intel/linux-npu-driver v1.38.0

Linux NPU Driver v1.38.0

on GitHub

✨ Highlights

• 🆕 Added support for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

⚙️ Verified Configuration

🧩 Common Components

The following table lists the common software components and their versions used in this configuration:

🛠️ Installation Procedure

1. Remove old packages

sudo dpkg --purge --force-remove-reinstreq intel-driver-compiler-npu intel-fw-npu intel-level-zero-npu intel-level-zero-npu-dbgsym

1. Download the package archive

• Ubuntu24.04

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.38.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2404.tar.gz

• Ubuntu26.04

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.38.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2604.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2604.tar.gz

1. Install libtbb12, which is a dependency for intel-driver-compiler-npu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libtbb12

1. Install all packages

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

1. Install the libze1 package

• Ubuntu24.04

wget https://snapshot.ppa.launchpadcontent.net/kobuk-team/intel-graphics/ubuntu/20260830T100000Z/pool/main/l/level-zero-loader/libze1_1.32.0-1~24.04~ppa1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i libze1_*.deb

• Ubuntu26.04

wget https://snapshot.ppa.launchpadcontent.net/kobuk-team/intel-graphics/ubuntu/20260830T100000Z/pool/main/l/level-zero-loader/libze1_1.32.0-1~26.04~ppa1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i libze1_*.deb

⚠️ In case of a conflict or error during the libze1 installation, remove the previously installed Level Zero version:

sudo dpkg --purge --force-remove-reinstreq level-zero level-zero-devel

1. Optionally, add your user to the render group

sudo gpasswd -a ${USER} render
newgrp render

1. Optionally, reboot the system

sudo reboot
# if everything works, we should see the /dev/accel/accel0 device
ls /dev/accel/accel0
/dev/accel/accel0
# Check intel_vpu kernel messages
sudo dmesg

🛡️ GPG Signing and Verification of Debian Packages

Signing data with a GPG key allows the recipient of the data to check whether any modifications have occurred after the data was signed.

Since release 1.22.0, each Debian package file (.deb file) has been signed with a GPG key, and the signature is included in the archive.

The Public Key has been uploaded to https://keys.openpgp.org/search?q=EA267657A608300C296B8F8AD52C9665A4077678

To verify the signature:

# Download and import the Public Key
curl https://keys.openpgp.org/vks/v1/by-fingerprint/EA267657A608300C296B8F8AD52C9665A4077678 | gpg --import

# Download the driver package
wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.38.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2604.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.38.0.20260910-34487311128-ubuntu2604.tar.gz

# Verify signatures
for PACKAGE in *deb.asc; do gpg --verify $PACKAGE; done

🧪 UMD Test Results

For the -c option of npu-umd-test, the extend.yaml configuration file was used. It can be obtained from the UMD testing documentation and examples provided in the Intel NPU driver repository (umd-testing.md). The tests were run with the following YAML configuration:

extend.yaml

# filename: extend.yaml
model_dir: models/
image_dir: images/

graph_execution:
  - path: add_abc/add_abc.xml
  - path: resnet50.xml
    name: resnet50
    in: [ dog.bmp ]
    class_index: [ 258 ]
  - path: yolov8s.xml
    name: yolov8s

image_classification_imagenet:
  - path: resnet50.xml
    name: resnet50
    in: [ dog.bmp ]
    class_index: [ 258 ]

driver_cache:
  - path: add_abc/add_abc.xml
  - path: resnet50.xml
  - path: yolov8s.xml

multi_inference:
  - name: "ObjectRecognitionPipeline"
    pipeline:
    - path: resnet50.xml
      target_fps: 60
      exec_time_in_secs: 10
    - path: yolov8s.xml
      target_fps: 30
      exec_time_in_secs: 10

🔍 Driver Overview