diff --git a/src/panfrost/Makefile.sources b/src/panfrost/Makefile.sources
index 5893fac91aa..06ec8a8eb56 100644
--- a/src/panfrost/Makefile.sources
+++ b/src/panfrost/Makefile.sources
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ bifrost_FILES := \
         bifrost/bi_print.c \
         bifrost/bi_print.h \
         bifrost/bi_quirks.c \
+        bifrost/bir.c \
         bifrost/compiler.h \
         bifrost/cmdline.c \
         bifrost/disassemble.c \
diff --git a/src/panfrost/bifrost/bir.c b/src/panfrost/bifrost/bir.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0f1efcb3388
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/panfrost/bifrost/bir.c
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2020 Collabora Ltd.
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+ * copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+ * to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+ * the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+ * and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+ * Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice (including the next
+ * paragraph) shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the
+ * Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.  IN NO EVENT SHALL
+ * THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+ * SOFTWARE.
+ *
+ * Authors (Collabora):
+ *      Alyssa Rosenzweig <alyssa.rosenzweig@collabora.com>
+ */
+
+#include "compiler.h"
+
+/* Does an instruction respect outmods and source mods? Depend
+ * on the types involved */
+
+bool
+bi_has_outmod(bi_instruction *ins)
+{
+        bool classy = bi_class_props[ins->type] & BI_MODS;
+        bool floaty = nir_alu_type_get_base_type(ins->dest_type) == nir_type_float;
+
+        return classy && floaty;
+}
+
+/* Technically we should check the source type, not the dest
+ * type, but the type converting opcodes (i2f, f2i) don't
+ * actually support mods so it doesn't matter. */
+
+bool
+bi_has_source_mods(bi_instruction *ins)
+{
+        return bi_has_outmod(ins);
+}
+
+/* A source is swizzled if the op is swizzlable, in 8-bit or
+ * 16-bit mode, and the swizzled op. TODO: multi args */
+
+bool
+bi_is_src_swizzled(bi_instruction *ins, unsigned s)
+{
+        bool classy = bi_class_props[ins->type] & BI_SWIZZLABLE;
+        bool small = nir_alu_type_get_type_size(ins->dest_type) < 32;
+        bool first = (s == 0); /* TODO: prop? */
+
+        return classy && small && first;
+}
diff --git a/src/panfrost/bifrost/compiler.h b/src/panfrost/bifrost/compiler.h
index 79e45c9dff7..74b9e2205c3 100644
--- a/src/panfrost/bifrost/compiler.h
+++ b/src/panfrost/bifrost/compiler.h
@@ -432,4 +432,10 @@ bir_dest_index(nir_dest *dst)
 #define bi_foreach_src(ins, v) \
         for (unsigned v = 0; v < ARRAY_SIZE(ins->src); ++v)
 
+/* BIR manipulation */
+
+bool bi_has_outmod(bi_instruction *ins);
+bool bi_has_source_mods(bi_instruction *ins);
+bool bi_is_src_swizzled(bi_instruction *ins, unsigned s);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/panfrost/bifrost/meson.build b/src/panfrost/bifrost/meson.build
index 2812dba2c5b..5b885914c78 100644
--- a/src/panfrost/bifrost/meson.build
+++ b/src/panfrost/bifrost/meson.build
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ libpanfrost_bifrost_files = files(
   'disassemble.c',
   'bi_print.c',
   'bi_tables.c',
+  'bir.c',
   'bifrost_compile.c',
 )