GPU extension¶

The GPU extension, referred to internally as gpu, provides hardware-accelerated graphics support for applications that need OpenGL, Vulkan, and other GPU capabilities. This extension adds the required GPU content interface to the snap, and sets up the necessary command chain wrapper for GPU acceleration.

This extension is compatible with the core22, core24 and core26 bases.

It integrates the provider snaps appropriate for the base.

Included plugs¶

When this extension is used, the following plug is connected for the snap:

core26

core24

core22

How to use graphics in snaps in the Ubuntu Frame documentation shows how to include the GPU content provider snap.

Included packages¶

The GPU extension defaults to snap providers that include:

Mesa graphics drivers
OpenGL and Vulkan libraries
Hardware video encode/decode acceleration support
VA-API and VDPAU support

core26

The mesa-2604 snap is maintained by Canonical and provides up-to-date GPU driver support for applications built on the core26 base.

core24

The mesa-2404 snap is maintained by Canonical and provides up-to-date GPU driver support for apps built on the core24 base.

core22

The mesa-core22 snap is maintained by Canonical and provides GPU driver support for apps built on the core22 base. It also supports Nvidia drivers installed with Debian packages on the host system.

Runtime wrapper¶

The extension adds a command chain entry that runs before the application:

core26

snapcraft.yaml¶

command-chain:
  - snap/command-chain/gpu-2604-wrapper

core24

snapcraft.yaml¶

command-chain:
  - snap/command-chain/gpu-2404-wrapper

core22

snapcraft.yaml¶

command-chain:
  - snap/command-chain/graphics-core22-wrapper

These wrapper scripts configure library paths and environment variables needed for GPU acceleration at runtime.

Included layouts¶

This extension uses layouts to provide access to GPU resources:

core26

core24

core22

Included parts¶

The extension automatically adds parts to build and install the GPU wrapper and perform cleanup:

core26

core24

core22

Example usage¶

Here’s a simple example of using the GPU extension in a project file:

core26

snapcraft.yaml¶

name: my-gpu-app
base: core26
version: '1.0'
summary: An application using GPU acceleration
description: |
  An application that requires hardware-accelerated graphics.

confinement: strict

apps:
  my-gpu-app:
    command: usr/bin/my-gpu-app
    extensions: [gpu]
    plugs:
      - opengl
      - x11
      - wayland

parts:
  my-app:
    plugin: nil
    stage-packages:
      - my-gpu-application

core24

snapcraft.yaml¶

name: my-gpu-app
base: core24
version: '1.0'
summary: An application using GPU acceleration
description: |
  An application that requires hardware-accelerated graphics.

confinement: strict

apps:
  my-gpu-app:
    command: usr/bin/my-gpu-app
    extensions: [gpu]
    plugs:
      - opengl
      - x11
      - wayland

parts:
  my-app:
    plugin: nil
    stage-packages:
      - my-gpu-application

core22

snapcraft.yaml¶

name: my-gpu-app
base: core22
version: '1.0'
summary: An application using GPU acceleration
description: |
  An application that requires hardware-accelerated graphics.

confinement: strict

apps:
  my-gpu-app:
    command: usr/bin/my-gpu-app
    extensions: [gpu]
    plugs:
      - opengl
      - x11
      - wayland

parts:
  my-app:
    plugin: nil
    stage-packages:
      - my-gpu-application

Example expanded project file¶

Here’s an example showing what Snapcraft adds when the GPU extension is used. This is the output before build, showing the expanded configuration:

core26

core24

core22

Combining with other extensions¶

The GPU extension is used as a base class for the GNOME and KDE extensions.

The GPU extension shouldn’t be listed when using the GNOME or KDE extensions, as its functionality is already included.