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Nvidia CUDA: Compiler cl.exe in PATH different than the one specified with -ccbin

Symptoms

nvcc fatal: Compiler 'cl.exe' in PATH different than the one specified with -ccbin

Cause

Older versions of Nvidia CUDA are incompatible with BullseyeCoverage. When nvcc finds the BullseyeCoverage cl.exe, it detects that it is not the Microsoft compiler. Rather than continuing to search, it fails with an error as shown above.

Resolution

Alternative 1

Upgrade to CUDA 12.4 or later.

Alternative 2

Disable the BullseyeCoverage integration for all versions of Microsoft C++ before building any CUDA projects. You can disable and enable the Microsoft C++ integration using the Coverage Browser menu command Tools Options.

Alternative 3

  1. In the Windows start menu, enter cmd and click Run as administrator.

  2. Use the commands below to disable BullseyeCoverage integration before building your CUDA project. 
    C:\Windows\System32> cd %PROGRAMFILES%\BullseyeCoverage\bin

C:\Program Files\BullseyeCoverage\bin> rename cl.exe cl.exe-
  3. Use the commands below to re-enable BullseyeCoverage integration after building your CUDA project. 
    C:\Windows\System32> cd %PROGRAMFILES%\BullseyeCoverage\bin

C:\Program Files\BullseyeCoverage\bin> rename cl.exe- cl.exe

More Information

The Nvidia CUDA Features Archive states that version 11.6 is compatible with BullseyeCoverage. However, our testing shows that version 12.4 or later is required to compile sources with the .cu extension. 

C:\>"C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v12.4\bin\nvcc.exe" -c hello.cu
hello.cu
BullseyeCoverage Compile 9.22.1 Windows, Copyright (c) Bullseye Testing Technology
tmpxft_0000186c_00000000-10_hello.cudafe1.cpp

C:\>"C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v12.3\bin\nvcc.exe" -c hello.cu
hello.cu
C:\Program Files\NVIDIA GPU Computing Toolkit\CUDA\v12.3\include\crt/host_config.h(164): fatal error C1189: #error:  -- unsupported Microsoft Visual Studio version!
Only the versions between 2017 and 2022 (inclusive) are supported! The nvcc flag '-allow-unsupported-compiler' can be used to override this version check;
however, using an unsupported host compiler may cause compilation failure or incorrect run time execution. Use at your own risk.
BullseyeCoverage error: Status 2: "c:/Program Files/Microsoft Visual Studio/2022/Community/VC/Tools/MSVC/14.44.35207/bin/HostX64/x64/cl.exe"

Updated: 28 Aug 2025