Nvidia’s R560 Linux release made its open-source GPU kernel-module flavor the default and recommended choice for supported graphics cards. The change, announced on July 17, 2024, does not make the entire Nvidia driver stack open source: CUDA, OpenGL, Vulkan, OptiX, video, display libraries, tools and firmware remain Nvidia-controlled components. The first broadly relevant desktop package, 560.35.03, appeared in Nvidia’s archive on August 19, 2024; Nvidia lists August 22, 2024 for the R560 data-center Linux release.
The precise description is therefore “Nvidia’s open-source Linux kernel modules,” not “a completely open Nvidia Linux driver.”
What R560 actually changed
R560 switched the default module flavor used on compatible systems from Nvidia’s proprietary kernel modules to its open GPU kernel modules. These modules include nvidia.ko, nvidia-modeset.ko, nvidia-drm.ko, nvidia-uvm.ko and nvidia-peermem.ko. Nvidia publishes their source under dual MIT/GPLv2 licensing, including through its open GPU kernel-module repository.
The rest of the driver remains closed. Nvidia’s documentation says the user-space components are the same whether the open or proprietary kernel-module flavor is installed. That includes the CUDA, OpenGL, Vulkan, OptiX, video, display and other libraries and utilities that applications actually call.
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Firmware is not the same as an open driver
Supported GPUs also use Nvidia-distributed firmware, including GSP firmware. Publishing or shipping that firmware does not place the complete graphics stack under an open-source license. R560’s GSP details are documented in Nvidia’s GSP documentation.
Which GPUs can use the open modules?
The open modules support Turing and newer architectures because they depend on the GPU System Processor introduced with Turing. This covers Turing, Ampere, Ada Lovelace, Hopper and later architectures listed as supported by the relevant release.
Maxwell, Pascal and Volta GPUs are not compatible with the open flavor and must continue using Nvidia’s proprietary kernel modules. Check the release-specific R560 open-module README before changing a production system.
Mixed-generation systems are an exception
The open and proprietary module flavors are mutually exclusive in one kernel environment. A workstation containing, for example, an older Pascal card and a newer Ampere card should normally use the proprietary flavor for the whole Nvidia installation. Nvidia’s kernel-module guide documents this limitation.
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Special platform cases
Nvidia requires the open flavor on some newer data-center platforms, including Grace Hopper and later designs. Conversely, WSL uses the Windows host’s Nvidia driver; Nvidia says not to install a separate Linux Nvidia driver inside the WSL distribution.
Why Nvidia says the change matters
Nvidia gives several reasons for moving the open modules to the default. It says source availability should improve integration with newer Linux kernels, make distribution packaging and module signing easier, and permit use of kernel interfaces that require GPL-compatible code. Nvidia also points to easier debugging for enterprise and customized-kernel deployments.
Its documentation identifies open-flavor-only capabilities in relevant releases, including Nvidia Confidential Computing, Magnum IO GPUDirect Storage, heterogeneous memory management, CPU affinity for GPU fault handlers and DMA-BUF support for CUDA allocations. Availability depends on the exact GPU, driver release and deployment; these are not guarantees for every Linux desktop.
What users gain—and what they do not
Potential gains
- Kernel-module source that distribution maintainers and administrators can inspect, build and integrate.
- Better alignment with GPL-compatible kernel interfaces and modern memory-management features, according to Nvidia.
- More natural distribution packaging and signing workflows.
- Continued access to the same broad Nvidia user-space stack, including CUDA, Vulkan and OpenGL.
Important limits
- This is not a replacement for Nouveau, the community-developed reverse-engineered driver that works with Mesa.
- It does not open Nvidia’s proprietary user-space libraries or tools.
- Open source does not automatically solve Wayland, Optimus, suspend/resume, variable-refresh-rate or Secure Boot problems.
- Real-world behavior can vary with the GPU, kernel, compositor, distribution packaging, firmware and driver version, even though Nvidia says the user-space stack is shared.
Default does not mean identical everywhere
“Default” depends on the installation method. Nvidia’s standalone installer was changed to select the open flavor on compatible hardware, while distributions may offer separate packages such as nvidia-open, nvidia-open-560 or nvidia-driver-560-open. Repository contents and naming are distribution-specific.
