AMD Ryzen™ AI Halo User Guide

During the initial setup, connect to the Internet for the best experience. Once the setup process is completed and online, the following page appears:

The key button on this screen to press is “Update App”. After this installation is completed, a button on the screen labeled “Sync Software” will then allow the end user to get a Day-0 update:

This loads the Updates / Playbook Software location. Here, users are presented with software install options including the latest versions, and additional software — such as LM Studio and VS Code — that are optional installations.

This is the recommended method for end users to apply the optimal configuration for all pre-installed software and ensures a smooth experience using AMD Playbooks.

Connecting to the Internet following Installation

If an Internet connection was not available during the installation, a redo of the first-boot setup is not necessary. Users can connect to a network and continue the update:

1. Open Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi in Windows and connect to your network.
2. Bring the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center up to date in one of two ways:
   1. If the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center is already open: click the “Update App” button on the landing page. The app will detect the new connection and pull the update.
   2. If the application is not currently open (or is not detecting the network): simply close the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center and reopen it. On relaunch it will see the active connection and surface the “Update App” button so you can proceed.
3. Once the app update finishes, the rest of the flow is identical to the description above where you connect during the installation process — you are still responsible for driving the remaining steps manually:
   1. Click “Sync Software” when the button appears.
   2. Confirm and start the Day-0 update on the page that follows.
   3. Wait for the sync to finish before continuing.

In short: connecting to the internet later only changes how you get to the Update App step. From that point on, the Update App → Sync Software → Day-0 update sequence is the same and still requires you to click through each step.

During the first boot you will need internet access so the system can update before you can start using it. After selecting your language and then your keyboard, you will have the option to select your Wi-Fi network (or, if ethernet is connected, you can skip Wi-Fi). Next come options for location services, telemetry, time zone, username and password, and the OS license agreement, followed by a screen to download OS updates. This update is mandatory — it is the reason internet access is required to complete setup.

Once you get the updates and move to the finish screen, your system will restart to create a restore point and apply the updates. Your system will then be ready to use.

On the home screen, the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center will automatically open.

The AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center is organized into six tabs: Home (links to AMD Playbooks to help you get started faster), Manage (OS, firmware, and software updates), Settings (system options including the video memory carve-out), System (system information and pre-installed package details), Resources (helpful links from AMD), and Remote Access (connection information for reaching the box over SSH).

The full scope of software that is on the system after you install the Day-0 update is:

Applications

• ComfyUI Launcher
• LM Studio (Requires installation through AMD AI Developer Center)
• VS Code (Requires installation through AMD AI Developer Center)
• Node.js
• Git
• Lemonade
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
• PowerShell 7
• OpenSSH

Frameworks & Runtimes

• Python
• PyTorch (installed into the global environment of the pre-installed Python)

Models

• Z Image Turbo (Diffusion)
• Qwen3 4b Text Encoder
• Pixel Art Style Z Image Turbo (LoRA)
• AE (VAE)
• GPT-OSS-120b
• GPT-OSS-20b
• Qwen3-coder-30b-A3B-instruct-Q4_K_M

By navigating to the Settings → Software tab, you can review what software came pre-installed or was installed through the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center.

Applications

• ComfyUI
• Node.js
• Git
• Lemonade

Frameworks & Runtimes

• Python
• PyTorch (installed into the global environment of the pre-installed Python)

Models

• Z Image Turbo (Diffusion)
• Qwen3 4b Text Encoder
• Pixel Art Style Z Image Turbo (LoRA)
• AE (VAE)
• GPT-OSS-120b
• GPT-OSS-20b
• Qwen3-coder-30b-A3B-instruct-Q4_K_M

AMD ROCm™

• ROCm Core SDK
• ROCm Profilers

When the app opens, the Home tab is the central jumping-off point — it surfaces the welcome view, a shortcut into the playbook catalogue, and the Sync Software action used to bring the system up to the latest validated configuration.

The top navigation also exposes a Resources tab that collects shortcut links to the official AMD Ryzen AI Halo manual, the developer Discord community, the developer community program, the ROCm and Playbook GitHub issue trackers, and the AMD Sync companion app — so the most common destinations for help and follow-up reading are always one click away.

Open the Settings page using the gear icon in the top-right corner of the app and toggle off Launch app on start under the Application tab.

These options live in the Developer Center’s Settings tab — App Settings → Launch on Start and Analytics → AMD User Experience Program. See the Settings tab in the Developer Center walkthrough below for the full details, including the Light Bar toggle.

On Linux, the SSH server toggle and connection details live in the Developer Center’s Remote Access tab — see the walkthrough below.

This is handled from the Manage tab (see the Developer Center walkthrough below). Instead of separate Playbook Software and AMD Software sections, the page acts on the system as a whole through Update All, Factory Reset, and System Snapshot Rollback.

Basic flow:

1. Open the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab.
3. Click Update All to update everything, or use System Reset (Factory Reset / System Snapshot Rollback) to recover a previous working configuration.

