Author: Kjell Nygren
Date: 2026-07-15

# Chapter 01: Setting Up OpenCL and Enabling GPU Acceleration

#### Kjell Nygren

#### 2026-07-15

## Overview

`nmathopencl` can run in two modes:

- CPU-only mode: all distribution functions fall back to `stats::` or base-R equivalents. No special setup is needed. This is the default when the package is installed from a prebuilt binary (e.g., from CRAN or R-universe). Most downstream use of the nmath `.cl` library does not require a GPU-enabled build of `nmathopencl` itself; the `.cl` source files are always present on disk regardless.
- GPU-accelerated mode: kernels execute on an OpenCL device. This requires compiling the package from source on a machine with an OpenCL SDK installed. It is necessary when you want to use the exported `*_opencl` wrappers to validate GPU pipeline operation, or when your downstream package links directly against the nmathopencl kernel runners.

This vignette describes how to read the attach-time advisory, understand the `opencltools` dependency, and enable OpenCL specifically for `nmathopencl`. Detailed per-OS driver, header, and ICD instructions are maintained in `opencltools` vignette Chapter 01; end-user GPU setup notes also appear in Chapter 02.

## When you load nmathopencl

Attaching the package in an interactive session may print a short `packageStartupMessage`. This is intentional: it gives a first-pass diagnosis of whether GPU acceleration is feasible on your machine and whether this install was compiled with OpenCL support.

CPU execution is always available. The message appears only when there is a plausible GPU/OpenCL path that is not yet enabled in the installed binaries, or when the host stack looks incomplete. When both `nmathopencl` and `opencltools` were built with OpenCL, attach is silent.

To suppress the message in scripts or CI:

    options(nmathopencl.quiet_opencl_startup = TRUE)

Further detail: `?gpu_diagnostics`, `?nmathopencl-package`, this vignette, and `vignette("Chapter-12", package = "nmathopencl")`.

### What the message means

Situation | Typical message gist | Next step
--- | --- | ---
`opencltools` OK, `nmathopencl` not | opencltools was built with OpenCL but nmathopencl was not | Step 3 — reinstall nmathopencl from source
`nmathopencl` OK, `opencltools` not | nmathopencl was built with OpenCL but opencltools was not | Reinstall opencltools from source (unusual; it is an Imports dependency)
Neither OK, headers/runtime detected | Reinstall both packages from source | Step 2 then Step 3
Neither OK, GPU present, stack incomplete | Install or repair drivers, ICD, headers | Step 2 — follow opencltools Chapter 01
Neither OK, no GPU/stack | No suitable GPU/OpenCL environment | CPU-only is expected; GPU setup is optional

## opencltools as imported dependency

`nmathopencl` lists `opencltools` in `Imports` (>= 0.8.0). It is installed automatically with nmathopencl and provides two categories of functionality:

- Host/runtime diagnostics — GPU vendor detection, driver and ICD checks, `verify_opencl_runtime()`, and related probes. These are not re-exported; call `opencltools::…` directly.
- Kernel-library authoring tools — dependency tagging, sorting, and subset loading (`load_library_for_kernel`, `extract_library_subset`, …). These are re-exported from nmathopencl for downstream kernel authors.

Work through opencltools first when enabling OpenCL: fix the host environment and confirm `opencltools::has_opencl()` before reinstalling nmathopencl from source. Useful opencltools vignettes:

Vignette | Topic
--- | ---
`vignette("Chapter-01", package = "opencltools")` | Platform install: drivers, headers, ICD, verification
`vignette("Chapter-02", package = "opencltools")` | Assembling kernel programs from ported library shards
`vignette("Chapter-03", package = "opencltools")` | Kernel runners and wrappers (the glmbayes pattern)

## What “compiling with OpenCL” means

At compile time, each package’s `configure` script detects whether `CL/cl.h` is present and a linkable `OpenCL` library exists. If both are found, it sets `-DUSE_OPENCL` and links against `-lOpenCL`. All OpenCL-specific C++ code is guarded by `#ifdef USE_OPENCL`, so the package compiles cleanly without OpenCL headers.

A binary built without `USE_OPENCL` is a fully valid CPU-only package. `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` returns `FALSE` and every `*_opencl` wrapper silently uses its `stats::` fallback.

Because `nmathopencl` Imports `opencltools`, both packages must be built with OpenCL for the exported `*_opencl` wrappers to dispatch to a GPU. The attach message compares `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` (nmathopencl) and `opencltools::has_opencl()` (opencltools) and tells you which reinstall is needed.

## Enabling OpenCL for nmathopencl

Work through these steps in order.

### Step 1: Read the load message

    library(nmathopencl)

If attach is silent and `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` returns `TRUE`, you are done — skip to Verifying the setup. Otherwise, use the table above or continue to Step 2 or 3.

### Step 2: If OpenCL is not enabled at all

When `opencltools::has_opencl()` and `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` are both `FALSE`, the host stack or compile flags are missing for both packages.

    opencltools::has_opencl()   # opencltools build flag
    nmathopencl_has_opencl()                # nmathopencl build flag
    opencltools::diagnose_glmbayes()   # host/runtime report
    nmathopencl_has_opencl()           # nmathopencl compile-time flag

Follow `vignette("Chapter-01", package = "opencltools")` for drivers, OpenCL headers, the ICD loader/runtime, and building opencltools from source until `opencltools::has_opencl()` is `TRUE`.

