diff --git a/astrai/extension/__init__.py b/astrai/extension/__init__.py
index 2b5a711..5d32c75 100644
--- a/astrai/extension/__init__.py
+++ b/astrai/extension/__init__.py
@@ -6,17 +6,19 @@ Public API:
     - ``attn_paged_decode`` — paged decode attention (direct page-table access)
     - ``AttentionBackend`` — ABC for attention computation strategies
     - ``TorchNativeBackend`` — default SDPA backend with KV cache I/O
+    - ``CudaBackend`` — CUDA kernel backend with paged decode + prefill
 
 Layout convention: all q/k/v are ``[batch, seq_len, n_heads, head_dim]``
 (blhd). Scale is always ``1/sqrt(head_dim)``.
 
-Each wrapper dispatches to its compiled CUDA kernel (``astrai.extension.attn_*``)
-when available, otherwise falls back to ``torch.nn.functional.scaled_dot_product_attention``.
+Each wrapper calls its compiled CUDA kernel directly. Fallback to torch
+SDPA is handled by the attention backend, not the wrapper functions.
 """
 
 from astrai.extension.attention_backend import (
     ATTN_BACKEND,
     AttentionBackend,
+    CudaBackend,
     TorchNativeBackend,
     attn_backend,
     get_backend,
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ from astrai.extension.loader import KERNEL_NAMES, is_available
 __all__ = [
     "ATTN_BACKEND",
     "AttentionBackend",
+    "CudaBackend",
     "TorchNativeBackend",
     "attn_backend",
     "get_backend",
diff --git a/astrai/extension/attention_backend.py b/astrai/extension/attention_backend.py
index 5dfc2cc..23cc801 100644
--- a/astrai/extension/attention_backend.py
+++ b/astrai/extension/attention_backend.py
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ import torch
 import torch.nn.functional as F
 from torch import Tensor
 
+from astrai.extension.attention_ops import attn_paged_decode, attn_prefill
+from astrai.extension.loader import is_available
 from astrai.inference.core.cache import KVCache
 
 _current_backend: contextvars.ContextVar["AttentionBackend"] = contextvars.ContextVar(
@@ -50,6 +52,7 @@ class ATTN_BACKEND(enum.Enum):
     """Backend selector enum, mirroring ``torch.nn.attention.SDPBackend``."""
 
     TORCH_NATIVE = "torch_native"
+    CUDA = "cuda"
 
 
 def get_backend() -> "AttentionBackend":
@@ -113,8 +116,8 @@ def repeat_kv(x: Tensor, n_rep: int) -> Tensor:
 class AttentionBackend(ABC):
     """Abstract base for attention computation strategies.
 
-    Subclasses implement ``forward_decode`` (q_len == 1, with cache) and
-    ``forward_extend`` (q_len > 1, with or without cache). The public
+    Subclasses implement ``fwd_decode`` (q_len == 1, with cache) and
+    ``fwd_prefill`` (q_len > 1, with or without cache). The public
     ``forward`` method dispatches based on q_len.
 
     Three equivalent ways to activate a backend::
@@ -159,13 +162,11 @@ class AttentionBackend(ABC):
             [batch, q_len, n_heads * head_dim]
         """
         if kv_cache is not None and q.size(1) == 1:
-            return self.forward_decode(
-                q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal
-            )
-        return self.forward_extend(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal)
+            return self.fwd_decode(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal)
+        return self.fwd_prefill(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal)
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def forward_decode(
+    def fwd_decode(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
         k: Tensor,
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ class AttentionBackend(ABC):
         """Single-token decode with KV cache."""
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def forward_extend(
+    def fwd_prefill(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
         k: Tensor,
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ class TorchNativeBackend(AttentionBackend):
     runs SDPA directly on the projected q/k/v.
     """
 
-    def forward_decode(
+    def fwd_decode(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
         k: Tensor,
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@ class TorchNativeBackend(AttentionBackend):
     ) -> Tensor:
         return self._forward(q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal)
 
-    def forward_extend(
+    def fwd_prefill(
         self,
         q: Tensor,
         k: Tensor,
@@ -266,6 +267,107 @@ class TorchNativeBackend(AttentionBackend):
 
 _default_backend = TorchNativeBackend()
 
+
+class CudaBackend(AttentionBackend):
+    """CUDA kernel backend with direct KV cache access.
+
+    Decode path: writes K/V to cache, then calls ``attn_paged_decode``
+    with ``page_size=1`` (each token slot is a single-token "page").
+    The ``req_to_token`` table serves directly as the page table.
+
+    Prefill path: writes K/V to cache, gathers full-sequence K/V via
+    indirect indexing (same as TorchNativeBackend), then calls
+    ``attn_prefill``.
+
+    Training path (``kv_cache is None``): calls ``attn_prefill`` directly
+    on the projected q/k/v.
+
+    Falls back to ``TorchNativeBackend`` for any path where the
+    corresponding CUDA kernel is not available.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._fallback = TorchNativeBackend()
+
+    def fwd_decode(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        k: Tensor,
+        v: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional[KVCache],
+        layer_id: int,
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor] = None,
+        is_causal: bool = False,
+    ) -> Tensor:
+        if kv_cache is None or not is_available("attn_paged_decode"):
+            return self._fallback.fwd_decode(
+                q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal
+            )
+
+        kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = k
+        kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = v
+
+        max_len = kv_cache.seq_lens.max().item()
+
+        page_table = kv_cache.req_to_token[kv_cache.req_pool_indices, :max_len]
+
+        k_cache = kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id].unsqueeze(1)
+        v_cache = kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id].unsqueeze(1)
+
+        out = attn_paged_decode(
+            q,
+            page_table,
+            k_cache,
+            v_cache,
+            page_size=1,
+            kv_len=max_len,
+            mask=None,
+            is_causal=is_causal,
+        )
+
+        out = out.flatten(2)
+        return out
+
+    def fwd_prefill(
+        self,
+        q: Tensor,
+        k: Tensor,
+        v: Tensor,
+        kv_cache: Optional[KVCache],
+        layer_id: int,
+        attn_mask: Optional[Tensor] = None,
+        is_causal: bool = False,
+    ) -> Tensor:
+        if kv_cache is None:
+            if is_available("attn_prefill"):
+                out = attn_prefill(q, k, v, mask=attn_mask, is_causal=is_causal)
+                return out.flatten(2)
+            return self._fallback.fwd_prefill(
+                q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal
+            )
+
+        if not is_available("attn_prefill"):
+            return self._fallback.fwd_prefill(
+                q, k, v, kv_cache, layer_id, attn_mask, is_causal
+            )
+
+        kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = k
+        kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, kv_cache.out_cache_loc] = v
+
+        max_len = kv_cache.seq_lens.max()
+        indices = kv_cache.req_to_token[kv_cache.req_pool_indices, :max_len]
+        pos_mask = (
+            torch.arange(max_len, device=q.device)[None, :] < kv_cache.seq_lens[:, None]
+        )
+        indices = torch.where(pos_mask, indices, torch.zeros_like(indices))
+        k_full = kv_cache.k_buffer[layer_id, indices]
+        v_full = kv_cache.v_buffer[layer_id, indices]
+
+        out = attn_prefill(q, k_full, v_full, mask=attn_mask, is_causal=is_causal)
+        return out.flatten(2)
+
+
 _BACKEND_REGISTRY: dict[ATTN_BACKEND, type[AttentionBackend]] = {
     ATTN_BACKEND.TORCH_NATIVE: TorchNativeBackend,
+    ATTN_BACKEND.CUDA: CudaBackend,
 }