1. Open the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center.

2. Navigate to the Updates page. The Updates tab groups everything that can be brought up to date — the Playbook Software entry at the top is what drives the BKC flow, while the AMD Software section underneath manages the Adrenalin driver, chipset drivers, and software extensions.

   

3. Click the Playbook Software button. This opens the Playbook Software detail view, which lists every in-scope item (driver, ComfyUI Desktop, Lemonade Server, LMStudio, Node.js, Python, PyTorch, VS Code) alongside its currently installed version and a flag for whether it matches the BKC. A summary banner at the top tells you how many items are out of sync.

   

4. Click Sync. The app will bring every flagged item back to the version combination AMD has validated.

If any of the in-scope software versions are out of sync with the Best Known Configuration, a “Sync Software” button will appear on the Home page. Clicking that button takes you straight to the same place as walking through Updates → Playbook Software → Sync — it’s just a faster way to start the same process.

The AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center is your control panel for managing software, hardware settings, and remote access on your Halo Box. It is organized into six tabs: Home, Manage, Settings, System, Resources, and Remote Access.

Home

The Home tab is your starting point. It provides a brief overview of the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Platform and a direct link to View Playbooks — AMD-curated, ready-to-run AI workflows you can launch on your device. It also displays an invitation to join the AMD AI Developer Program for additional resources and community access.

Manage

The Manage tab is where you manage your device — software and firmware updates, system recovery, and a glance at containers and models.

Software Updates

Lists all developer-platform software installed on your device, including core AMD packages and playbook-specific applications such as ROCm, PyTorch, ComfyUI, vLLM, Lemonade, and VS Code. For each package you can see:

• The currently installed version
• Whether an update is available, and what the new version will be
• Whether a pending update includes security fixes (indicated by a CVE badge)

You can apply updates holistically by using Update All to update everything at once. This process requires a reboot.

Release Notes

For any package with an update available, the three-dot menu gives you access to Release Notes so you can review what changed before updating.

Container Management (ComfyUI and vLLM)

ComfyUI and vLLM run as containerized applications on your Halo Box. From the three-dot menu next to either package you can open a detailed view that lets you:

• See the container status — whether the container is running or stopped
• Change the container status — start or stop the container
• Clear User Data to reset the application to a clean state if corruption occurs

Models

A View Models section shows all AI model files on the device. For each model you can see its file size, the date it was last modified, and which applications use it.

Firmware Updates

Below the software list, the Manage tab shows your current BIOS version. If a firmware update is available, an Update button becomes active so you can apply it directly from the app.

System Reset

At the top of the Manage tab there are two recovery options:

• Factory Reset — restores the device to its original out-of-box state.
• System Snapshot Rollback — rolls the system back to a previously saved snapshot.

Settings

The Settings tab lets you customize how the device and app behave.

App Settings

Launch on Start — toggles whether the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center opens automatically when the device boots (default: on).

Analytics

AMD User Experience Program — toggles your participation in anonymous usage data collection (default: off). A “Learn more” link explains what data is collected and how it is used.

System Settings

Graphics Performance Settings opens a configuration panel with two sliders for adjusting the device’s Variable Graphics Memory (VGM) allocation:

• Dedicated Video Memory (VRAM) — sets how much memory is reserved exclusively for the GPU. The available steps are determined by your device’s firmware; the default is the lowest available VRAM option for your device.
• Shared Video Memory — sets how much system memory the GPU can also use (adjustable from 10% to 90% in 5% increments; default 75%). A warning is shown above 75%, as higher values reduce memory available to other applications.

Use Apply Changes to save your configuration or Restore Defaults to return both sliders to their factory values. Changes take effect after a reboot.

Light Bar — toggles the device’s LED light bar on or off. The current state reflects the actual hardware state when the app loads; the default is determined by the device’s saved LED configuration.

System

The System tab gives you a detailed view of your device’s current state, useful for troubleshooting or sharing diagnostic information.

System Information

Displays a snapshot of your hardware and software environment, including:

• Operating system and kernel version
• Hostname and architecture
• Secure Boot status
• Total RAM
• BIOS vendor, version, and date
• Installed version of the AMD AI Developer Center

Use the Refresh button to pull the latest values at any time.

Diagnostic Log

The Generate Log button captures a full set of system diagnostics and saves the file locally. You can share this log with AMD support when reporting an issue.

Resources

The Resources tab is a curated link hub for documentation, community support, and bug reporting.

Help and Documentation

• AMD Ryzen AI Developer Platform User Guide — full platform documentation
• Recover your AMD Ryzen AI Developer Platform — step-by-step recovery instructions

Community

• Join Discord — real-time chat with the AMD AI developer community
• Connect on Discourse — forum for longer-form discussion and Q&A

Tools

• Get the AMD Sync App — link to download the AMD Sync companion app

Bug Reporting

• Report a Playbook Bug — submit issues with playbook behavior
• Report a ROCm Bug — submit issues with the ROCm software stack

Legal

• End User License Agreement (EULA)
• AMD Responsible AI Use Policy

Remote Access

The Remote Access tab lets you connect to your Halo Box from another machine over SSH.

