NVIDIA CUDA NVRTC for CUDA 12.x

Warnings

• breaking CUDA Python wheels, including `nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12`, require a compatible NVIDIA GPU driver installed on the system. Mismatched driver versions (e.g., an older driver with a newer CUDA toolkit version or vice-versa) can lead to runtime errors or GPU features being unavailable.
  Fix: Ensure your NVIDIA GPU driver is up-to-date and compatible with the CUDA toolkit version (indicated by 'cu12' in the package name). Consult NVIDIA's CUDA compatibility matrix.
• gotcha This package is intended for 'runtime use' and provides native shared libraries (like `.dll` or `.so` files). It *does not* include developer tools, headers, or the `nvcc` compiler itself. For full CUDA development workflows, the complete NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit must be installed separately.
  Fix: If you need to compile CUDA C++ code or access CUDA headers, install the full CUDA Toolkit from NVIDIA's developer website alongside the Python runtime components.
• gotcha The `nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12` package does not expose a direct Python API or symbols for import by end-user Python code. Its primary role is to provide the native NVRTC libraries that other Python packages (e.g., PyTorch, CuPy, JAX) link against and use internally for Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation of CUDA C++ kernels.
  Fix: Do not expect to `import nvrtc` or similar directly. Instead, utilize higher-level Python libraries that wrap CUDA functionality. This package is an underlying runtime dependency for them.
• gotcha Security analyses of `nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12` have occasionally flagged 'reduced effectiveness mitigations' for vulnerabilities when statically linked libraries from different toolchain versions are combined. This can impact the integrity of control flow protection mechanisms.
  Fix: For applications with high security requirements, regularly review security reports (e.g., from tools like ReversingLabs) and ensure consistent toolchain versions for all linked components. Consult programming language toolchain documentation (e.g., for Microsoft VisualStudio, use `/guard:cf`).

Install

• pip install nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12 Install with pip

Quickstart

The `nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12` package does not expose a direct Python API for end-user import. Instead, it provides the underlying native NVRTC runtime libraries that are consumed by other CUDA-enabled Python frameworks like PyTorch or CuPy. This quickstart demonstrates verifying CUDA's availability using these frameworks, which implicitly confirms that `nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12` is correctly installed as a runtime component. You might need to install `torch` or `cupy` separately (e.g., `pip install torch torchvision torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu121` or `pip install cupy-cuda12x`).

import os

# This package primarily provides native runtime libraries (DLLs/SOs)
# for CUDA's NVRTC component, which are consumed by other higher-level
# CUDA-enabled Python libraries (e.g., PyTorch, CuPy) for JIT compilation.
# There is no direct Python API exposed by this specific package for end-user import.
# The following code demonstrates verifying CUDA's availability, which implicitly
# relies on the correctly installed underlying CUDA runtime components like NVRTC.

try:
    import torch
    print(f"PyTorch CUDA available: {torch.cuda.is_available()}")
    if torch.cuda.is_available():
        print(f"PyTorch CUDA version: {torch.version.cuda}")
        print(f"Current CUDA device: {torch.cuda.get_device_name(0)}")
except ImportError:
    print("PyTorch not installed. Cannot verify CUDA availability via PyTorch.")

try:
    import cupy
    print(f"CuPy CUDA available: {cupy.cuda.is_available()}")
    if cupy.cuda.is_available():
        print(f"CuPy CUDA version: {cupy.cuda.runtime.get_version()}")
        print(f"Current CUDA device: {cupy.cuda.Device(0).name}")
except ImportError:
    print("CuPy not installed. Cannot verify CUDA availability via CuPy.")

# A successful installation of nvidia-cuda-nvrtc-cu12 means these libraries
# are available for use by such frameworks.