NVIDIA Capture SDK (formerly GRID SDK) enables developers to easily and efficiently capture, and optionally encode, the display content.
The NVIDIA Capture SDK enables remote desktop displays on NVIDIA hardware (local, remote or cloud). It provides the ability to capture the desktop buffer as an image or steam of images that can be compressed as a video bitstream for transmission to remote clients or for storing locally.
To download, you must be a member ofNVIDIA Developer Program.
By clicking the"Agree & Download" button below, you are confirming that you have read and agree to be bound by theCapture Software Development Kit License Agreement for use of the SDK package. The download will begin immediately after clicking on the"Agree & Download" button below.
Get access to the latest software releases and tools and receive notifications and invites to join special developer events, early access programs and educational webinars. The program is free-to-join and open to all developers.
To run Capture SDK, please obtain a compatible NVIDIA Driver for your hardware.

NVIDIA Capture SDK Interfaces
| Operating System | Linux |
| Dependencies | Please refer torelease notes for supported hardware list. For x86_64 and x86, an NVIDIA GPU driver 570.86.16, or later. For aarch64, an NVIDIA GPU driver 570.86.16, or later. |
| Development Environment | Linux: gcc 4.8 or higher |
| Graphics APIs | Vulkan, OpenGL |
NvFBC works by capturing the entire contents of the desktop to a GPU buffer without stalling, or interfering with, the other work on the GPU. On Windows, the capture can occur with the Windows Desktop Manager enabled or disabled. This buffer can then be encoded using H.264 or HEVC via on-chip hardware video encoder through theNvEncode API.

VMware Horizon Blast uses NVIDIA Capture SDK, and has demonstrated that using the Capture and Encode SDK improves latency, increases the number of users per server, reduces bandwidth, and lowers CPU utilization. The VMware case study blog can be foundhere.


NVIDIA Capture SDK can be used for desktop or application streaming from a private cloud. In order to setup a private cloud to develop and validate streaming functionality, there are two options
The NVIDIA Capture SDK includes a collection of code samples that demonstrate how to use the SDK APIs to capture either the desktop or a window and then send the contents to the NVIDIA Hardware Encoder. Reference the NVIDIA Capture SDK Samples Guide included in the download package for more information on getting started.
Our forum community is where Developers can ask questions, share experiences and participate in discussions with NVIDIA and other experts in the field.
Check out available forumshere andhere.