Raising the baseline for the `nvptx64-nvidia-cuda` target
The Rust programming language will raise the baseline requirements for its nvptx64-nvidia-cuda compilation target in version 1.97, scheduled for release on July 9, 2026. The new minimum requirements are PTX ISA 7.0 and GPU architecture SM 7.0, dropping support for older GPUs and CUDA drivers. This change aims to fix compiler issues and focus development on currently supported hardware.
- ▪Rust 1.97 will require PTX ISA 7.0, which needs a CUDA 11 driver or newer.
- ▪GPUs with compute capability below SM 7.0, such as Maxwell and Pascal, will no longer be supported.
- ▪The change removes support for GPU architectures last updated in 2017, which are no longer supported by NVIDIA.
- ▪Users targeting older CUDA drivers or GPUs must remain on earlier Rust versions.
- ▪The update simplifies maintenance and improves correctness and performance for modern NVIDIA hardware.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The nvptx64-nvidia-cuda target is a compilation target for NVIDIA GPUs. When using this target, the final output is PTX. Two version choices shape that output: a GPU architecture (for example, sm_70, sm_80, …), which determines which GPUs can run the PTX, and a PTX ISA version, which determines which CUDA driver versions can load (and JIT-compile) the PTX. In Rust 1.97 (scheduled for release on July 9, 2026), the baseline PTX ISA version and GPU architecture for nvptx64-nvidia-cuda will be increased. These changes affect both the Rust compiler (rustc) and related host tooling, and they make it impossible to generate PTX artifacts compatible with older GPUs and older CUDA drivers.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Rust Blog.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Rust Blog
