Install cuda vs cuda-toolkit

(Responses in this post were generated by Google Gemini)

What are differences between “sudo apt install cuda-toolkit-12-1” and “sudo apt install cuda-12-1”?

sudo apt install cuda-toolkit-12-1

Installs the CUDA Toolkit: This command specifically installs the CUDA Toolkit for version 12.1. The toolkit includes the necessary libraries, header files, and tools (like nvcc, the CUDA compiler) needed to develop and run CUDA applications. Driver installation optional (but usually not included): By default this install command usually does not install the NVIDIA Driver itself (It might be bundled in some cases).

sudo apt install cuda-12-1

Meta-package: This is essentially a meta-package. It acts as a shortcut to install a collection of CUDA packages, including: The CUDA Toolkit (cuda-toolkit-12-1). The NVIDIA Driver (version compatible with CUDA 12.1). Possibly other related libraries and utilities.

In essence

cuda-12-1 installs a complete CUDA setup, bringing in everything, you’ll likely need to get started with CUDA development. This would be considered the preferred way to install CUDA 12.1 on Google Colab. cuda-toolkit-12-1 is more focused, installing the core development tools but potentially omitting the driver. If you already have a compatible driver installed, you may choose to only install the toolkit and skip the potential extra steps associated with getting the driver.

Reasoning

To keep it simple and to have a working CUDA setup, most users would simply use sudo apt install cuda-12-1 on Colab since it covers both the driver and toolkit. Unless a user needs to do a very specific CUDA setup, this would be the recommended way to proceed.

Can I install cuda-12-1 only “sudo apt-get -y install cuda-12-1”?

According to the NVIDIA official site, cuda-12.1 installation is following commands:

wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2204/x86_64/cuda-ubuntu2204.pin
sudo mv cuda-ubuntu2204.pin /etc/apt/preferences.d/cuda-repository-pin-600
wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/12.1.0/local_installers/cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local_12.1.0-530.30.02-1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local_12.1.0-530.30.02-1_amd64.deb
sudo cp /var/cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local/cuda-*-keyring.gpg /usr/share/keyrings/
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install cuda-12-1

Then, can i install cuda-12-1 only sudo apt-get -y install cuda-12-1? Or I need whole commands?

Explanation

While sudo apt-get -y install cuda-12-1 might seem like the simplest approach, it will likely fail on a fresh Colab instance or one where CUDA hasn’t been set up before. Here’s why:

Package Repository: The apt package manager needs to know where to find the CUDA packages. The initial commands in the NVIDIA instructions:

wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2204/x86_64/cuda-ubuntu2204.pin
sudo mv cuda-ubuntu2204.pin /etc/apt/preferences.d/cuda-repository-pin-600
wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/12.1.0/local_installers/cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local_12.1.0-530.30.02-1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local_12.1.0-530.30.02-1_amd64.deb
sudo cp /var/cuda-repo-ubuntu2204-12-1-local/cuda-*-keyring.gpg /usr/share/keyrings/
sudo apt-get update

These commands are crucial. They are essentially doing the following:

• Adding the NVIDIA CUDA repository: This tells apt where to download CUDA packages from. Adding the repository key: This ensures that the packages downloaded are authentic and haven’t been tampered with.
• Updating package lists: This refreshes apt’s knowledge of available packages.

Only after these steps will sudo apt-get -y install cuda-12-1 be able to locate and install CUDA 12.1 successfully.

In summary

You need the whole set of commands. Skipping the initial repository setup steps will prevent apt from finding the required CUDA packages. The NVIDIA-provided instructions are the safest way to ensure a complete and correct installation of CUDA 12.1 on your Colab instance.