Intel NPU Driver v1.26.0

Verified with the following configuration

Platform	System	Kernel	Firmware
Meteor Lake	Ubuntu22.04 LTS	6.8.0-87-generic	20251016*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-release*1600*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8
	Ubuntu24.04 LTS	6.14.0-35-generic	20251016*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-release*1600*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8
Arrow Lake	Ubuntu22.04 LTS	6.8.0-87-generic	20251016*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-release*1600*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8
	Ubuntu24.04 LTS	6.14.0-35-generic	20251016*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-release*1600*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8
Lunar Lake	Ubuntu22.04 LTS	6.8.0-87-generic	Oct 16 2025*NPU40xx*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8227e491c299e8efa1d23a86c250ea
	Ubuntu24.04 LTS	6.14.0-35-generic	Oct 16 2025*NPU40xx*ci_tag_ud202544_vpu_rc_20251016_1600*74b0ef77ba8227e491c299e8efa1d23a86c250ea

Common:

Component	Version
Level Zero	v1.24.2
OpenVINO	2025.3
NPU Compiler	npu_ud_2025_44_rc1 built using OpenVINO_rev.80e587b
GPU Driver	25.13.33276.16 with Ubuntu22.04
	25.35.35096.9 with Ubuntu24.04

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

2. Download all *.deb package

• Ubuntu22.04

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.26.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2204.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2204.tar.gz

• Ubuntu24.04

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.26.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2404.tar.gz

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libtbb12

4. Install all packages

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

5. Install Level Zero if it is not in the system

# Check if Level Zero is installed
dpkg -l level-zero

Download and install package if Level Zero is missing

• Ubuntu22.04

wget https://github.com/oneapi-src/level-zero/releases/download/v1.24.2/level-zero_1.24.2+u22.04_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i level-zero*.deb

• Ubuntu24.04

wget https://github.com/oneapi-src/level-zero/releases/download/v1.24.2/level-zero_1.24.2+u24.04_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i level-zero*.deb

6. Optional add your user to render group

sudo gpasswd -a ${USER} render
newgrp render

7. Optional reboot

sudo reboot
# if everything works, we should see /dev/accel/accel0 device
ls /dev/accel/accel0
/dev/accel/accel0
# to receive intel_vpu state
sudo dmesg

GPG sign and verify deb 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/v1.26.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.26.0.20251125-19665715237-ubuntu2404.tar.gz

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

Driver Overview

[!IMPORTANT]
For more information check README.md