Quai GPU Miner is a free, open-source command-line program for Windows that lets people with NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards run proof-of-work mining from a terminal. It suits hobbyists who are comfortable with command lines, batch files and basic driver setup, and it is a poor fit for anyone who wants a point-and-click dashboard. The current release is v0.5.0, and the project's code was last updated in March 2025.
The miner centers on Ethereum-style ProgPoW work and includes several techniques that reduce wasted effort on the GPU, such as building the DAG directly in graphics memory. It also handles pool connections, failover and benchmarking, so you can test a card before pointing it at live work. Results depend heavily on GPU generation, graphics memory and the Windows driver model, so read the driver notes on this page before you run anything.
What Is GPU Mining and Why Does It Matter?
GPU mining uses the parallel processing power of a graphics card to solve the puzzles that secure a proof-of-work blockchain. Graphics cards are built to run many similar calculations at once, which is why they became the standard tool for this work long before dedicated hardware took over some networks. The speed of a card is usually described as its hashrate, the number of attempts it makes per second.
For a home user, GPU mining is less about a single machine and more about understanding how the hardware, the software and the network interact. A card with strong raw speed can still underperform if its memory is too small or its driver is poorly suited to the algorithm. Quai GPU Miner sits in this space as a tool for people who want direct control over those variables rather than a simplified interface that hides them.
Because results depend on many moving parts, mining software is most useful when it lets you measure, compare and adjust. Benchmarking, device selection and explicit connection settings all serve that purpose. Treat every number you see as a reading from your own setup, not a promise of what another machine will produce.
Who Quai GPU Miner Is For
The program fits people who already understand a little about graphics cards and are willing to work in a terminal. A typical user might have a desktop with one or more NVIDIA or AMD cards, a Windows installation and some patience for reading driver notes. Students and developers who want to study how GPU miners handle DAG generation and pool protocols may also find the code useful.
It is less suitable for people who want a one-click experience with automatic updates, graphical monitoring and built-in wallet management. Those users will likely be happier with a miner that offers a full interface, even if it gives less low-level control. The command-line approach rewards careful setup but punishes guesswork, so a short test run before any long session is a good habit.
Owners of older or low-memory cards should pay close attention before starting. Because the program is designed around the current DAG size, a card with too little graphics memory may perform far below its potential. Checking your card's memory and driver version before installing will save time and frustration.
Understanding Proof of Work, Epochs and DAGs
Proof of work is a system in which miners compete to find a value that meets a network's difficulty target. The work is expensive to repeat, and the network accepts only valid results, which is what keeps the ledger secure. GPU miners perform this search across huge numbers of candidate values in parallel.
Ethereum-style algorithms organize mining into epochs. An epoch is a fixed period during which the miner uses a particular dataset, known as the DAG, which is derived from the chain's history. The DAG grows over time, so each new epoch requires a larger dataset in graphics memory. This is why the size of a card's VRAM matters more over time than many buyers expect.
When a DAG lives in memory, the GPU reads it constantly during the search. If the dataset does not fit comfortably, the card must swap or recalculate parts of it, and the hashrate drops sharply. Understanding this relationship helps explain why the guidance on memory size on this page is so important, and why benchmarking against upcoming epochs can reveal problems before they cost you time.
Real-World Scenarios for a Command-Line GPU Miner
One common scenario is a single desktop used for experiments. A user installs the miner, runs a short benchmark on the main graphics card, and compares the result with a second run after a driver update. This kind of testing teaches more about a card than any spec sheet, because it shows how the software behaves on your exact hardware.
Another scenario involves a small rig with several cards. Here, device selection becomes important, since you may want to exclude a display adapter or pin specific cards to specific jobs. Batch files or shell scripts can store these settings, so the same command starts the miner the same way every time after a restart.
A third scenario is a lab or classroom setting where people want to learn how stratum connections and failover behave. Watching the miner switch between endpoints in a controlled environment makes the protocol concrete. Such exercises work best with test configurations and clear notes about what changed between runs.
Key features
OpenCL and CUDA Mining
On-GPU DAG Generation
Stratum Mining Without a Proxy
Benchmarking Against Chosen Epochs
Farm Failover
OpenCL Device Selection
Supported coins
The coin list for this miner names Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but the program is built around Ethereum-based ProgPoW implementations. Its notes say it does not support the earlier Ethash version or Bitcoin-based forks, so Bitcoin should not be treated as a straightforward target. The algorithms it is associated with are Ethash, KawPow and ProgPoW, and the hardware paths cover Nvidia through CUDA, AMD through OpenCL and CPUs in the broader category. Check the current project documentation before assuming a specific network will work with a given release.
How to install Quai GPU Miner on Windows
- 1
Download from the Official Source
Download only from the official website or the GitHub Releases page for the project at github.com/dominant-strategies/quai-gpu-miner. Avoid mirror sites, repackaged installers and download links shared in chat groups, since these are the most common way mining tools get tampered with.
- 2
Verify the SHA-256 Checksum
After downloading, compare the file's SHA-256 hash with the checksum published on the release page, if one is provided. In Windows PowerShell, run Get-FileHash with the SHA256 algorithm on the file and compare the output character by character. If the hashes differ, delete the file and download it again from the same source.
- 3
Install or Extract the Build
The program is distributed as a Windows build or an installer. Create a dedicated folder for the miner, such as a Miners folder on your main drive, and keep everything inside it. Keeping the program, its configuration files and any batch scripts together makes later updates and troubleshooting much easier.
- 4
Prepare Your Graphics Drivers
Update your Nvidia drivers before the first run, since the project notes call for newer drivers. For Pascal cards, use WDDM 2.1 compatible drivers together with Windows 10 Anniversary Edition. If the release notes name a specific CUDA version, install that version as well, and restart Windows after the driver changes.