Enabling GPU acceleration requires three independent host components:

Component | What it provides | Where to get it
--- | --- | ---
GPU driver | Exposes the hardware to the OS | Vendor website or OS package manager
OpenCL headers (`CL/cl.h`) | Needed at compile time | GPU vendor SDK or `opencl-headers` package
OpenCL ICD loader / runtime | Needed at runtime (`OpenCL.dll` / `libOpenCL.so`) | Installed with driver or as `ocl-icd-libopencl1`

All three must be present. Having headers but not the loader (or vice versa) is the most common failure mode. Platform-specific install commands are maintained in opencltools Chapter 01.

### Step 3: If opencltools is enabled but nmathopencl is not

When `opencltools::has_opencl()` is `TRUE` but `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` is `FALSE`, the host environment is likely fine; nmathopencl was installed from a CPU binary or compiled before the SDK was present. Reinstall nmathopencl from source:

    # From CRAN or R-universe:
    install.packages("nmathopencl", type = "source")

The `configure` / `configure.win` script runs automatically and prints whether `USE_OPENCL` was activated. Then confirm:

    nmathopencl_has_opencl()
    #> [1] TRUE

## Verifying the setup

After Steps 2–3, confirm the full stack:

    library(nmathopencl)

    # nmathopencl compile-time flag
    nmathopencl_has_opencl()
    #> [1] TRUE

    # opencltools compile-time flag (imported dependency)
    opencltools::has_opencl()
    #> [1] TRUE

    # Host GPU inventory via opencltools (not the compile flag)
    opencltools::gpu_names()
    #> [1] "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090"

    # Host/runtime diagnostic report (opencltools)
    opencltools::diagnose_glmbayes()

`opencltools::diagnose_glmbayes()` runs a layered host check (environment, GPU vendors, drivers, OpenCL headers and ICD, Linux/WSL runtime probe, PATH / `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`). Pair it with `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` for this package’s compile-time OpenCL build flag. On Windows, the Linux/WSL runtime probe is skipped; rely on driver and ICD checks instead.

### Validating GPU calls with the exported wrappers

Once `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` is `TRUE`, the exported `*_opencl` functions dispatch to the GPU. These are most useful as a validation tool: running them on large vectors confirms the OpenCL pipeline is working end-to-end before you invest time in a downstream package.

    x <- rnorm(1e7)
    system.time(dnorm_opencl(x, mean = 0, sd = 1))
    system.time(dnorm(x, mean = 0, sd = 1))

Use large vectors (millions of elements) for this test. For small to moderate vectors the GPU will often be slower than the CPU due to the overhead of kernel compilation and host-to-device data transfer. That is expected behavior, not a bug. The real-world acceleration from using the `nmathopencl` nmath library happens when statistical math calls are embedded inside a downstream package’s GPU kernels, where they share device memory with the rest of the computation and avoid the round-trip transfer entirely.

When OpenCL is available, the default `fallback = FALSE` surfaces kernel errors rather than silently falling back, which helps debugging during development.

## Troubleshooting common failures

### `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` returns `FALSE` after driver installation

The package was compiled before the SDK was installed, or from a prebuilt binary. If `opencltools::has_opencl()` is already `TRUE`, go to Step 3. Otherwise, fix the host stack first (Step 2).

### Compilation fails with `CL/cl.h: No such file or directory`

The OpenCL headers are not on the compiler include path. See `vignette("Chapter-01", package = "opencltools")` and, if necessary, set `OPENCL_HOME` or `OPENCL_SDK` to the SDK root before installing.

### Runtime error: `clGetPlatformIDs: CL_PLATFORM_NOT_FOUND_KHR`

Headers were found at compile time but no runtime platform is available. Check (details in opencltools Chapter 01):

- Is the GPU driver installed and up to date?
- Is the ICD file present (e.g., `/etc/OpenCL/vendors/nvidia.icd` on Linux)?
- On WSL2: is the NVIDIA driver installed in Windows, not just inside WSL?

Use `opencltools::verify_opencl_runtime()` for a programmatic probe.

### `PATH` warnings from `opencltools::diagnose_glmbayes()`

On Windows, the CUDA Toolkit bin directory may need to be in `PATH` so that `OpenCL.dll` is found at runtime. The diagnostic report lists any missing entries; fixing them via system settings or your shell profile is the recommended approach. Advanced developers may use `opencltools::add_to_path_windows()` and related helpers directly — see `?opencltools::add_to_path`.

## For package developers: next steps

Once OpenCL is working for `nmathopencl` itself, the next step is adding `USE_OPENCL` and `nmathopencl_has_opencl()` to your own downstream package so that it also builds cleanly on CRAN. See `vignette("Chapter-02", package = "nmathopencl")` for the `use_opencl_configure()` / `port_to_opencl_configure()` workflow.