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Windows setup

Two options: WSL (recommended) or native Windows.

WSL gives you a Linux environment inside Windows with better CUDA support and fewer compatibility issues.

Install WSL2​

wsl --install

Restart your computer after installation.

Install Node.js in WSL​

Open your WSL terminal (Ubuntu) and run:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Install CUDA in WSL​

NVIDIA GPUs are automatically passed through to WSL2. You need the CUDA toolkit inside WSL (not the Windows version):

  1. Make sure you have the latest NVIDIA Game Ready or Studio driver on Windows
  2. In WSL, follow the NVIDIA CUDA on WSL guide
  3. Verify:
nvidia-smi    # Should show your GPU
nvcc --version # Should show CUDA version

Run the worker​

npx @c0mpute/worker --token <your-token>

Option 2: Native Windows (PowerShell)​

Install Node.js​

Download and install from nodejs.org (LTS version).

Install CUDA Toolkit​

  1. Download from developer.nvidia.com/cuda-downloads
  2. Run the installer — make sure to add CUDA to your PATH
  3. Verify in PowerShell:
nvcc --version

If nvcc is not found, add C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v12.x\bin to your PATH manually.

Run the worker​

npx @c0mpute/worker --token <your-token>

Common issue: low tok/s on Windows​

If you see ~5 tok/s instead of 30+, CUDA is not being detected. node-llama-cpp is falling back to CPU inference, which is extremely slow.

Fixes:

  1. Make sure nvcc --version works in your terminal
  2. Make sure nvidia-smi shows your GPU
  3. If using native Windows, try WSL instead — it handles CUDA paths more reliably
  4. Delete node_modules and try again: rm -rf node_modules && npx @c0mpute/worker --token <your-token>

WSL typically gives better performance and fewer issues than native Windows. If you're having trouble with native Windows, switch to WSL.