nvidia-driver

NVIDIA Driver + CUDA Toolkit Installer for Debian 12/13

This script installs NVIDIA GPU drivers and the CUDA Toolkit on Debian 12 (Bookworm) and Debian 13 (Trixie) — automatically and reliably.
It uses Debian’s own packages (APT-first, no NVIDIA repo by default) for a stable, Debian-managed setup.

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✨ Features

• ✅ Auto-detects Debian 12/13 and amd64/arm64 architecture
• ✅ Installs build tools: build-essential, dkms, linux-headers-$(uname -r)
• ✅ Installs CUDA via the Debian package: nvidia-cuda-toolkit
• ✅ Optionally blacklists nouveau to avoid conflicts
• ✅ Warns if Secure Boot is enabled

🛡️ Secure Boot

If Secure Boot is enabled, DKMS may fail to load unsigned modules. Options:

Disable Secure Boot in firmware, or

Enroll a Machine Owner Key (MOK) and sign the module.

The script prints a note when Secure Boot appears enabled.

🚫 Nouveau (Open-Source Driver)

The script blacklists nouveau to prevent conflicts:

Config: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf

Rebuilds initramfs automatically

If you prefer to keep nouveau, remove that file and run sudo update-initramfs -u.

🧰 Troubleshooting

Black screen or login loop: Likely driver conflict or Secure Boot. Boot to recovery/TTY, remove conflicting drivers, verify blacklist, check mokutil --sb-state.

DKMS build fails: Ensure headers match the running kernel:

uname -r apt-cache policy linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Unable to locate package cuda: Debian repos do not ship the cuda meta-package. Use nvidia-cuda-toolkit (this script does) or add NVIDIA’s CUDA repo explicitly.

nvidia-smi not found: Ensure driver packages are installed and reboot if needed.

🧩 Uninstall

To remove CUDA & drivers:

sudo apt remove --purge 'nvidia-cuda-toolkit*' 'nvidia*' sudo rm -f /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf sudo update-initramfs -u sudo apt autoremove -y sudo reboot

📦 Installation

1. Clone the repository or download the script: git clone https://github.com/dennishilk/nvidia-driver.git

   cd nvidia-driver

2. Make the script executable: chmod +x install-nvidia-cuda.sh

3. Run with root privileges: sudo ./install-nvidia-cuda.sh

4. Reboot to load the NVIDIA kernel module: sudo reboot

5. Check after reboot: nvidia-smi nvcc --version

   

No Warranty Disclaimer

The software in this repository is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. I make no guarantees regarding the functionality, correctness, or suitability of this code for any purpose. Use it at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damages, data loss, or issues that may arise from using this software.