Install on AMD GPUs (Linux & Windows)
These are instructions to install Transformer Lab as an App on systems with AMD GPUs. You can also install Transformer Lab as a WebUI locally or in the cloud, which will allow you to run Transformer Lab in a web browser. Click here to learn more.
Table of Contents
Linux Instructions
For most situations, you can just download Transformer Lab and it should work as is. But if you are setting up from scratch and haven't installed ROCm drivers (drivers for your AMD GPU), the following instructions can help.
Supported Linux Distributions
Transformer Lab should work on most distros of Linux. If you are getting started from scratch, we recommend installing Ubuntu 24.04 (or 22.04) as they have good support for AMD GPUs and ROCm.
Step 1 - Ensure ROCm Drivers are Installed
We recommend installing the latest ROCm (6.4) for best compatibility and performance.
You can test that ROCm support is successfully installed by running the following command in a terminal. You should get output similar to what is shown below:
rocm-smi
If this worked, congratulations, ROCm support for your Linux install is working and you can proceed with downloading and installing Transformer Lab.
If you need to install ROCm drivers from scratch, follow the official ROCm installation instructions for your Linux distribution.
Below are the recommended commands for installing ROCm 6.4 on Ubuntu 24.04. For other distributions, please refer to the official ROCm installation guide.
# Update the system and install dependencies
sudo apt update
# Getting the amdgpu-install package
wget https://repo.radeon.com/amdgpu-install/6.4/ubuntu/noble/amdgpu-install_6.4.60400-1_all.deb
# Install the amdgpu-install package
sudo apt install ./amdgpu-install_6.4.60400-1_all.deb
# Update the system again to ensure all dependencies are met
sudo apt update
# Install the ROCm stack
# This will install the ROCm stack and all dependencies
sudo amdgpu-install -y --usecase=rocm --no-dkms
# Providing the user with access to the GPU
sudo usermod -a -G render $USER
sudo usermod -aG video $USER
# Reboot the terminal to apply changes
source ~/.bashrc
# OPTIONAL if git and curl are not installed and needed
sudo apt install curl git
Step 2 - Download and Install Transformer Lab
Go to the Transformer Lab download page and click on the app image that is appropriate for your computer:
Step 3 - Run the Installer
You can double click on the installer to run Transformer Lab.
If you get an error that says "Could not display..."
You may need to change the permissions of the AppImage.
Right-click on the app then click on Properties -> Permissions -> then check "Allow Executing File as a Program"
Now try running it again. Please be patient on the first install as a number of libraries must be installed on the first run.
Other Notes
If you are running a recent version of Ubuntu or an Ubuntu-based distro, you may have to run the appimage with the --no-sandbox flag to allow the installer the ability to install.
Windows Instructions
To use Transformer Lab with AMD GPUs on Windows, you will need to set up WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and install the appropriate AMD drivers and ROCm stack.
Step 1 - Install WSL
First, install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) if you haven't already. Open Windows PowerShell as Administrator and run:
wsl --install
Make sure your default WSL distribution is Ubuntu. You can set it with:
wsl --set-default Ubuntu
For more details, see the official WSL installation guide.
Step 2 - Install AMD Adrenalin Driver
To use AMD GPUs with ROCm in WSL, you must install the Adrenalin v25.3.1 driver from AMD.
You can download it from the AMD Drivers & Support page.
Step 3 - Install ROCm for WSL
Follow the official ROCm installation instructions for WSL at:
ROCm for WSL Installation Guide
This guide will walk you through the steps to install ROCm and ensure your AMD GPU is available in your WSL environment.
Note: Due to current limitations, you will not be able to track GPU usage when using Transformer Lab on Windows with an AMD GPU. See AMD's documentation on limitations for more details.
Step 4 - Download and Install Transformer Lab
Once WSL and ROCm are set up, download Transformer Lab for Windows:
Double-click the installer and follow the same steps as for Linux. The first time you run it, Windows may show a warning—click "More Info" and then "Run Anyway" to proceed.
If you encounter issues or need more details, refer to the official ROCm and AMD documentation linked above.