What is an HSACO file? An HSACO file is a compiled file that contains low-level instructions for AMD GPUs that support the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA), an open standard that allows processors to efficiently share memory and work together on parallel computing tasks. It stores binary instructions AMD’s ROCm runtime system executes to run GPU kernels on AMD graphics architectures, such as Graphics Core Next (GCN) and RDNA. HSACO files are typically generated as part of a GPU computing workflow using the hipcc tool, which is the compiler in AMD’s Heterogeneous-Compute Interface for Portability (HIP) platform.

More Information High-performance computing (HPC), scientific simulations, machine learning, and other computationally intensive applications use the HSACO format to improve parallel GPU processing. Developers create the files by compiling source code written in languages, like C++ , with GPU-specific extensions. Instead of targeting a CPU , the compiler generates code meant to be executed directly by the GPU. Each HSACO file is tailored for a specific GPU architecture, which helps optimize performance on that hardware. NOTE: The Heterogeneous System Architecture Foundation (HSA Foundation) maintains the Heterogeneous System Architecture Code Object (HSACO) format.