Compile bug: invalid feature modifier ‘sme’, when building on ARM with GGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON

[farshidtz]

Git commit

5be353e

Operating systems

Linux

GGML backends

CPU

Problem description & steps to reproduce

The build fails on arm64 with GGML_NATIVE=OFF and GGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON.

Setting GGML_NATIVE=ON resolves the build error but results in a runtime error: llama_model_load_from_file_impl: no backends are loaded. hint: use ggml_backend_load() or ggml_backend_load_all() to load a backend before calling this function.
(Should setting GGML_NATIVE=ON in combination with GGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON be an error?)

First Bad Commit

There is a mention of the same error from July: #14464 (comment)

Compile command

cmake -B build -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DLLAMA_CURL=OFF

Relevant log output

[  1%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  1%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  2%] Building CXX object tools/mtmd/CMakeFiles/llama-gemma3-cli.dir/deprecation-warning.cpp.o
[  2%] Building CXX object tools/mtmd/CMakeFiles/llama-llava-cli.dir/deprecation-warning.cpp.o
[  2%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-alloc.c.o
[  2%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  2%] Building C object examples/gguf-hash/CMakeFiles/sha1.dir/deps/sha1/sha1.c.o
[  2%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml.c.o
[  2%] Building CXX object tools/mtmd/CMakeFiles/llama-minicpmv-cli.dir/deprecation-warning.cpp.o
[  3%] Building C object examples/gguf-hash/CMakeFiles/sha256.dir/deps/sha256/sha256.c.o
[  3%] Building CXX object common/CMakeFiles/build_info.dir/build-info.cpp.o
[  3%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  5%] Building C object examples/gguf-hash/CMakeFiles/xxhash.dir/deps/xxhash/xxhash.c.o
[  5%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml.cpp.o
[  5%] Building CXX object tools/mtmd/CMakeFiles/llama-qwen2vl-cli.dir/deprecation-warning.cpp.o
[  3%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  6%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  6%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  6%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  7%] Building CXX object vendor/cpp-httplib/CMakeFiles/cpp-httplib.dir/httplib.cpp.o
[  7%] Built target build_info
[  7%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2-feats
[  7%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2-feats
[  7%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3-feats
[  7%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1-feats
[  7%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-backend.cpp.o
[  7%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-opt.cpp.o
[  8%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-threading.cpp.o
[  8%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-quants.c.o
[  8%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/gguf.cpp.o
[  8%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1-feats
[  8%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1-feats
[  8%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2-feats
[  8%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1-feats
[  8%] Built target sha1
[  8%] Built target sha256
[  8%] Linking CXX executable ../../bin/llama-gemma3-cli
[  8%] Linking CXX executable ../../bin/llama-llava-cli
[  9%] Linking CXX executable ../../bin/llama-qwen2vl-cli
[  9%] Linking CXX executable ../../bin/llama-minicpmv-cli
[  9%] Built target llama-llava-cli
[  9%] Built target llama-gemma3-cli
[  9%] Built target llama-qwen2vl-cli
[  9%] Built target llama-minicpmv-cli
[  9%] Built target xxhash
[  9%] Linking CXX shared library ../../bin/libggml-base.so
[  9%] Built target ggml-base
[  9%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[  9%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[  9%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[  9%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 10%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 10%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 11%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 11%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 11%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 11%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[ 11%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 11%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 12%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 12%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 12%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 12%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 13%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 13%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
[ 13%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
cc1: error: invalid feature modifier ‘sme’ in ‘-march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme’
cc1: note: valid arguments are: fp simd crc lse fp16 rcpc rdma dotprod aes sha2 crypto sha3 sm4 fp16fml sve profile rng memtag sb ssbs predres sve2 sve2-sm4 sve2-aes sve2-sha3 sve2-bitperm tme i8mm f32mm f64mm bf16 flagm pauth ls64 mops cssc; did you mean ‘sm4’?
gmake[2]: *** [ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/build.make:76: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o] Error 1
gmake[1]: *** [CMakeFiles/Makefile2:2102: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/all] Error 2
gmake[1]: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
cc1: error: invalid feature modifier ‘sme’ in ‘-march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme’
cc1: note: valid arguments are: fp simd crc lse fp16 rcpc rdma dotprod aes sha2 crypto sha3 sm4 fp16fml sve profile rng memtag sb ssbs predres sve2 sve2-sm4 sve2-aes sve2-sha3 sve2-bitperm tme i8mm f32mm f64mm bf16 flagm pauth ls64 mops cssc; did you mean ‘sm4’?
gmake[2]: *** [ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1.dir/build.make:76: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o] Error 1
gmake[1]: *** [CMakeFiles/Makefile2:2049: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1.dir/all] Error 2
[ 14%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[ 14%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 14%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 15%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 16%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 16%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 16%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/repack.cpp.o
[ 16%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 16%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 17%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 18%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 19%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 19%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/hbm.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 20%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/quants.c.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 20%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/traits.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 21%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 22%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 22%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 22%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 23%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 23%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 23%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/amx.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/amx/mmq.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 24%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 24%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 25%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 25%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/binary-ops.cpp.o
[ 26%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/unary-ops.cpp.o
[ 27%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/vec.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/ops.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/llamafile/sgemm.cpp.o
[ 28%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 29%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 30%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/quants.c.o
[ 30%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/repack.cpp.o
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.2_1.so
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.2_2.so
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.2_3.so
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3
[ 31%] Linking CXX static library libcpp-httplib.a
[ 31%] Built target cpp-httplib
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.6_2.so
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.6_1.so
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1
[ 31%] Linking CXX shared module ../../bin/libggml-cpu-armv8.0_1.so
[ 31%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1
gmake: *** [Makefile:146: all] Error 2

