nvrun

Note: This solution is Wayland only

A lightweight power-saving tool for Linux laptops using NVIDIA Hybrid / On-Demand graphics. It keeps your dedicated GPU completely asleep until you explicitly choose to use it.

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Problem

On modern Linux desktops (like GNOME on Wayland), graphics libraries scan all available GPUs whenever a hardware-accelerated app launches or the UI animates.

Because the NVIDIA driver cannot answer these queries while asleep, it forces the dGPU out of its D3cold deep sleep state and into D0 (full power). This causes a 1–3 second launch lag and can double your laptop's idle power draw during normal desktop usage.

Fix

1. System-Wide Blindfold: Deploys a configuration file to systemd (/etc/systemd/user-environment-generators/) that forces Vulkan and EGL loaders to ignore the NVIDIA driver registry by default. The desktop runs purely on integrated graphics, leaving the dGPU in a 0-watt sleep state. Nvidia only mode (BIOS MUX switch) will still work as the configuration file will do nothing if the Intel GPU is not detected.
2. Explicit Launcher: The nvrun CLI tool temporarily lifts this blindfold and injects standard NVIDIA Prime offload variables to run specific applications on the dGPU.

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Requirements:

• Currently only supports setups with an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU
• Must have the proprietary Nvidia driver installed
• The Ubuntu graphics mode must be set to "on-demand". You can check this with the following command:

prime-select query

Usage

Launch any application or game on the NVIDIA GPU from your terminal by prefixing the command with nvrun:

nvrun <program> [arguments...]

Alternatively, use the "Run with discrete graphics" right click menu option provided by switcheroo-control.

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Install

Install the latest package from the releases section.

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Notes

Applications that explicitly access the GPU by means other than scanning for hardware through OpenGL and Vulkan will still wake the GPU.

This means that Switcheroo-control(right-click menu 'Launch using discrete graphics card') will still work. It also means that resource monitor apps like Gnome Resources or nvtop will still wake the GPU while running.