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Nvidia’s 2024 transition guidance gives examples, but they are not universal commands:
# Fedora, RHEL or KylinOS examples
sudo dnf module install nvidia-driver:open-dkms
sudo dnf module install nvidia-driver:560-open
# Debian or Ubuntu examples
sudo apt-get install nvidia-open
sudo apt-get install nvidia-open-560
# openSUSE or SLES examples
sudo zypper install nvidia-open
sudo zypper install nvidia-open-560Use your distribution’s documented repository and package first. Avoid mixing a distribution package with Nvidia’s standalone installer unless you understand how that distribution manages DKMS, module signing and upgrades.
Selecting a flavor with Nvidia’s standalone installer
Advanced users of the R560 installer can explicitly choose a flavor:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-560.35.03.run
--kernel-module-type=open
sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-560.35.03.run
--kernel-module-type=proprietaryOlder README versions used the equivalent -m=kernel-open syntax. Do not combine kernel modules built from one driver release with user-space files from another; Nvidia warns that the versions must match.
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Check compatibility before switching
Run these general diagnostics before changing a working installation:
nvidia-smi
lspci -nn | grep -i nvidia
uname -r- Identify every Nvidia GPU and its architecture.
- Record the installed driver version, distribution release and kernel version.
- Check whether Secure Boot is enabled and how your distribution signs third-party modules.
- Identify hybrid-graphics or Optimus hardware and whether the integrated GPU can be disabled or correctly configured.
- Check for vGPU, legacy display features or specialized enterprise tooling that may dictate a module flavor.
Nvidia’s supported-products documentation is especially relevant to switchable-graphics notebooks. A Turing GPU alone does not guarantee that every Optimus configuration will work identically.
Verify the installed module
After installing your distribution’s package and rebooting when required, confirm the driver and loaded modules:
nvidia-smi
lsmod | grep nvidia
modinfo nvidia | grep -E 'filename|license'The module filename and license information can help establish which flavor is active, but package metadata and your distribution’s documentation are the authoritative way to identify what was installed.
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If the graphical session fails
- Switch to a text console with
Ctrl+Alt+F3(or your distribution’s equivalent) and log in. - Inspect the current boot’s kernel messages:
journalctl -b -k | grep -i nvidia
dmesg | grep -i nvidia- Check whether the GPU is pre-Turing, whether the machine has mixed generations, and whether the wrong flavor was selected.
- For an unsupported or mixed system, remove the open package through the distribution’s package manager and reinstall its proprietary Nvidia package.
- Do not leave both flavors installed or attempt to load them together; Nvidia documents them as mutually exclusive.
Who should switch?
| User or system | Recommended choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Turing-or-newer desktop GPU | Prefer the open flavor when your distribution supports it | It is R560’s recommended flavor and may integrate more easily with current kernels. |
| Maxwell, Pascal or Volta | Proprietary flavor | The open modules do not support these architectures. |
| Mixed old and new Nvidia GPUs | Proprietary flavor | The module flavors cannot be installed or loaded together in one kernel environment. |
| WSL user | Do not install a Linux guest Nvidia driver | WSL uses the Windows host driver. |
| Grace Hopper or newer data-center platform | Open flavor as required by Nvidia | Nvidia requires or targets the open modules on applicable platforms. |
| Stable production workstation | Change only after checking packaging and workload requirements | Open source does not remove environment-specific regression risks. |
Why this is significant even though the stack is still closed
Nvidia’s change moves a large, hardware-specific part of its Linux driver into inspectable source and makes that code easier for distributions to build and sign. That matters for kernel developers, enterprise administrators and systems using customized kernels, even when applications continue to depend on proprietary user-space libraries.
It is therefore a change in delivery and kernel integration, not a sudden switch to the fully open Mesa model. Nouveau and Nvidia’s open kernel modules have different origins, codebases and user-space ecosystems.
Timeline and release references
- Nvidia announced the transition on July 17, 2024, in its technical announcement.
- The desktop Linux package
560.35.03was published in Nvidia’s package archive on August 19, 2024. - Nvidia’s R560 data-center release notes list August 22, 2024, and associate that release with CUDA 12.6.
The Bottom Line
R560 is a major change to Nvidia’s Linux kernel-driver implementation: open-source kernel modules became the default for Turing and newer GPUs. The graphics libraries, CUDA stack, tools and firmware remain proprietary, and Maxwell, Pascal, Volta and mixed-generation systems still require the proprietary module flavor.
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