[o7si]

Can you provide the log output of the command:

cmake -B build -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DLLAMA_CURL=OFF

as well as the Linux distribution version?

[farshidtz]

The reported logs above were from a build on Nvidia DGX Spark:

$ cmake -B build -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DLLAMA_CURL=OFF
-- The C compiler identification is GNU 13.3.0
-- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 13.3.0
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working C compiler: /usr/bin/cc - skipped
-- Detecting C compile features
-- Detecting C compile features - done
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/bin/c++ - skipped
-- Detecting CXX compile features
-- Detecting CXX compile features - done
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
-- Found Git: /usr/bin/git (found version "2.43.0") 
-- The ASM compiler identification is GNU
-- Found assembler: /usr/bin/cc
-- Performing Test CMAKE_HAVE_LIBC_PTHREAD
-- Performing Test CMAKE_HAVE_LIBC_PTHREAD - Success
-- Found Threads: TRUE  
-- Warning: ccache not found - consider installing it for faster compilation or disable this warning with GGML_CCACHE=OFF
-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: aarch64
-- GGML_SYSTEM_ARCH: ARM
-- Including CPU backend
-- Found OpenMP_C: -fopenmp (found version "4.5") 
-- Found OpenMP_CXX: -fopenmp (found version "4.5") 
-- Found OpenMP: TRUE (found version "4.5")  
-- ARM detected
-- Performing Test GGML_COMPILER_SUPPORTS_FP16_FORMAT_I3E
-- Performing Test GGML_COMPILER_SUPPORTS_FP16_FORMAT_I3E - Failed
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8-a
-- Performing Test HAVE_DOTPROD
-- Performing Test HAVE_DOTPROD - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_SVE
-- Performing Test HAVE_SVE - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_MATMUL_INT8
-- Performing Test HAVE_MATMUL_INT8 - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_FMA
-- Performing Test HAVE_FMA - Success
-- Performing Test HAVE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC
-- Performing Test HAVE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_SME
-- Performing Test HAVE_SME - Failed
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1: -march=armv8-a 
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod GGML_USE_DOTPROD
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16 GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1: -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2: -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2 GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SVE2
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1: -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SME
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2: -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SVE2;GGML_USE_SME
-- ggml version: 0.9.4
-- ggml commit:  5be353ec4
-- Configuring done (1.2s)
-- Generating done (0.1s)
-- Build files have been written to: /home/farshid/llama.cpp/build

