diff --git a/docker/ubuntu-26.04.dockerfile b/docker/ubuntu-26.04.dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33ff5a25e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/ubuntu-26.04.dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
+# artifacts: true
+# platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64/v8
+# platforms_pr: linux/amd64
+# no-cache-filters: sunshine-base,artifacts,sunshine
+ARG BASE=ubuntu
+ARG TAG=26.04
+FROM ${BASE}:${TAG} AS sunshine-base
+
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+FROM sunshine-base AS sunshine-deps
+
+SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
+
+# Copy only the build script first for better layer caching
+WORKDIR /build/sunshine/
+COPY --link scripts/linux_build.sh ./scripts/linux_build.sh
+
+# Install dependencies first - this layer will be cached
+RUN <<_DEPS
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+chmod +x ./scripts/linux_build.sh
+./scripts/linux_build.sh \
+  --step=deps \
+  --sudo-off
+apt-get clean
+rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+_DEPS
+
+FROM sunshine-deps AS sunshine-build
+
+ARG BRANCH
+ARG BUILD_VERSION
+ARG COMMIT
+# note: BUILD_VERSION may be blank
+
+ENV BRANCH=${BRANCH}
+ENV BUILD_VERSION=${BUILD_VERSION}
+ENV COMMIT=${COMMIT}
+
+# Now copy the full repository
+COPY --link .. .
+
+# Configure, validate, build and package
+RUN <<_BUILD
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+./scripts/linux_build.sh \
+  --step=cmake \
+  --publisher-name='LizardByte' \
+  --publisher-website='https://app.lizardbyte.dev' \
+  --publisher-issue-url='https://app.lizardbyte.dev/support' \
+  --sudo-off
+
+./scripts/linux_build.sh \
+  --step=validation \
+  --sudo-off
+
+./scripts/linux_build.sh \
+  --step=build \
+  --sudo-off
+
+./scripts/linux_build.sh \
+  --step=package \
+  --sudo-off
+_BUILD
+
+# run tests
+WORKDIR /build/sunshine/build/tests
+RUN <<_TEST
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+export DISPLAY=:1
+Xvfb ${DISPLAY} -screen 0 1024x768x24 &
+./test_sunshine --gtest_color=yes
+_TEST
+
+FROM sunshine-base AS sunshine
+
+ARG BASE
+ARG TAG
+ARG TARGETARCH
+
+# artifacts to be extracted in CI
+COPY --link --from=sunshine-build /build/sunshine/build/cpack_artifacts/Sunshine.deb /artifacts/sunshine-${BASE}-${TAG}-${TARGETARCH}.deb
+
+# copy deb from builder
+COPY --link --from=sunshine-build /build/sunshine/build/cpack_artifacts/Sunshine.deb /sunshine.deb
+
+# install sunshine
+RUN <<_INSTALL_SUNSHINE
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+apt-get update -y
+apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends /sunshine.deb
+apt-get clean
+rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+_INSTALL_SUNSHINE
+
+# network setup
+EXPOSE 47984-47990/tcp
+EXPOSE 48010
+EXPOSE 47998-48000/udp
+
+# setup user
+ARG PGID=1001
+ENV PGID=${PGID}
+ARG PUID=1001
+ENV PUID=${PUID}
+ENV TZ="UTC"
+ARG UNAME=lizard
+ENV UNAME=${UNAME}
+
+ENV HOME=/home/$UNAME
+
+# setup user
+RUN <<_SETUP_USER
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+groupadd -f -g "${PGID}" "${UNAME}"
+useradd -lm -d ${HOME} -s /bin/bash -g "${PGID}" -u "${PUID}" "${UNAME}"
+mkdir -p ${HOME}/.config/sunshine
+ln -s ${HOME}/.config/sunshine /config
+chown -R ${UNAME} ${HOME}
+_SETUP_USER
+
+USER ${UNAME}
+WORKDIR ${HOME}
+
+# entrypoint
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/bin/sunshine"]
diff --git a/docs/building.md b/docs/building.md
index 91c0dd3d5..54d195b7f 100644
--- a/docs/building.md
+++ b/docs/building.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Sunshine requires CUDA Toolkit for NVFBC capture. There are two caveats to CUDA:
 
 1. The version installed depends on the version of GCC.
 2. The version of CUDA you use will determine compatibility with various GPU generations.
-   At the time of writing, the recommended version to use is CUDA ~12.9.
+   At the time of writing, the recommended version to use is CUDA ~13.1.
    See [CUDA compatibility](https://docs.nvidia.com/deploy/cuda-compatibility/index.html) for more info.
 
