feat(macpro31): NVIDIA Quadro P400 driver and CUDA-enabled Docker
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The stock GPU has been replaced with a Quadro P400 (Pascal, GP108). Add
hosts/MacPro31/nvidia.nix:

- Driver branch 580 (nvidiaPackages.legacy_580), not the nixpkgs default
  production branch (595.x). 580 is the last branch supporting
  Maxwell/Pascal/Volta and is an LTS branch until Aug 2028; a newer one
  does not drive this card.
- modesetting.enable for Wayland (nvidia-drm.modeset=1), open = false
  (the open kernel modules need Turing or later), and sway
  --unsupported-gpu, which wlroots requires with the proprietary driver.
- Docker with GPU access via CDI (hardware.nvidia-container-toolkit),
  rather than the deprecated virtualisation.docker.enableNvidia runtime
  wrapper. Containers run with --device=nvidia.com/gpu=all and must ship
  a CUDA 12.x or older runtime: CUDA 13 dropped sm_61.

The driver packages are unfree, so allowlist them in unfreePackages; they
are not cached and the kernel module builds on the host.

Also declare features.cpu.microarchLevel = 1 for this machine: the
Harpertown Xeons have SSE4.1 but no SSE4.2/POPCNT, which switches off
Claude Code through the fleet-wide gate.
This commit is contained in:
Emma Thorpe
2026-08-17 20:35:39 +01:00
parent 0d13581896
commit 0f7fb7f78a
3 changed files with 77 additions and 22 deletions
+6
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@@ -111,8 +111,14 @@
];
# Unfree packages permitted to be built (replaces blanket allowUnfree).
# The NVIDIA entries are for the Mac Pro's Quadro P400 (hosts/MacPro31/
# nvidia.nix); unfree packages are not in the binary cache, so the
# kernel module is compiled on the host.
unfreePackages = [
"claude-code"
"nvidia-x11"
"nvidia-kernel-modules"
"nvidia-settings"
];
# Per-user identity, keyed by username. See README "Users".
+62 -11
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@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
# Mac Pro 3,1 (Early 2008) — install notes
Flake host: `lyrathorpe-macpro31`. Desktop (`portable = false`, imports
`../../modules/desktop.nix`). Files: `configuration.nix`,
`../../modules/desktop.nix`). Files: `configuration.nix`, `nvidia.nix`,
`hardware-configuration.nix`.
## Hardware configuration
@@ -27,18 +27,69 @@ either
Partition the disk GPT with an ESP (vfat).
## Graphics
## Graphics — NVIDIA Quadro P400
The stock card varies between units — **ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT** or **NVIDIA
GeForce 8800 GT**. No proprietary driver is hardcoded; Sway relies on in-tree KMS:
The stock card (**ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT** or **NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT**,
depending on the unit) has been replaced with an **NVIDIA Quadro P400** (Pascal,
GP108). Everything driver-related lives in [`nvidia.nix`](./nvidia.nix):
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT → `radeon` (or `amdgpu`) KMS
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT → `nouveau` KMS
- **Driver branch 580** (`nvidiaPackages.legacy_580`), _not_ the nixpkgs default
(`production`, currently 595.x). 580 is the last branch that supports
Maxwell/Pascal/Volta and is maintained as an LTS branch until Aug 2028; a
newer branch does not drive this card at all.
- `modesetting.enable = true` — mandatory for Wayland (sets
`nvidia-drm.modeset=1`); without it wlroots gets no GBM device and both Sway
and the greeter fail to start.
- `open = false` — the open kernel modules require Turing or later.
- Sway runs with `--unsupported-gpu` (`programs.sway.extraOptions`); wlroots
refuses the proprietary driver otherwise. `cage`/ReGreet needs no such flag.
- nouveau and `nvidiafb` are blacklisted automatically by the NVIDIA module.
These come up automatically. If a card needs forcing, set
`services.xserver.videoDrivers` and/or add the module to
`boot.initrd.kernelModules` for early KMS (see the comment in
`configuration.nix`).
The driver is unfree, so it is **not in the binary cache**: the kernel module is
compiled on the machine, which on these 2008 Xeons is slow — budget for a long
