Intel NPU Driver v1.28.0

Verified with the following configuration

Platform	System	Kernel	Firmware
Meteor Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.14.0-36-generic	20251113*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-NVR+NN-deployment*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44*72f907ffc78
Arrow Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.14.0-36-generic	20251113*MTL_CLIENT_SILICON-NVR+NN-deployment*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44*72f907ffc78
Lunar Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.14.0-36-generic	Nov 13 2025*NPU40xx*ci_tag_ud202548_vpu_rc_20251112_1901-1-g72f907ffc78*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44
Panther Lake	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	6.14.0-36-generic	Nov 13 2025*NPU50xx*ci_tag_ud202548_vpu_rc_20251112_1901-1-g72f907ffc78*72f907ffc780df5579a2fed65afc4944da8b0e44

Common:

Component	Version
Level Zero	v1.24.2
OpenVINO	2025.4
NPU Compiler	npu_ud_2025_48_rc1 built using OpenVINO_rev.5fb69ea
GPU Driver	25.35.35096.9

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

wget https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases/download/v1.28.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.28.0.20251218-20347000698-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.28.0.20251218-20347000698-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

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/v1.28.0/linux-npu-driver-v1.28.0.20251218-20347000698-ubuntu2404.tar.gz
tar -xf linux-npu-driver-v1.28.0.20251218-20347000698-ubuntu2404.tar.gz

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

Driver Overview

[!IMPORTANT]
For more information check README.md