 > [!NOTE]
diff --git a/docs/getting_started.md b/docs/getting_started.md
index dc7b8e4a4..c82117480 100644
--- a/docs/getting_started.md
+++ b/docs/getting_started.md
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ CUDA is used for NVFBC capture.
         <th>Package</th>
     </tr>
     <tr>
-        <td rowspan="8">12.9.1</td>
-        <td rowspan="8">575.57.08</td>
+        <td rowspan="8">13.1.1</td>
+        <td rowspan="8">590.48.01</td>
         <td rowspan="8">50;52;60;61;62;70;72;75;80;86;87;89;90;100;101;103;120;121</td>
         <td>sunshine.AppImage</td>
     </tr>
diff --git a/scripts/linux_build.sh b/scripts/linux_build.sh
index f4a6d2bfe..00fc97dee 100755
--- a/scripts/linux_build.sh
+++ b/scripts/linux_build.sh
@@ -7,10 +7,17 @@ target_cmake_version="3.30.1"
 doxygen_min="1.10.0"
 _doxygen_min="${doxygen_min//\./_}"  # Convert dots to underscores for URL
 doxygen_max="1.12.0"
+default_cuda_version="13.1.1"
+default_cuda_build="590.48.01"
 
 # Default value for arguments
 appimage_build=0
+cuda_version="$default_cuda_version"
+cuda_build="$default_cuda_build"
 cuda_patches=0
+cuda_system_package=0
+cuda_system_package_name=""
+force_cuda_runfile=0
 num_processors=$(nproc)
 publisher_name="Third Party Publisher"
 publisher_website=""
@@ -27,6 +34,97 @@ step="all"
 AARCH64="aarch64"
 DOXYGEN="doxygen"
 
+function setup_cuda_system_package_environment() {
+  if [[ "$cuda_system_package" == 1 ]]; then
+    # Ubuntu CUDA 13 packages install nvcc here but do not add it to PATH.
+    local cuda_bin_path
+    cuda_bin_path="$(cuda_system_toolkit_path)/bin"
+    if [[ ":${PATH}:" != *":${cuda_bin_path}:"* ]]; then
+      export PATH="${cuda_bin_path}:${PATH}"
+    fi
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+function cuda_system_toolkit_path() {
+  local cuda_minor_version="${cuda_version%.*}"
+  echo "/usr/local/cuda-${cuda_minor_version}"
+}
+
+function cuda_target_dir() {
+  if [[ "$architecture" == "${AARCH64}" ]]; then
+    echo "sbsa-linux"
+  else
+    echo "x86_64-linux"
+  fi
+}
+
+function cuda_math_functions_patch_applied() {
+  local cuda_toolkit_path=$1
+  local math_functions_file
+  math_functions_file="${cuda_toolkit_path}/targets/$(cuda_target_dir)/include/crt/math_functions.h"
+
+  if [[ ! -f "$math_functions_file" ]]; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  grep -Fq "rsqrt(double x) noexcept (true)" "$math_functions_file" && \
+    grep -Fq "rsqrtf(float x) noexcept (true)" "$math_functions_file" && \
+    grep -Fq "__func__(double rsqrt(double a) noexcept (true));" "$math_functions_file" && \
+    grep -Fq "__func__(float rsqrtf(float a) noexcept (true));" "$math_functions_file"
+}
+
+function apply_cuda_patches() {
+  local cuda_toolkit_path=$1
+
+  if [[ "$cuda_patches" != 1 ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! -d "$cuda_toolkit_path" ]]; then
+    echo "CUDA toolkit path not found: $cuda_toolkit_path"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  if cuda_math_functions_patch_applied "$cuda_toolkit_path"; then
+    echo "CUDA math_functions.h patch already applied"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  echo "Applying CUDA patches"
+  local patch_dir="${script_dir}/../packaging/linux/patches/${architecture}"
+  local patch_file=""
+
+  # Select the patch based on the CUDA major version, not the distro version.
+  # see https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/error-exception-specification-is-incompatible-for-cospi-sinpi-cospif-sinpif-with-glibc-2-41/323591/3