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Run a First Benchmark
Open Command Prompt in the miner's folder and run the program's built-in help command to list the available options. Start with a benchmark against a recent epoch before connecting to any pool. Record the hashrate and watch the temperature and memory usage, then build your launch command from those results.
System requirements
- A Windows installation that can run the Windows build or installer, with the program stored in a folder you manage
- A graphics card with more VRAM than the current DAG size, about 2.15 GB at the time of writing, for best performance
- Up-to-date Nvidia drivers for CUDA mining, as the project notes recommend
- For Pascal GPUs, WDDM 2.1 compatible drivers paired with Windows 10 Anniversary Edition
How to use Quai GPU Miner
The program is run from a terminal, so the workflow is about preparing a command and checking the results. Start with a test run so you can confirm that the card, driver and program work together before a longer session.
- Open Command Prompt in the folder where you extracted or installed Quai GPU Miner.
- Run the built-in help command to see the full list of options and their current syntax.
- Select the GPU devices you want to use, and leave out any adapter that drives your display or should not mine.
- Run a benchmark against a recent epoch and note the hashrate, temperature and memory use.
- Compare the benchmark with your expectations and adjust the driver or device selection if the result looks low.
- Enter your pool connection details only after the benchmark looks correct, using the stratum settings you received from your pool.
- Save the working command in a batch or cmd file so you can launch the same configuration again without retyping it.
- Watch the first hour of live mining closely for connection drops, rejected results and rising temperatures.
- Check failover behavior by reviewing the log after a short network interruption, if your setup allows a controlled test.
Pros & cons
- Free and open source, with the source code available on GitHub
- Supports both OpenCL and Nvidia CUDA mining
- Generates the DAG on the GPU, so no large DAG files need to be stored on disk
- Connects to stratum pools without a separate proxy program
- Includes benchmarking against chosen epochs, DAGs and block numbers
- Offers failover between getwork and stratum connections
- Command-line only, so there is no graphical dashboard
- Limited to Ethereum-based ProgPoW implementations, not earlier Ethash versions or Bitcoin-based forks
- Cards with less VRAM than the current DAG size can lose significant hashrate
- Older GPU generations such as Maxwell and Pascal need driver workarounds on newer Windows versions
- Antivirus software may flag the program, which adds setup steps
Is Quai GPU Miner safe?
Download the program only from the official website or the GitHub Releases page, and verify the SHA-256 checksum before running the file. Mining software is a common target for malware disguised as a miner, so a checksum mismatch is a clear reason to stop. Never enter a seed phrase on any third-party website or inside a miner's configuration, because no legitimate mining tool needs one. Antivirus tools often flag mining software, so if your protection quarantines the file, add a targeted exception for the program folder instead of disabling protection entirely. The last code update came in March 2025, so review the repository's recent activity and check the latest version on the official website before you install.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/dominant-strategies/quai-gpu-miner. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Quai GPU Miner is narrower than many general-purpose GPU miners. It focuses on Ethereum-style ProgPoW work and does not cover earlier Ethash versions or Bitcoin-based forks, so it is a better match for users who know exactly which network they want. T-Rex Miner is an NVIDIA GPU miner whose development has stopped, so it may appeal less for new setups. BzMiner is another GPU miner that many users compare against, and the choice between them usually comes down to the algorithm you plan to run and the hardware you own. Cpuminer GR is a CPU miner for the GhostRider algorithm on Raptoreum, so it belongs to a different hardware class entirely. Quai GPU Miner stands out for its combination of OpenCL and CUDA support, on-GPU DAG generation and stratum connections without a proxy.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- —
- Latest version
- v0.5.0
- Last update
- 17 Mar 2025
- Windows support
- Yes (Windows build or installer)
- Source code
- github.com/dominant-strategies/quai-gpu-miner
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Quai GPU Miner is free and open source, and its source code is published on GitHub. You do not pay to download or use the program itself. Mining costs still apply, since hardware, electricity and pool fees depend on your setup, so compare those costs before you start.
Yes, the program is available for Windows as a build or installer. Its driver notes discuss Windows 10 and the WDDM driver model, which affects how well older cards perform. Update your graphics drivers before the first benchmark and test the setup on a short run.
Not in the usual sense. The coin list mentions Bitcoin, but the program's notes say it supports Ethereum-based ProgPoW implementations only. It does not support the earlier Ethash version or Bitcoin-based forks, so check the current documentation before planning a Bitcoin setup.
Your card should have more VRAM than the current DAG size, which is about 2.15 GB at the time of writing. Cards with less memory than the DAG can suffer severe hashrate loss. Because the DAG grows over time, a card that works well today may need more memory later.
Antivirus tools frequently flag mining software because mining programs are sometimes abused by malware. Verify the checksum first, then add a targeted exception for the program folder if the file is genuine. Do not disable your protection completely, since that leaves the whole system exposed.
You can run benchmarks without a pool, but live mining usually means connecting to one. The program supports stratum connections without a proxy and can switch between getwork and stratum endpoints through failover. Enter the pool details only after your benchmark results look correct.
The latest release is v0.5.0, and the last code update was in March 2025. That is recent enough to be considered active by most standards, but it is worth checking the GitHub repository for new commits and issue activity before you commit to a long setup.
Verdict
Quai GPU Miner suits technically comfortable users who want a free, open-source, command-line miner with control over OpenCL, CUDA, DAG handling and pool connections. It rewards careful driver preparation and a benchmark before any live mining. It is not a good choice for people who want a graphical interface or who have graphics cards with too little memory for the current DAG. Mining results depend on hardware, electricity costs and network conditions, and this page makes no promise of profit.