how can i go and get this driver installed? https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases

i want to be able to use the NPU with docker containers, but it requires the driver be installed on the host first, like the coral device.

unraid is slackware linux. ich777 has a plugin to install coral drivers.
 

 

driver for unraid require a plugin.

On 12/27/2024 at 2:57 PM, blueharford said:

how can i go and get this driver installed? https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases

i want to be able to use the NPU with docker containers, but it requires the driver be installed on the host first, like the coral device.

Likely the kernel level is not high enough at present to support this for newer hardware.

also interested in getting the NPU support for the latest intel gen2 processors. So right now the NPU won't be usable?

@ich777 thoughts

Hi, I bought a Core Ultra 9 for it's NPU. So you are telling me that at the moment this is not possible to make it works in unRAID ?

17 hours ago, Benji7790 said:

Hi, I bought a Core Ultra 9 for it's NPU. So you are telling me that at the moment this is not possible to make it works in unRAID ?

you can pass it into a vm and use a vm on a differnt OS.

I'm not sure of all the drivers and support for theses devices. That's more ICH777 area and his driver plugins that use and support this for use in things like frigate docker and Home assistant. as an example...

As unrad runs on x86_64 with slack ware linus. if i'm understanding you have
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/241060/intel-core-ultra-9-processor-285k-36m-cache-up-to-5-70-ghz/specifications.html

if the chip supports x86_64 instructions, then it will work in unraid/linux...

in order to use these additional chipset and instruction, the kernel needs to load them... (they may not be loaded by default...)

at this Time, I'm not 100% sure if unraid supports them or not... As this is a IT software and hardware specific issue and your results will vary....

However, Ive used and seen some npu with dockers on unraid...) the intel plugin and docker that support and use openVINO will use and benefit for having a NPU...

in general this post was referring to the Coral applications and existences of npu drivers that already exist at the kernel level.

it more of what dockers have support and can use and benefit from the npu.

and someone wanting to load additional npu to the host which is not possible outside of a drive plugin. (that may or not be needed) or script loading additional software....

as this is more cpu instruction sets and the processor support npu.... its not realy a question of does unraid use and can use it but whats your intent and how are you running xyz that may or may not use the npu...

these npu are additional addons that can help with AI and other task that use the added processor instruction set... some npu are built into the cpu....

the host unraid problem still lies in the need for a modprobe to utilize the npu on the host...
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1dkqwf6/is_there_any_use_for_a_npu_module_on_linux/

which is why I informed of the plugin drivers:

An example of a Linux compatible NPU is Google Coral
https://coral.ai/products/accelerator/

which others on the forum have used and have used with unraid on the forum with face identification in frigate. with out knwoning more on the NPU I can't say one way or the other...

so the question is more what npu hardware are you running and does unraid slackware liunx have a kernal level modprobe driver for that hardware...

otherwise a driver may be needed depending on how you use and will use the npu...

My NPU show no drivers modules in 7.2beta

lspci -ks 0000:80:14.5

80:14.5 Non-VGA unclassified device: Intel Corporation Device 7f2f (rev 10)

Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. [MSI] Device 7e17

36 minutes ago, SimonF said:

My NPU show no drivers modules in 7.2beta

lspci -ks 0000:80:14.5

80:14.5 Non-VGA unclassified device: Intel Corporation Device 7f2f (rev 10)

Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. [MSI] Device 7e17

cool that seems like the intel vpu drive is not working, not sure if here is a good place to discuss that simon.

Short answer: you want the Intel NPU / iVPU kernel driver, whose Linux module is named intel_vpu (it shows up in logs as iVPU / VPU). If that module isn’t built into your Unraid kernel, it won’t load—and you’ll just see the raw PCI device (8086:7f2f) like you do now.

so we can see if the kernel module exist and load. it

See if the module exists & load it script:

# is the driver present?
modinfo intel_vpu 2>/dev/null || echo "intel_vpu.ko not found"

# try to load it
sudo modprobe intel_vpu

# check kernel config to see if it was compiled
zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -E 'DRM_ACCEL_IVPU|IVPU|INTEL_VPU'

# look for device node and dmesg
ls -l /dev/accel /dev/accel/accel0
dmesg | grep -i -E 'ivpu|intel_vpu|vpu'

• If it loads, you should get a /dev/accel/accel0 device (that’s the modern accel framework path). Set access for your user/container as needed:

# example permissions (adjust to your setup)

chgrp render /dev/accel/accel0 && chmod g+rw /dev/accel/accel0

per github:

https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases

So, If modprobe intel_vpu fails with “module not found”
That means your Unraid kernel was built without DRM_ACCEL_IVPU (the iVPU option). In that case you have three paths:

• Wait for an Unraid build with iVPU enabled (simplest).

