| name | backend-diagnostics |
| description | Build the abi CLI and report GPU / accelerator / shader / MLIR backend status and the compute-backend matrix (CPU/GPU/NPU/TPU detection + dynamic selection). Use when asked about backend capabilities, why a backend shows accelerated=false, or to capture a hardware/dispatch report. |
backend-diagnostics — capture abi's backend capability report
Driver: .agents/skills/backend-diagnostics/diag.sh (paths relative to repo root).
Read-only CLI capture — evidence is the RESULT: line + the backend tables.
Run (agent path)
.agents/skills/backend-diagnostics/diag.sh
Builds the CLI, then captures abi backends, abi wdbx compute info, and
abi wdbx gpu info; asserts the markers Compute Backends: and
compute backends. Prints RESULT: PASS (exit 0) or a FAIL count.
Historical verification: PASS on Zig master 0.17.0-dev.1099 — Metal linked,
accelerated=false (vectorized CPU fallback active; native dispatch not linked).
Gotchas
- The backend is runtime-selected — there is no
-Dgpu-backend option.
accelerated=false / native=false is the normal local state: frameworks are
linked but native kernels aren't dispatched until initialized. Not a failure.
- For deeper analysis use the
gpu-backend-analyzer subagent.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|
build FAIL | /zig-build-doctor or ./build.sh check. |
missing Compute Backends: | CLI grammar drift — check src/cli/handlers/backends.zig. |