+  local cuda_major="${cuda_version%%.*}"
+  if [[ "${cuda_major}" -eq 12 ]]; then
+    # CUDA 12.x: the extern declarations lack noexcept(true); add it to match glibc 2.41.
+    patch_file="${patch_dir}/cuda-12-math_functions.patch"
+  elif [[ "${cuda_major}" -eq 13 ]]; then
+    # CUDA 13.x: the extern declarations already have noexcept(true), but the __func__()
+    # macro invocations at the bottom still lack it, causing a redeclaration conflict.
+    patch_file="${patch_dir}/cuda-13-math_functions.patch"
+  else
+    echo "Warning: no math_functions.h patch available for CUDA ${cuda_major}.x, skipping."
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "$patch_file" ]]; then
+    if [[ -f "$patch_file" ]]; then
+      echo "Applying patch: $patch_file"
+      ${sudo_cmd} patch -p2 \
+        --backup \
+        --directory="$cuda_toolkit_path" \
+        --verbose \
+        < "$patch_file"
+    else
+      echo "Patch file not found: $patch_file"
+    fi
+  else
+    echo "No CUDA patch required for ${distro} ${version}"
+  fi
+}
+
 # Reusable function to detect nvcc path
 function detect_nvcc_path() {
   local nvcc_path=""
@@ -81,7 +179,10 @@ Options:
   -h, --help               Display this help message.
   -s, --sudo-off           Disable sudo command.
   --appimage-build         Compile for AppImage, this will not create the AppImage, just the executable.
-  --cuda-patches           Apply cuda patches.
+  --cuda-patches           Apply cuda patches. Enabled automatically on Ubuntu 26.04.
+  --cuda-runfile           Force CUDA installation from the NVIDIA runfile.
+  --cuda-system-package=*  The CUDA package to install when system CUDA is enabled.
+                           Default for Ubuntu 26.04 is cuda-toolkit-13-1.
   --num-processors         The number of processors to use for compilation. Default is the value of 'nproc'.
   --publisher-name         The name of the publisher (not developer) of the application.
   --publisher-website      The URL of the publisher's website.
@@ -122,6 +223,12 @@ while getopts ":hs-:" opt; do
         cuda-patches)
           cuda_patches=1
           ;;
+        cuda-runfile)
+          force_cuda_runfile=1
+          ;;
+        cuda-system-package=*)
+          cuda_system_package_name="${OPTARG#*=}"
+          ;;
         num-processors=*)
           num_processors="${OPTARG#*=}"
           ;;
@@ -229,6 +336,7 @@ function add_debian_based_deps() {
     "g++-${gcc_version}"
     "git"
     "graphviz"
+    "libayatana-appindicator3-dev"
     "libcap-dev"  # KMS
     "libcurl4-openssl-dev"
     "libdrm-dev"  # KMS
@@ -283,7 +391,6 @@ function add_debian_deps() {
   add_test_ppa
   add_debian_based_deps
   dependencies+=(
-    "libayatana-appindicator3-dev"
     "systemd-dev"
   )
   return 0
@@ -292,9 +399,24 @@ function add_debian_deps() {
 function add_ubuntu_deps() {
   add_test_ppa
   add_debian_based_deps
-  dependencies+=(
-    "libappindicator3-dev"
-  )
+
+  if [[ "$skip_cuda" == 0 ]] && [[ "$cuda_system_package" == 1 ]]; then
+    if [[ -z "$cuda_system_package_name" ]]; then
+      echo "CUDA system package was requested, but no package name was configured."
+      return 1
+    fi
+
+    echo "Using CUDA system package: $cuda_system_package_name"
+    dependencies+=(
+      "$cuda_system_package_name"
+    )
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$(printf '%s\n' "$version" "24.04" | sort -V | head -n1)" == "24.04" ]]; then
+    dependencies+=(
+      "systemd-dev"
+    )
+  fi
   return 0
 }
 
