Table of Contents
NVCurve is a Linux-based voltage-frequency (V/F) curve editor and overclocking tool for NVIDIA GPUs. It brings per-point V/F curve control — similar to MSI Afterburner on Windows — directly to Linux, using undocumented NvAPI functions exposed through libnvidia-api.so.
What It Does
At its core, NVCurve lets you adjust the frequency offset for any voltage point on your GPU's V/F curve. This gives you fine-grained control over how your GPU clocks at different voltage levels, enabling both performance-oriented overclocking and efficiency-oriented undervolting.
Two Interfaces, One Tool
NVCurve provides two ways to interact with your GPU:
- Web UI — A modern React-based interface with an interactive curve graph, real-time hardware monitoring, point table editor, and profile management. This is the primary interface for most users.
- CLI — A Python command-line tool for scripting, headless systems, automation, and quick one-off operations. Works independently of the web server.
Key Capabilities
- Per-Point Curve Editing — Adjust the frequency offset for any individual voltage point on the V/F curve.
- Curve Flattening — Select multiple points and flatten them to a common frequency using anchor-point targeting.
- Live Monitoring — Track GPU voltage, clock speed, temperature, and power draw in real time via NvAPI and NVML.
- Profile Management — Save, load, and switch between named profiles. Set a default profile that auto-applies on startup.
- Multi-GPU Support (experimental) — Manage multiple NVIDIA GPUs from a single server instance with a GPU selector in the web UI.
- Snapshots — Automatic snapshot-and-restore before every write, so you can always revert changes.
Architecture
NVCurve consists of two components:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Python Backend | Talks directly to libnvidia-api.so (via ctypes) and libnvidia-ml.so to read and write GPU hardware state. Exposes functionality through a FastAPI REST + WebSocket server. |
| React Frontend | Runs in the browser and communicates with the backend over HTTP and WebSockets. Handles curve visualization, point editing, live monitoring, and profile management. |
The backend keeps all privileged operations isolated from the browser. The CLI can operate entirely standalone, bypassing the server for direct hardware access.
Important Notes
Experimental Software — NVCurve uses undocumented NvAPI functions that may change between driver releases. It has been tested on a range of NVIDIA GPUs including RTX 5090 (Blackwell), but compatibility is not guaranteed on all hardware/driver combinations.
Read vs. Write Safety — Read operations are generally safe. Write operations alter live GPU operational parameters. Always run the hardware compatibility check (
nvcurve setup) before applying changes.
Requirements
- OS: Linux
- GPU: NVIDIA GPU with a supported driver
- Python: 3.12 or later
- Privileges: Root access for hardware interactions (CLI prompts for
sudowhen needed)