sgminer/doc/KERNEL.md

Kernels

Available OpenCL kernels

See directory kernel.

Parameter configuration

Common

In general, switching kernels requires reconfiguring mining parameters, such as (but not necessarily limited to) thread-concurrency, intensity, gpu-engine and gpu-memclock.

A description of how to do this is available in doc/MINING.

alexkarnew

Alaxey Karimov's optimised kernel, based on ckolivas. For Catalyst >=13.4.

Only supports vectors=1.

Announcement.

alexkarold

Alaxey Karimov's optimised kernel, based on ckolivas. For Catalyst <13.4.

Only supports vectors=1.

Announcement.

ckolivas

The original Colin Percival scrypt kernel, maintained for a long time by Con Kolivas in cgminer and renamed to reflect the fact.

Only supports vectors=1.

zuikkis

Zuikkis' optimised kernel, based on ckolivas.

Only supports vectors=1, lookup-gap=2 and worksize=256.

Announcement.

Submitting new kernels

Requirements

• OpenCL source code only, licenced under GPLv3 (or later).
• Not hard-coded for a specific GPU model or manufacturer.
• Known limitations and any specific configuration quirks must be mentioned.

Procedure

1. Copy the kernel you wish to modify and commit it verbatim.

This way, it is easy to verify that there are no hidden changes. Note in the commit message which kernel is used as a base.

2. Make changes to the kernel. Commit them.

This allows to produce a diff that makes sense.

3. Search for KL_CKOLIVAS and CKOLIVAS_KERNNAME in the top-level source directory and make additions to the listed files in order to integrate the new kernel.

Now it can be selected when starting via the --kernel argument or kernel configuration option.

4. Add yourself to the "kernels" section in AUTHORS.md. Keep it short.

5. Submit a pull request on GitHub, or file it at the issue tracker, outlining the changes made, known limitations, and tested GPUs. List your git repository and branch name. The current repository and issue tracker links should be in README.md.