What is NVIDIA API (NVAPI)?

NVAPI is NVIDIA's core software development kit, designed for direct access to NVIDIA GPUs and drivers on supported Windows platforms. It supports a wide range of operations that go beyond the typical capabilities of graphics APIs like DirectX and OpenGL.

Some of the features that programmers can access using NVAPI include:

• Driver Management: Initialization and driver version controls
• GPU Management: Enumeration of physical and logical GPUs, thermal and cooling controls
• Display Management: Enumeration of NVIDIA displays, display position and timings controls
• System Management: Query chipset and system specific information
• Connecting and Configuring Monitors: Set views on multiple target monitors

Download NVAPI

System Requirements

NVAPI SDK

Enhance your project's dependency management with NVAPI SDK available on GitHub. Developers can seamlessly integrate NVAPI SDK into their projects using GitHub's submodule dependency, eliminating the need to include a local copy of NVAPI in their repositories. This approach ensures you always have access to the latest updates while maintaining precise version control.

DRS

NVIDIA graphics cards offer advanced DirectX graphics, support the latest OpenGL standards, enable multicore programming with CUDA and OpenCL, and allow for multi-display setups. NVIDIA provides extensive customization options through various preferences, such as SLI rendering types and high antialiasing settings. These preferences are accessible via the NVIDIA Control Panel, allowing users to tailor their system's performance to their specific needs. Users who want a more in‐depth control of the preferences in the NVIDIA driver can make use of NVAPI to query and modify the system driver settings.

Refer to the DRS Programming Guide for details on how to program using NVAPI to retrieve and change any setting.

Resources

Forums

Got a question? Ask us on the NVIDIA Developer Forums.