostartfiles -nostdlib -nostartfiles -nodefaultlibs -Wl,-Bstatic,-T,../vortex_link.ld -march=rv32imv -mabi=ilp32
 
-#DMP  = /home/fares/dev/riscv-gnu-toolchain-vector/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-#CPY  = /home/fares/dev/riscv-gnu-toolchain-vector/drops/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
-DMP  = /home/priya/dev/riscv_vec/riscv-gnu/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
-CPY  = /home/priya/dev/riscv_vec/riscv-gnu/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
+DMP  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objdump
+CPY  = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/bin/riscv32-unknown-elf-objcopy
 
 
 # VX_STR  = ../../startup/vx_start.s
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@ VX_API  = ../../vx_api/vx_api.c
 VX_TEST = ../../tests/tests.c
 VX_FIO  = ../../fileio/fileio.s
 VX_VEC  = vx_vec.s
-#LIBS    = /home/fares/dev/riscv-gnu-toolchain-vector/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a /home/fares/dev/riscv-gnu-toolchain-vector/drops/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
-LIBS    = /home/priya/dev/riscv_vec/riscv-gnu/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a /home/priya/dev/riscv_vec/riscv-gnu/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
+LIBS    = $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libc.a $(RISCV_TOOL_PATH)/riscv32-unknown-elf/lib/libstdc++.a -static-libgcc -lgcc
 
 VX_MAIN = vx_vector_main