| name | rocm-doctor |
| description | Diagnoses why ROCm, the HIP SDK, PyTorch, or llama.cpp is broken on an AMD GPU on Linux or Windows, then applies a low-risk fix with consent or hands back the exact next step. Also routes Lemonade, LM Studio, and Ollama problems to the right upstream channel. Use when the user reports that ROCm or HIP "isn't working", torch.cuda.is_available() is False, rocminfo / hipInfo can't see the GPU, or hits hipErrorNoBinaryForGpu, HSA_STATUS_ERROR_INVALID_ISA, "invalid device function", "no kernel image is available", cannot open /dev/kfd, permission denied on /dev/kfd, "ROCk module is NOT loaded", a missing libamdhip64.so / amdhip64_6.dll / hipblas.dll / vcruntime140_1.dll, an HSA_OVERRIDE_GFX_VERSION page fault, an iGPU+dGPU crash, a container that can't see the GPU, or an amdgpu-install / DKMS failure. Backed by the `rocm` CLI (`rocm examine` / `rocm diagnose` / `rocm fix`); this skill is a thin driver over those commands, not a re-implementation. |
ROCm Doctor
Given a "ROCm / PyTorch / llama.cpp isn't working on my AMD GPU" complaint,
identify which known misconfiguration is the cause and either fix it (with
consent) or hand back the exact next step.
This skill does not probe or reason on its own. The rocm CLI owns the
probe, the closed failure-mode catalog, and the fixes; the skill just drives it
and relays the results. The catalog is a closed list — if the symptom
doesn't match a known mode, route the user upstream instead of guessing.
Scope gate — check before anything else
Read the user's symptom and answer one question first: is this an AMD GPU on
native Linux or Windows?
If it is not — an NVIDIA / Intel / Apple GPU, or anything running under
WSL2 — then stop and decline:
- Say plainly that it is out of scope for this skill and why (not an AMD GPU
/ WSL2 is a separate platform).
- Give no troubleshooting for it: no commands to run, no driver or CUDA
advice, no diagnostic checklist, no "try this first" — not even generic GPU
suggestions. Point at the vendor's own docs (or AMD's ROCm-on-WSL guide) and
stop there.
- Do not run
rocm examine / rocm diagnose / rocm fix.
Being helpful here means being honest about the boundary — confidently-wrong
advice for a stack this skill does not cover is worse than no advice. Only
continue past this gate when the GPU is AMD and the platform is native Linux or
Windows. See Out of scope.
Prerequisites
- The
rocm CLI. This skill is only a driver over it; Phase 0 below installs
it with the user's consent if rocm --version fails. Nothing else here is
assumed — the CLI does the probing.
- Platform: native Linux (in-tree
amdgpu module + /dev/kfd) or Windows
(HIP SDK). WSL2, NVIDIA/Intel/Apple GPUs, and clean-machine installs are out of
scope (see Out of scope).
- No fixed ROCm version, GPU arch (
gfx…), or container image is assumed —
rocm examine/diagnose detect the installed ROCm, the GPU's gfx target, and
container context, and match fixes to what they find. Never hand-set
HSA_OVERRIDE_GFX_VERSION (or similar footgun env vars) yourself; let the CLI
decide.
Workflow
Only start here once the Scope gate
passes — the GPU is AMD and the platform is native Linux or Windows.
-
Ensure the rocm CLI is present. Everything below shells out to it, so
check first and install it if missing:
rocm --version
If that succeeds, skip to step 1. If it's not found, install it with the
user's consent (this fetches and runs an installer that drops the rocm and
rocmd binaries into ~/.local/bin). Only nightly builds are published
today, so install from the nightly channel:
- Linux / macOS:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ROCm/rocm-cli/main/install.sh | sh -s -- nightly
- Windows (PowerShell):
$env:ROCM_CLI_CHANNEL = "nightly"
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ROCm/rocm-cli/main/install.ps1 | iex
(Once rocm-cli cuts a stable release, drop the nightly channel — sh /
iex alone will pull the latest stable build.)
After install, confirm ~/.local/bin is on PATH and re-run rocm --version.
If it still isn't available, hand the user the install page
(https://github.com/ROCm/rocm-cli) and stop.
-
Diagnose. Pass the user's error text as the symptom:
rocm diagnose --symptom "<paste the exact error>" --json
Read the JSON:
matched[] — ranked causes, each with id, title, score (0–100),
evidence[], and a fix (with fix_id, summary, commands, verify,
notes, and the needs_sudo / needs_reboot / needs_relogin /
auto_applicable flags). score >= 75 = high confidence; 50–74 = likely
(confirm one more piece of evidence with the user first).out_of_scope — when set (e.g. WSL2), do not diagnose. First, if the
user's symptom clearly names an app that ships its own runtime (Lemonade,
Ollama, LM Studio), route them to that app's tracker (see
) — those trackers apply regardless
of platform. Otherwise relay the message and stop (see
).
Use rocm examine (or rocm examine --json) when you only need the host state
(GPU, driver, ROCm install, groups, framework) without a diagnosis.
Framework routing
rocm diagnose covers frameworks that build against the system ROCm/HIP:
- PyTorch, llama.cpp — in scope; diagnose normally.
Apps that ship their own ROCm runtime aren't diagnosed here — route the user
to the right tracker. (The CLI's route_when_no_match also targets these, but
only when the host probe detects that app; when the app is named only in the
symptom, do the routing yourself using the list below.)
Out of scope
- WSL2 — a distinct platform (
/dev/dxg + the Windows host driver, not the
in-tree amdgpu module or /dev/kfd). rocm examine/diagnose detect it and
route out; relay that guidance and point at AMD's ROCm-on-WSL guide.
- NVIDIA / Intel / Apple Silicon GPUs, and fresh installs on a clean
machine (a setup task, not a diagnosis). Exit cleanly and say so.
Rules
- Never run the workflow — or offer any troubleshooting, generic GPU fixes
included — for a non-AMD GPU or a WSL2 setup. State it is out of scope and
stop.
- Never invent a fix. If
rocm diagnose returns no match, route upstream.
- Never run a mutating fix without the user's explicit OK; prefer
--dry-run
first. New failure modes are added to the CLI catalog, not improvised here.
See reference.md for the full closed catalog and the CLI
command/exit-code reference.
