Stable Diffusion "Torch is not able to use GPU" Error
Quick answer
The web UI installed a PyTorch build that cannot see your GPU. Rebuild the venv with the right PyTorch for your card and update drivers; --skip-torch-cuda-test only hides the check and runs on CPU.
Most likely fix: Rebuild the venv
How to fix it
Try these in order — the most common fix is first.
1. Rebuild the venv
- Close the web UI
- Delete the venv folder inside the stable-diffusion-webui directory
- Run webui-user.bat again so it reinstalls PyTorch
Did this fix it?2. Check Python and driver
- Use the Python version the project documents (3.10.x for A1111)
- Update the NVIDIA driver
- Run python -m torch.utils.collect_env inside the venv to see whether CUDA is detected
Did this fix it?3. AMD or Intel GPU
- Use a build made for your card, such as the DirectML fork (launch with --use-directml) or Linux with ROCm
- Do not rely on --skip-torch-cuda-test: it only makes the UI start, generation then runs on CPU
Did this fix it?
Symptoms
Launch stops with 'RuntimeError: Torch is not able to use GPU; add --skip-torch-cuda-test to COMMANDLINE_ARGS variable to disable this check'.
Why it happens
- CPU-only or wrong CUDA build of PyTorch installed in the venv
- Outdated or missing NVIDIA driver
- Broken venv after a Python or config change
- AMD or Intel GPU with a CUDA-only build
This guide also covers
- torch is not able to use gpu
- stable diffusion skip-torch-cuda-test
- automatic1111 torch not able to use gpu
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