nvcc --version command says nvcc is not installed

Question

I have installed cuda8.0, the latest version. I followed the procedure provided by Nvidia; but, when I type the command nvcc --version it says nvcc is not installed!

What do I do now?

Answer 1

The problem is [ based on the link you provided] you haven't added it the .bashrc. file so it can be seen:

1. From the terminal:

    nano /home/username/.bashrc
   
    # or
   
    nano /home/$USER/.bashrc
   

2. Inside there add the following: (replace cuda-8.0 with your version)

    export PATH="/usr/local/cuda-8.0/bin:$PATH"
    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/usr/local/cuda-8.0/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
   

3. Then do the following to save and close the editor:

    On you keyboard press the following: 
   
    ctrl + o             --> save 
    enter or return key  --> accept changes
    ctrl + x             --> close editor
   

4. Now either do source .bashrc or close and open another terminal

5. Now run nvcc --version

Information:

• .bashrc: is the file read by the terminal before opening and its found in the /home/$USER diretory of the user in question.
• the . before the file means its hidden from view unless you instruct you file manager to show hidden files

Answer 2

The above solution by @George Udosen is fine. If you want to save the manual procedure, you can automate it by the following:

1. Create a file add_to_bashrc and add the following to it:

   export CUDA_HOME=/usr/local/cuda
   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/cuda/lib64:/usr/local/cuda/extras/CUPTI/lib64
   export PATH=$PATH:$CUDA_HOME/bin
   

2. Create a shell script automate.sh:

   (... some installation procedure ...)
   
   cat add_to_bashrc >> ~/.bashrc
   . ~/.bashrc
   

3. Then you just need to run your shell script:

   sh automate.sh
   

4. Don't forget to check if the CUDA's shortcut (symLink) works correctly. Simply execute:

   ls /usr/local/cuda
   

Answer 3

The answer from @George Udosen is perfect.

Just for increment it, you can also export to /usr/local/cuda which is a symbolic link to /usr/local/cuda-10.1, based on this answer. So, you can also write:

export PATH=/usr/local/cuda/bin${PATH:+:${PATH}}$ 
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda/lib64${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}}

Answer 4

For later versions of CUDA (11.7 for me), I followed the below steps:

1. Go to https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-downloads and follow the installation instructions.

2. Inside the ~/.bashrc file, update the path as follows:

   export PATH="/usr/local/cuda-11.7/bin:$PATH"`
   export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/usr/local/cuda-11.7/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
   

3. The output of nvcc -V then looks like:

   nvcc: NVIDIA (R) Cuda compiler driver
   Copyright (c) 2005-2022 NVIDIA Corporation
   Built on Wed_Jun__8_16:49:14_PDT_2022
   Cuda compilation tools, release 11.7, V11.7.99
   Build cuda_11.7.r11.7/compiler.31442593_0
   

Answer 5

The above solution by @Agile Bean is fine. If you want to you can use the env var CUDA_HOME instead of /usr/local/cuda in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH and edit your .bashrc or .zshrc file or the resource file for your shell with emacs or vi or nano or your favorite editor:

1. emacs $HOME/.zshrc

2. Add the following lines to the .zshrc file export CUDA_HOME=/usr/local/cuda

export LD_LIBRARY_PATHlrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Sep 11 19:59 =$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$CUDA_HOME/lib64:$CUDA_HOME/extras/CUPTI/lib64

export PATH=$PATH:$CUDA_HOME/bin

3. Then open a new shell or source your shell's resource file (e.g. source .zshrc) from the current shell.

(base) ➜ ~ nvcc --version
nvcc: NVIDIA (R) Cuda compiler driver Copyright (c) 2005-2022 NVIDIA Corporation Built on Wed_Jun__8_16:49:14_PDT_2022 Cuda compilation tools, release 11.7, V11.7.99 Build cuda_11.7.r11.7/compiler.31442593_0 (base) ➜ ~ which nvcc
/usr/local/cuda/bin/nvcc

Where is cuda really located? Let's follow the symbolic links to find out.

(base) ➜ ~ ls -ld /usr/local/cuda

/usr/local/cuda -> /etc/alternatives/cuda

(base) ➜ ~ ls -ld /etc/alternatives/cuda

/etc/alternatives/cuda -> /usr/local/cuda-11.7