$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
Release:	24.04
Codename:	noble

$ uname -a
Linux spark 6.11.0-1016-nvidia #16-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun Sep 21 16:52:46 UTC 2025 aarch64 aarch64 aarch64 GNU/Linux

[farshidtz]

On Raspberry Pi 5:

$ cmake -B build -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DLLAMA_CURL=OFF
-- The C compiler identification is GNU 13.3.0
-- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 13.3.0
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info
-- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working C compiler: /usr/bin/cc - skipped
-- Detecting C compile features
-- Detecting C compile features - done
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info
-- Detecting CXX compiler ABI info - done
-- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/bin/c++ - skipped
-- Detecting CXX compile features
-- Detecting CXX compile features - done
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
-- Found Git: /usr/bin/git (found version "2.43.0") 
-- The ASM compiler identification is GNU
-- Found assembler: /usr/bin/cc
-- Performing Test CMAKE_HAVE_LIBC_PTHREAD
-- Performing Test CMAKE_HAVE_LIBC_PTHREAD - Success
-- Found Threads: TRUE  
-- ccache found, compilation results will be cached. Disable with GGML_CCACHE=OFF.
-- CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: aarch64
-- GGML_SYSTEM_ARCH: ARM
-- Including CPU backend
-- Found OpenMP_C: -fopenmp (found version "4.5") 
-- Found OpenMP_CXX: -fopenmp (found version "4.5") 
-- Found OpenMP: TRUE (found version "4.5")  
-- ARM detected
-- Performing Test GGML_COMPILER_SUPPORTS_FP16_FORMAT_I3E
-- Performing Test GGML_COMPILER_SUPPORTS_FP16_FORMAT_I3E - Failed
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8-a
-- Performing Test HAVE_DOTPROD
-- Performing Test HAVE_DOTPROD - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_SVE
-- Performing Test HAVE_SVE - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_MATMUL_INT8
-- Performing Test HAVE_MATMUL_INT8 - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_FMA
-- Performing Test HAVE_FMA - Success
-- Performing Test HAVE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC
-- Performing Test HAVE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC - Failed
-- Performing Test HAVE_SME
-- Performing Test HAVE_SME - Failed
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.0_1: -march=armv8-a 
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_1: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod GGML_USE_DOTPROD
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_2: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16 GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.2_3: -march=armv8.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.6_1: -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv8.6_2: -march=armv8.6-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2 GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SVE2
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv9.2_1: -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SME
-- ARM detected
-- Checking for ARM features using flags:
--   -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme
-- Adding CPU backend variant ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2: -march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme GGML_USE_DOTPROD;GGML_USE_FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC;GGML_USE_SVE;GGML_USE_MATMUL_INT8;GGML_USE_SVE2;GGML_USE_SME
-- ggml version: 0.9.4
-- ggml commit:  5be353ec
-- Configuring done (3.3s)
-- Generating done (0.2s)
-- Build files have been written to: /home/ubuntu/llama.cpp/build