SSH Server — use the toggle switch to enable or disable the SSH server on the device (default: on). A connection-status badge shows whether any other device currently has an active SSH connection to the box.

Connection Details — when the SSH server is on, the tab displays everything another system needs to connect. Each field has a copy-to-clipboard button for quick use in a terminal.

Port Forwarding — for forwarding a remote service to your local machine, the tab shows a ready-to-use SSH port-forward command that you can copy with one click.

Use this guide when AMD Sync is installed on a Windows computer and you want the fastest path from installation to connecting your first remote device.

Install AMD Sync

1. Locate the Windows installer, typically AMDSyncInstaller.exe.
2. Double-click the installer to start setup.
3. Follow the installer steps and finish the installation.
4. Launch AMD Sync from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

If your security software asks whether to allow AMD Sync network access, allow it so the app can communicate with remote devices over SSH.

First Launch Notes

• Keep AMD Sync running as your normal user account.
• If Windows Firewall asks for permission, allow AMD Sync to access the network so it can reach your remote devices.
• Make sure outbound SSH access to your remote device is allowed.

Connect Your First Device

1. Open AMD Sync.
2. Choose the option to add a device.
3. Enter the device name, host or IP address, SSH port, and username.
4. Choose password or SSH key authentication.
5. Test the connection before saving.

Once connected, see the shared Functionality Support of AMD Sync section above for the five user experience components AMD Sync provides.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Confirm that the remote machine has an SSH server enabled and reachable. If the remote machine is an AMD Ryzen AI Halo running Windows, the SSH server is off by default — enable it from the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center’s Remote page.
• Use the correct remote operating system when configuring the device.
• When you connect to a remote Windows machine for GPU metrics, AMD Sync can upload the required helper binary automatically when needed.
• If a connection test fails, verify the host, port, firewall rules, username, and authentication method.
• Remember the password expected during a connection is the OS user’s own login password, not anything stored or generated by the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center.

Next Steps

• Add additional devices if you work across multiple hosts.
• Open the dashboard for a broader performance view.
• Use the built-in terminal when you want a quick shell without leaving AMD Sync.

Use this guide when AMD Sync is installed on a Linux desktop and you want the right package format, the correct install command, and the Linux-specific notes that affect first launch.

Choose an Install Format

AMD Sync Linux builds are typically provided as:

• AMDSyncInstaller.deb
• AMDSyncInstaller.rpm
• AMDSyncInstaller.AppImage

Install AMD Sync

Debian or Ubuntu

For the most reliable install path, use:

sudo apt install ./AMDSyncInstaller.deb

You can also open the .deb file in your desktop package installer, but terminal installation is usually more reliable.

Package Notes

• Ubuntu App Center may show warnings such as “Potentially unsafe” or “Unknown publisher” for a locally opened .deb.
• That warning often means the package is a third-party local installer, not that the package is automatically malicious.
• On some GNOME systems, .deb file opening can fail if the default MIME handler points to a broken snap-store session installer entry.
• If GUI opening is unreliable, use sudo apt install ./AMDSyncInstaller.deb instead.

Connect Your First Device

1. Open AMD Sync.
2. Add a new device.
3. Enter the device name, host or IP address, SSH port, and username.
4. Choose password or SSH key authentication.
5. Test the connection before saving.

Once connected, see the shared Functionality Support of AMD Sync section above for the five user experience components AMD Sync provides.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Confirm that the remote host has SSH enabled and reachable. If the remote host is an AMD Ryzen AI Halo running Windows, the SSH server is off by default — enable it from the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center’s Remote page.
• If you use GNOME and the tray icon is missing, install and enable the App Indicator extension.
• If the app is launched from a drive mounted with nosuid, you may need Linux-specific sandbox adjustments depending on how you run the packaged app.
• If a .deb file does not open from the file manager, check the current MIME association and prefer terminal installation as a fallback.
• Remember the password expected during a connection is the OS user’s own login password, not anything stored or generated by the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center.

Next Steps

• Choose the dashboard when you want a wider system view.
• Use the overlay for lightweight monitoring.
• Open the built-in SSH terminal when you need to inspect the remote host directly.

Open the AMD Software application on your system and navigate to the Performance / Tuning tab. From there you can access the Variable Graphics Memory setting and adjust the allocation.

Open the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center app, click the Settings tab, then select Graphics Performance Settings to adjust the memory allocation. See the Settings tab in the Developer Center walkthrough above for the full breakdown of the Dedicated Video Memory (VRAM) and Shared Video Memory sliders.

Reinstalling

If you have uninstalled the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center and want to reinstall it, install any AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition driver package version 26.5.1 or newer. The Adrenalin installer will bring the AMD Ryzen AI Developer Center back as part of its install flow.