first rebuild and again after every kernel bump. The package names are
allowlisted in `unfreePackages` in [`flake.nix`](../../flake.nix).
Note the Mac Pro shows no EFI boot screen with a stock PC card (no Apple EFI
ROM): the machine boots blind until KMS brings the display up. That is expected,
not a fault.
Verify after a rebuild:
```sh
nvidia-smi
```
## Docker with CUDA
`nvidia.nix` also enables Docker and gives containers GPU access via **CDI**
(`hardware.nvidia-container-toolkit.enable`), which generates device specs from
the host driver at boot (regenerated by a udev rule when the `nvidia` device
appears) and turns on the daemon's CDI feature:
```sh
docker run --rm --device=nvidia.com/gpu=all nvidia/cuda:12.9.1-base-ubuntu24.04 nvidia-smi
```
- Use the `--device=nvidia.com/gpu=all` form. `--gpus all` is the legacy
runtime-wrapper path (`virtualisation.docker.enableNvidia`), which is
deprecated upstream and deliberately not enabled here.
- **CUDA version matters.** The P400 is compute capability 6.1 (`sm_61`); CUDA
13 dropped Maxwell/Pascal/Volta, so container images must ship a **CUDA 12.x
or older** runtime. The 580 driver itself is happy with either.
- 2 GB of VRAM, 256 CUDA cores — fine for encode/decode and small models, not
for training anything serious.
- Docker socket is local-only (no TCP listener, unlike the Pi). Users need the
`docker` group; the registry already grants it.
## Claude Code — not installed here
The dual Harpertown Xeons are **x86-64-v1** (SSE4.1, but no SSE4.2/POPCNT) and
the Node runtime Claude Code ships on requires x86-64-v2. `configuration.nix`
declares `features.cpu.microarchLevel = 1`, which switches the tool off through
the fleet-wide gate in [`../../modules/features.nix`](../../modules/features.nix)
— see the root README. Forcing `features.claudeCode.enable` on here is an
evaluation error, not a broken install.
## Networking
@@ -52,7 +103,7 @@ Graphical login via a Wayland greeter — `greetd` running ReGreet inside the
every Sway host (gated on `features.swayDesktop.enable`). The greeter is forced
to the Dvorak layout to match the console and Sway session. Set the user
password (`passwd lyrathorpe`) after install, or the greeter cannot
authenticate. Requires working KMS (radeon/nouveau — see Graphics).
authenticate. Requires working KMS (NVIDIA modesetting — see Graphics).
## Apply
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@@ -7,8 +7,14 @@
{
imports = [
./hardware-configuration.nix
./nvidia.nix
];
# Dual quad-core Xeon (Harpertown/Penryn): SSE4.1 but no SSE4.2 or POPCNT,
# i.e. x86-64-v1. Declaring it here switches off the fleet flags that need a
# newer CPU -- currently features.claudeCode (see ../../modules/features.nix).
features.cpu.microarchLevel = 1;
# The Mac Pro 3,1 has 64-bit EFI (confirmed by the owner), so boot via
# systemd-boot like the MBP -- no GRUB/BIOS shim needed.
boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
@@ -33,17 +39,9 @@
# enabled in workstation.nix.
hardware.cpu.intel.updateMicrocode = true;
# GPU note: the stock card varies between units -- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or
# NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. Sway needs a working KMS/modesetting driver; do NOT
# install a proprietary blob here. Depending on the installed card, rely on
# the open kernel driver:
# - ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT -> "radeon" (older) or "amdgpu" KMS
# - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT -> "nouveau" KMS
# These come up automatically via the in-tree drivers + KMS, and the graphics
# stack itself is enabled by modules/sway.nix. If a card needs to be forced, add it
# here, e.g. `services.xserver.videoDrivers = [ "radeon" ];` (or "nouveau"),
# and/or `boot.initrd.kernelModules = [ "radeon" ];` in
# hardware-configuration.nix for early KMS.
# GPU: the stock card (ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT / NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT) has
# been replaced with an NVIDIA Quadro P400. Driver, Wayland quirks and
# GPU-enabled Docker live in ./nvidia.nix.
# See `man configuration.nix` / the stateVersion docs before changing.
system.stateVersion = "26.05";