Linux

Syntax runs on x86_64 and aarch64 Linux. Tested on Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, and Fedora 38+; works on most modern glibc-based distributions.

What works on Linux

• The full desktop app (Wayland and X11) and CLI.
• Local inference on NVIDIA GPUs — the smoothest GPU path.
• Local inference on AMD ROCm — supported for compatible cards.
• Local inference on CPU for smaller models.
• All seven coding harnesses.
• Self-managed remote and managed-remote inference.
• Multi-GPU on a single host where the model and the engine support it.

NVIDIA notes

• Install a recent proprietary NVIDIA driver (≥ 545 recommended).
• nvidia-smi should work in your shell.
• Docker is optional; if you have it installed, Syntax can use containerized engines for some models. The desktop app guides you through enabling Docker if it isn't present.

AMD ROCm notes

• Install the ROCm runtime that matches your card and distribution.
• rocminfo should work.
• Coverage varies by model — syntax doctor reports what's available for your specific card.

CPU-only notes

• Smaller LLMs (≤ ~8B parameters with GGUF support) work well on modern CPUs.
• Multimodal models are limited on CPU; route those to a hosted provider or to a remote target.

Wayland and X11

The desktop app supports both Wayland and X11. On distributions where X11 is the legacy fallback, Syntax detects the active session and uses the right toolchain automatically.

Headless servers

The CLI works on headless servers without any of the desktop toolchain. This is the typical setup for CI runners and self-managed remote targets — you can install the CLI alone, configure the Bridge, and serve models without ever bringing up the GUI.

Where to go next

• Install on Linux
• Hardware support