$ cmake --build build --config Release
[  0%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml.c.o
[  1%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml.cpp.o
[  1%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-alloc.c.o
[  1%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-backend.cpp.o
[  1%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-opt.cpp.o
[  2%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-threading.cpp.o
[  2%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/ggml-quants.c.o
[  2%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-base.dir/gguf.cpp.o
[  2%] Linking CXX shared library ../../bin/libggml-base.so
[  2%] Built target ggml-base
[  3%] Building CXX object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2-feats.dir/ggml-cpu/arch/arm/cpu-feats.cpp.o
[  3%] Built target ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2-feats
[  3%] Building C object ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o
cc1: error: invalid feature modifier ‘sme’ in ‘-march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sve2+sme’
cc1: note: valid arguments are: fp simd crc lse fp16 rcpc rdma dotprod aes sha2 crypto sha3 sm4 fp16fml sve profile rng memtag sb ssbs predres sve2 sve2-sm4 sve2-aes sve2-sha3 sve2-bitperm tme i8mm f32mm f64mm bf16 flagm pauth ls64 mops cssc; did you mean ‘sm4’?
gmake[2]: *** [ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/build.make:76: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/ggml-cpu/ggml-cpu.c.o] Error 1
gmake[1]: *** [CMakeFiles/Makefile2:2102: ggml/src/CMakeFiles/ggml-cpu-armv9.2_2.dir/all] Error 2
gmake: *** [Makefile:146: all] Error 2


$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
Release:	24.04
Codename:	noble

$ uname -a
Linux pi5 6.8.0-1040-raspi #44-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Sep 24 18:30:35 UTC 2025 aarch64 aarch64 aarch64 GNU/Linux

[o7si]

Hi, @farshidtz GNU 13.3.0 does not support SME. You can try modifying the CMakeLists.txt file and then recompile.

diff --git a/ggml/src/CMakeLists.txt b/ggml/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 628db3fd6..444635f06 100644
--- a/ggml/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ggml/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -367,8 +367,24 @@ if (GGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS)
             ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv8.2_3    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE)
             ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv8.6_1    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8)
             ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv8.6_2    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8 SVE2)
-            ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv9.2_1    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8 SME)
-            ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv9.2_2    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8 SVE2 SME)
+            # Check if compiler supports SME before adding variants that require it
+            # Use actual compilation test instead of just flag check
+            include(CheckCXXSourceCompiles)
+            set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS_SAVE ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS})
+            set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "-march=armv9.2-a+dotprod+fp16+sve+i8mm+sme")
+            check_cxx_source_compiles(
+                "
+                int main() { return 0; }
+                "
+                COMPILER_SUPPORTS_SME
+            )
+            set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS_SAVE})
+            if (COMPILER_SUPPORTS_SME)
+                ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv9.2_1    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8 SME)
+                ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(armv9.2_2    DOTPROD FP16_VECTOR_ARITHMETIC SVE MATMUL_INT8 SVE2 SME)
+            else()
+                message(STATUS "Compiler does not support SME (armv9.2-a+sme), skipping armv9.2 variants")
+            endif()
         elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Android")
             # Android-specific backends with SoC-compatible feature sets
             ggml_add_cpu_backend_variant(android_armv8.0_1)

Alternatively, you can try upgrading your GNU and CMake versions. I tested the following configuration and the build was successful:

# gcc --version
gcc-14 (Ubuntu 14.2.0-4ubuntu2~24.04) 14.2.0
Copyright (C) 2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

# g++ --version
g++-14 (Ubuntu 14.2.0-4ubuntu2~24.04) 14.2.0
Copyright (C) 2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

# cmake --version
cmake version 4.2.0-rc4

CMake suite maintained and supported by Kitware (kitware.com/cmake).

[farshidtz]

Thanks a lot! Using the latest versions of gcc, g++, and cmake does indeed solve the issue.

For anyone wanting to install the latest versions in parallel to the existing ones on Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt install gcc-14
sudo apt install g++-14
sudo snap install cmake --classic

$ /snap/bin/cmake --version
cmake version 4.2.0

CMake suite maintained and supported by Kitware (kitware.com/cmake).

$ export CC=/usr/bin/gcc-14
$ export CXX=/usr/bin/g++-14
$ /snap/bin/cmake -B build -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DLLAMA_CURL=OFF
-- The C compiler identification is GNU 14.2.0
-- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 14.2.0
...
$ /snap/bin/cmake --build build --config Release -j $(nproc)
...

@o7si It might be worth upstreaming your fix to skip the variants on unsupported compilers. I've tested and it works as expected.