@@ -352,9 +474,22 @@ function add_fedora_deps() {
 }
 
 function install_cuda() {
+  setup_cuda_system_package_environment
+
   # Check if CUDA is already available
-  if detect_nvcc_path > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+  if [[ "$force_cuda_runfile" == 1 ]] && [[ -f "${build_dir}/cuda/bin/nvcc" ]]; then
+    apply_cuda_patches "${build_dir}/cuda"
     return
+  elif [[ "$force_cuda_runfile" == 0 ]] && detect_nvcc_path > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if [[ "$cuda_system_package" == 1 ]]; then
+      apply_cuda_patches "$(cuda_system_toolkit_path)"
+    fi
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$cuda_system_package" == 1 ]]; then
+    echo "CUDA system package '$cuda_system_package_name' was requested, but nvcc was not found after dependency installation."
+    return 1
   fi
 
   local cuda_override_arg=""
@@ -396,41 +531,7 @@ function install_cuda() {
   "${build_dir}/cuda.run" --silent --toolkit --toolkitpath="${build_dir}/cuda" --no-opengl-libs --no-man-page --no-drm "$cuda_override_arg"
   rm "${build_dir}/cuda.run"
 
-  # run cuda patches
-  if [[ "$cuda_patches" == 1 ]]; then
-    echo "Applying CUDA patches"
-    local patch_dir="${script_dir}/../packaging/linux/patches/${architecture}"
-    local patch_file=""
-
-    # Select the patch based on the CUDA major version, not the distro version.
-    # see https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/error-exception-specification-is-incompatible-for-cospi-sinpi-cospif-sinpif-with-glibc-2-41/323591/3
-    local cuda_major="${cuda_version%%.*}"
-    if [[ "${cuda_major}" -eq 12 ]]; then
-      # CUDA 12.x: the extern declarations lack noexcept(true); add it to match glibc 2.41.
-      patch_file="${patch_dir}/cuda-12-math_functions.patch"
-    elif [[ "${cuda_major}" -eq 13 ]]; then
-      # CUDA 13.x: the extern declarations already have noexcept(true), but the __func__()
-      # macro invocations at the bottom still lack it, causing a redeclaration conflict.
-      patch_file="${patch_dir}/cuda-13-math_functions.patch"
-    else
-      echo "Warning: no math_functions.h patch available for CUDA ${cuda_major}.x, skipping."
-    fi
-
-    if [[ -n "$patch_file" ]]; then
-      if [[ -f "$patch_file" ]]; then
-        echo "Applying patch: $patch_file"
-        patch -p2 \
-          --backup \
-          --directory="${build_dir}/cuda" \
-          --verbose \
-          < "$patch_file"
-      else
-        echo "Patch file not found: $patch_file"
-      fi
-    else
-      echo "No CUDA patch required for ${distro} ${version}"
-    fi
-  fi
+  apply_cuda_patches "${build_dir}/cuda"
   return 0
 }
 
@@ -556,11 +657,19 @@ function run_step_cmake() {
 
   # Setup NVM environment if needed (for web UI builds)
   setup_nvm_environment
+  setup_cuda_system_package_environment
+  if [[ "$skip_cuda" == 0 ]] && [[ "$cuda_system_package" == 1 ]]; then
+    apply_cuda_patches "$(cuda_system_toolkit_path)"
+  fi
 
   # Detect CUDA path using the reusable function
   nvcc_path=""
   if [[ "$skip_cuda" == 0 ]]; then
-    nvcc_path=$(detect_nvcc_path)
+    if [[ "$force_cuda_runfile" == 1 ]] && [[ -f "${build_dir}/cuda/bin/nvcc" ]]; then
+      nvcc_path="${build_dir}/cuda/bin/nvcc"
+    else
+      nvcc_path=$(detect_nvcc_path)
+    fi
   fi
 
   #set gcc version based on distros
@@ -723,8 +832,6 @@ elif grep -q "Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)" /etc/os-release; then
   version="12"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="13"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q "Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)" /etc/os-release; then
@@ -732,8 +839,6 @@ elif grep -q "Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)" /etc/os-release; then
   version="13"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q "PLATFORM_ID=\"platform:f42\"" /etc/os-release; then
@@ -741,8 +846,6 @@ elif grep -q "PLATFORM_ID=\"platform:f42\"" /etc/os-release; then
   version="42"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf update -y"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q '^ID=fedora$' /etc/os-release && grep -q '^VERSION_ID=43$' /etc/os-release; then
@@ -750,8 +853,6 @@ elif grep -q '^ID=fedora$' /etc/os-release && grep -q '^VERSION_ID=43$' /etc/os-
   version="43"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf update -y"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q '^ID=fedora$' /etc/os-release && grep -q '^VERSION_ID=44$' /etc/os-release; then
@@ -759,8 +860,6 @@ elif grep -q '^ID=fedora$' /etc/os-release && grep -q '^VERSION_ID=44$' /etc/os-
   version="44"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf update -y"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} dnf install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q '^ID=fedora$' /etc/os-release && grep -q '^VERSION_ID=45$' /etc/os-release; then
@@ -777,8 +876,6 @@ elif grep -q "Ubuntu 22.04" /etc/os-release; then
   version="22.04"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=1
 elif grep -q "Ubuntu 24.04" /etc/os-release; then
@@ -786,8 +883,6 @@ elif grep -q "Ubuntu 24.04" /etc/os-release; then
   version="24.04"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=1
 elif grep -q "Ubuntu 25.04" /etc/os-release; then
@@ -795,8 +890,6 @@ elif grep -q "Ubuntu 25.04" /etc/os-release; then
   version="25.04"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 elif grep -q "Ubuntu 25.10" /etc/os-release; then
@@ -804,8 +897,20 @@ elif grep -q "Ubuntu 25.10" /etc/os-release; then
   version="25.10"
   package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
   package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
-  cuda_version="12.9.1"
-  cuda_build="575.57.08"
+  gcc_version="14"
+  nvm_node=0
+elif grep -q 'VERSION_ID="26.04"' /etc/os-release; then
+  distro="ubuntu"
+  version="26.04"
+  package_update_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get update"
+  package_install_command="${sudo_cmd} apt-get install -y"
+  cuda_patches=1
+  if [[ "$force_cuda_runfile" == 0 ]]; then
+    cuda_system_package=1
+    if [[ -z "$cuda_system_package_name" ]]; then
+      cuda_system_package_name="cuda-toolkit-13-1"
+    fi
+  fi
   gcc_version="14"
   nvm_node=0
 else