flox-cuda

# Flox CUDA Development Guide

## Prerequisites & Authentication

- Sign up for early access at https://flox.dev
- Authenticate with `flox auth login`
- **Linux-only**: CUDA packages only work on `["aarch64-linux", "x86_64-linux"]`
- All CUDA packages are prefixed with `flox-cuda/` in the catalog
- **No macOS support**: Use Metal alternatives on Darwin

## Core Commands

```bash
# Search for CUDA packages
flox search cudatoolkit --all | grep flox-cuda
flox search nvcc --all | grep 12_8

# Show available versions
flox show flox-cuda/cudaPackages.cudatoolkit

# Install CUDA packages
flox install flox-cuda/cudaPackages_12_8.cuda_nvcc
flox install flox-cuda/cudaPackages.cuda_cudart

# Verify installation
nvcc --version
nvidia-smi
```

## Package Discovery

```bash
# Search for CUDA toolkit
flox search cudatoolkit --all | grep flox-cuda

# Search for specific versions
flox search nvcc --all | grep 12_8

# Show all available versions
flox show flox-cuda/cudaPackages.cudatoolkit

# Search for CUDA libraries
flox search libcublas --all | grep flox-cuda
flox search cudnn --all | grep flox-cuda
```

## Essential CUDA Packages

| Package Pattern | Purpose | Example |
|-----------------|---------|---------|
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.cudatoolkit` | Main CUDA Toolkit | `cudaPackages_12_8.cudatoolkit` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.cuda_nvcc` | NVIDIA C++ Compiler | `cudaPackages_12_8.cuda_nvcc` |
| `cudaPackages.cuda_cudart` | CUDA Runtime API | `cuda_cudart` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.libcublas` | Linear algebra | `cudaPackages_12_8.libcublas` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.libcufft` | Fast Fourier Transform | `cudaPackages_12_8.libcufft` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.libcurand` | Random number generation | `cudaPackages_12_8.libcurand` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.cudnn_9_11` | Deep neural networks | `cudaPackages_12_8.cudnn_9_11` |
| `cudaPackages_X_Y.nccl` | Multi-GPU communication | `cudaPackages_12_8.nccl` |

## Critical: Conflict Resolution

**CUDA packages have LICENSE file conflicts requiring explicit priorities:*