SHsherincall·Oct 6, 2022
Some more discussion and clarifications about this at https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/discussion...
In NVIDIA and nouveauNVIDIA
open-gpu-kernel-modules
C2022–2026
NVIDIA / open-gpu-kernel-modules
open-gpu-kernel-modules
NVIDIA Linux open GPU kernel module source
39Distinct people
42Mentions
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NVIDIA Linux open GPU kernel module source
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 6:01:08 PM UTC.
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HN mentions by year42 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2022-05-11 20:38:34 UTC to 2026-07-14 18:01:53 UTC.
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View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 10 | 2 | 8 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 6 | 2 | 4 |
What Hacker News says
10 sourcesI might be totally wrong, as I haven't looked into the details (and I'm not familiar with nouveau either), but I thought they released more than include files? It seems like this[0] is the full kernel driver source (though only for recent nvidia GPUs). But userspace components are still closed source, so that might be what you are referring to. Though surely the kernel drivers are useful for more than just communicating with nouveau?
[0] https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules
In Framework Laptop 2.5Gbps Ethernet Expansion CardLooked around and seems pretty widespread. Links below to many issues, and some now fixed partially. Yeah, let's hope the open sourcing of those drivers make for a brighter future, but still I will do my damned best to never buy an nvidia product again.
https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/issues/161
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/2166
https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/vgqyv2/wayland_nvidia_...
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/1891
https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/external-monitor-doesn...
In RustDesk – Open-source TeamViewer alternative> Are you including the new open source kernel modules?
Apparently, they simply moved almost all of their driver into firmware (the "GPU system processor") - and that firmware is closed. Stated [here](https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/issues/19#...).
And what about the host-side library for interacting with the driver? And the Runtime API library? And the JIT compiler library? This seems more like a gimmick than actual adoption of a FOSS strategy.
Just to give an example of why open sourcing those things can be critical: Currently, if you compile a CUDA kernel dynamically, the NVRTC library prepends a boilerplate header. Now, I wouldn't mind much if it were a few lines, but - it's ~150K _lines_ of header! So you write a 4-line kernel, but compile 150K+4 lines... and I can't do anything about it. And note this is not a bug;
Read the rest
if you want to remove that header, you may need to re-introduce some parts of it which are CUDA "intrinsics" but which the modified LLVM C++ frontend (which NVIDIA uses) does not know about. With a FOSS library, I _could_ do something about it.
> Out of curiosity, not direct enough for what? What do you need access to that you don’t have at the moment?
I can't even tell how may slots I have left in my CUDA stream (i.e. how many more items I can enqueue).
I can't access the module(s) in the primary context of a CUDA device.
Until CUDA 11.x, I couldn't get the driver handle of an apriori-compiled kernel.
etc.
> Which features are you referring to?
One example: Launching kernels from within other kernels.
> Are you suggesting that features that make programming easier and features that users request must not be added?
If you add a feature which, when used, causes a 10x drop in performance of your kernel, then it's usually simply not worth using, even if it's easy and convenient. We use GPUs for performance first and foremost, after all.
> At some point Nvidia, the last interesting closed source holdout & throwback to a bygone era, will cave and open source their damn driver and we can close the book on one of the most interesting episodes in the history of the open source movement.
Indeed, nVidia open sourced the kernel portion of their drivers a few weeks ago.
https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules
This is, at least for now, a somewhat limited release (only supports Turing and newer, only really tested for Tesla etc., which shows where the paint point is), and not mainlined (yet? Probably the long-term goal).
In How we wound up with Linux's kernel mode setting ('KMS')PVS-Studio vs. open source Nvidia drivers
2 points · Open discussionYou're looking at the wrong thing. https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/tree/main/... contains the largest parts of the driver.
In Nvidia releases open-source GPU kernel moduleshttps://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules#supported-...
"Currently, the kernel modules can be built for x86_64 or aarch64."
In Nvidia releases open-source GPU kernel modulesIt seems the modules bridge the kernel with the driver [1], so it is this part that is GPL/MIT, the driver itself is still a binary blob.
AMD probably does the same? Correct me if I'm wrong.
[1] https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/tree/main/...
In Nvidia releases open-source GPU kernel modulesNvidia Linux Open GPU Kernel Module Source
61 points · Open discussion