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By Zayden R., August 31, 2026
NVIDIA VA-API Driver 0.0.18 is now available, bringing fixes and enabling Chrome/Chromium hardware video decode on the direct backend. This update is crucial for users leveraging NVIDIA hardware on Linux.
NVIDIA's open-source VA-API Driver has reached version 0.0.18, a release that brings significant improvements and fixes for Linux users relying on NVIDIA hardware. This update is particularly noteworthy as it enables hardware video decoding for Chrome and Chromium on the direct backend, a feature that enhances performance for those using Wayland and ANGLE-on-Vulkan.
The 0.0.18 release addresses HEVC decoding artifacts, ensuring smoother playback and better visual quality. The ability to decode video directly on Chrome and Chromium fills a previously notable gap in the NVIDIA Linux graphics driver stack. This is a solid improvement for users who have been waiting for more seamless video acceleration in VA-API-only applications.
The development of this driver version was supported by contributions from Claude Fable 5, who focused on bug hunting, and Opus, who assisted with the implementation. Their collaborative efforts have made this release possible, allowing NVIDIA users to take advantage of enhanced video capabilities on Linux.
While the current release does not include NVENC encoding support via VA-API, there is a draft pull request in the works. This future enhancement will be of interest to users requiring VA-API encode support, suggesting further improvements are on the horizon.
Engineers and sysadmins interested in this update can find the v0.0.18 release on GitHub. It's a welcome development for those using NVIDIA hardware, offering a more integrated and efficient experience on Linux systems.
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