Prepare DGX Station to Install NemoClaw
Complete this preparation before following the Quickstart on a qualifying DGX Station GB300.
Qualify Your DGX Station
DGX Station GB300 express install accepts either the generic Ubuntu 24.04 ARM64 image or stock DGX OS 7.2.0, 7.4.0, or 7.5.0.
A stock DGX OS image qualifies only when a safe, root-owned /etc/dgx-release marker identifies DGX Server for GALAXY-GB300.
NemoClaw also recognizes these exact no-OTA factory profiles for bounded qualification.
Each profile requires DGX_PLATFORM=DGX Server for GALAXY-GB300, requires both DGX_OTA_VERSION and DGX_OTA_DATE to be absent, and requires every profile-specific field below:
- April 2026 NVIDIA Colossus BaseOS with
DGX_PRETTY_NAME=NVIDIA DGX Server,DGX_SWBUILD_VERSION=7.5.0-GB300ws-GB200ws, andDGX_SWBUILD_DATE=2026-04-02-08-20-16. - June 2026 NVIDIA AI Developer Tools with
DGX_PRETTY_NAME=NVIDIA DGX GB300WS,DGX_SWBUILD_VERSION=7.5.0, andDGX_SWBUILD_DATE=2026-06-16-11-48-10.
By default, an unknown version, malformed or unsafe marker, unmatched no-OTA factory image, or other Station generation stops before host preparation.
On an unqualified system, set NEMOCLAW_PROVIDER or NEMOCLAW_NO_EXPRESS=1 explicitly to continue without Station host automation.
Temporary Metadata Override
Use --force-station-install only on a genuine DGX Station GB300 when automatic Station detection rejects its DGX release metadata.
The flag handles metadata variants not yet recognized by NemoClaw; it is not a general compatibility bypass.
The flag bypasses only the /etc/dgx-release allowlist.
It still requires ARM64 Ubuntu 24.04, DGX Station GB300 hardware identity, exactly one healthy GB300 for inference, zero volatile GB300 ECC errors, adequate storage, healthy required system services, no active agent, inference, or Docker workloads, and working Docker, Buildx, NVIDIA Container Toolkit, CDI, and container GPU-visibility probes.
The override preserves the existing factory driver, packages, and container-runtime configuration; it does not install or repair missing factory components.
It cannot enable Station Express on another Station generation or hardware platform.
This override exists for current genuine Station factory images whose /etc/dgx-release metadata omits or varies fields used by the exact automatic allowlist.
Remove the override after those images publish recognized metadata or NemoClaw replaces the exact allowlist with a separately qualified platform-family and runtime-capability check.
Run the override from an interactive terminal:
Add --station-deepseek to the same command to select DeepSeek V4 Flash.
The installer records the override in the printed relogin command when Docker-group access requires a new session.
Prepare Generic Ubuntu
On the generic Ubuntu path, accepting express install prepares the host with NVIDIA open driver 610.43.02, Docker CE 29.6.1 with Buildx, and NVIDIA Container Toolkit 1.19.1.
Preparation probes package and runtime state first, reuses exact matches, and installs only missing pinned packages, including the NVIDIA Container Toolkit libraries and nvidia-ctk CLI.
It permits only the reviewed factory transition from dkms 3.0.11-1ubuntu13 to 1:3.4.0-1ubuntu1.
After reboot, preparation enables NVIDIA’s packaged CDI refresh path and service, requires the nvidia.com/gpu=all device, and verifies it with a real container launch.
If the packaged refresh fails or does not produce that device, preparation prints service diagnostics and stops for administrator repair.
It does not bypass the packaged lifecycle with direct CDI generation.
If the docker --gpus all acceptance probe fails, preparation registers the NVIDIA Docker runtime only when docker info diagnoses that runtime as absent; any other launch failure stops without changing daemon configuration.
If registration or a post-change acceptance probe fails, preparation restores the prior Docker daemon configuration; if restoration fails, it reports the backup path and stops.
After successful registration, the runtime remains configured until the same acceptance probe succeeds through a replacement Docker and NVIDIA runtime integration.
Preparation requires Secure Boot to be disabled, matching headers for the running kernel, at least 20 GiB free on the root filesystem, and no active agent, inference, or Docker workloads.
It also stops when systemd reports a failed unit unless the unit matches an exact, condition-qualified state from the generic Station image: the pinned OEM cloud-init telemetry failure, a network-wait failure while current network health is established, masked fwupd, or an SSSD socket on a host without SSSD configuration.
Any other failed unit blocks preparation for administrator review.
It does not install a host CUDA toolkit or Docker Compose.
If any other existing prerequisite version differs, preparation stops instead of changing it automatically.
After changing pinned packages, the installer exits with status 10; reboot, sign in, and run the printed command, which pins the exact accepted NemoClaw commit before resuming express setup.
Validate Stock DGX OS
On a qualifying stock DGX OS or exact no-OTA factory image, express install validates the factory stack in place against the local default Docker daemon.
It requires a loaded GB300 driver with zero volatile corrected and uncorrected ECC errors, active Docker and containerd services, working Docker Buildx, nvidia-ctk, the nvidia.com/gpu=all CDI device, and successful nvidia-smi device-visibility probes through both CDI and --gpus all.
The stock DGX OS and AI Developer Tools paths do not install or replace host packages, enable or restart services, generate CDI configuration, or rewrite the Docker runtime.
The Colossus BaseOS path requires the exact reviewed package and failed-service fingerprints, preserves the factory kernel, driver, DKMS, Docker, and NVIDIA Container Toolkit packages, and prepares only Docker access and packaged CDI.
Only the Colossus BaseOS path registers the NVIDIA Docker runtime when the launch probe proves that the runtime is missing, and it restores the prior daemon configuration if registration fails.
The preparation helper writes a private audit log under ~/station-bootstrap-logs.
Aside from the installer’s separately disclosed docker-group membership grant when the current trusted account needs Docker access, the stock DGX OS and AI Developer Tools paths leave only the digest-pinned visibility-test image in the Docker cache.
One physical DGX OS 7.5.0 GB300 validation completed with released OpenShell 0.0.85, local Nemotron Ultra serving, sandbox cuInit(0), and a Hermes write/read file-tool task.
Repeat qualification from a clean host and CI coverage remain pending.
For the complete support status and direct GPU policy boundaries, see Platform Support.
DGX Station Support Status
DGX Station remains Deferred. Repeat qualification from a clean host and CI coverage remain pending before any support-status promotion.
Next Step
After your host passes preparation or validation, continue with the Quickstart.