• Custom kernel for Unraid that enables DRM_ACCEL_IVPU=m and includes the firmware blobs (advanced).

• PCI passthrough to a Linux VM (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04) and install Intel’s user-space NPU driver in the guest. Users have reported success seeing /dev/accel/accel0 once passed through.

(this is where I think ICH777 and a driver plugin would be needed for npu devices. or someone more skiled with plugins.)

Firmware & user-space

Even with the kernel module present, you also need the firmware and user-space stacks:

Firmware: recent linux-firmware packages include iVPU blobs; if they’re missing you’ll see ivpu_fw_request(): Failed to request firmware in dmesg.

KNown bugs with debian- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-firmware/+bug/2071771

User-space: Intel provides the Linux NPU driver packages (Level Zero + compiler/runtime) for Ubuntu; these are installed via .deb (APT) or the GitHub release tarballs. On Unraid you wouldn’t install them system-wide, but you can use them inside a VM or a container based on Ubuntu.

per the github link...

Project page (explains that Linux uses the older “VPU” name):

per OP github link:

https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver

since you atleast see the lspci device:

80:14.5 Non-VGA unclassified device: Intel Corporation Device 7f2f (rev 10)

that tells me that this may require the adatial software and modprobe data for the npu-driver

That 8086:7f2f ID is an Arrow Lake NPU function that often shows up exactly like this until the iVPU driver binds. Multiple reports list the same 7f2f ID prior to driver attach.

BUT, the module you want to test and try to load it is...

module you want is intel_vpu (iVPU). Try modprobe intel_vpu

If the module isn’t found, your Unraid kernel wasn’t built with DRM_ACCEL_IVPU—you’ll need an Unraid build that enables it, a custom kernel, or pass the device through to an Ubuntu VM and use Intel’s NPU driver there... since on the betat may need a beta post:

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/release-notes/7.2.0/

but i'm curious what the out put of is...

uname -r
modinfo intel_vpu
zcat /proc/config.gz | grep DRM_ACCEL_IVPU
dmesg | grep -i ivpu

as I'm not using the beta and not sure if the dev will add addational driver support to the linux kernel

Linux kernel

• version 6.12.42-Unraid

  • built-in: CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS: EFI Variable filesystem

  • CONFIG_INTEL_RAPL: Intel RAPL support via MSR interface

Edited September 17, 2025Sep 17 by bmartino1
minor spelling and forum code block fixes

39 minutes ago, bmartino1 said:

cool that seems like the intel vpu drive is not working, not sure if here is a good place to discuss that simon.

Short answer: you want the Intel NPU / iVPU kernel driver, whose Linux module is named intel_vpu (it shows up in logs as iVPU / VPU). If that module isn’t built into your Unraid kernel, it won’t load—and you’ll just see the raw PCI device (8086:7f2f) like you do now.

so we can see if the kernel module exist and load. it

See if the module exists & load it script:

# is the driver present?
modinfo intel_vpu 2>/dev/null || echo "intel_vpu.ko not found"

# try to load it
sudo modprobe intel_vpu

# check kernel config to see if it was compiled
zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -E 'DRM_ACCEL_IVPU|IVPU|INTEL_VPU'

# look for device node and dmesgls -l /dev/accel /dev/accel/accel0
dmesg | grep -i -E 'ivpu|intel_vpu|vpu'

• If it loads, you should get a /dev/accel/accel0 device (that’s the modern accel framework path). Set access for your user/container as needed:

# example permissions (adjust to your setup)

chgrp render /dev/accel/accel0 && chmod g+rw /dev/accel/accel0

per github:

https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver/releases

So, If modprobe intel_vpu fails with “module not found”
That means your Unraid kernel was built without DRM_ACCEL_IVPU (the iVPU option). In that case you have three paths:

• Wait for an Unraid build with iVPU enabled (simplest).

• Custom kernel for Unraid that enables DRM_ACCEL_IVPU=m and includes the firmware blobs (advanced).

• PCI passthrough to a Linux VM (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04) and install Intel’s user-space NPU driver in the guest. Users have reported success seeing /dev/accel/accel0 once passed through.

(this is where I think ICH777 and a driver plugin would be needed for npu devices. or someone more skiled with plugins.)

Firmware & user-space

Even with the kernel module present, you also need the firmware and user-space stacks:

Firmware: recent linux-firmware packages include iVPU blobs; if they’re missing you’ll see ivpu_fw_request(): Failed to request firmware in dmesg.

KNown bugs with debian- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-firmware/+bug/2071771

User-space: Intel provides the Linux NPU driver packages (Level Zero + compiler/runtime) for Ubuntu; these are installed via .deb (APT) or the GitHub release tarballs. On Unraid you wouldn’t install them system-wide, but you can use them inside a VM or a container based on Ubuntu.

per the github link...

Project page (explains that Linux uses the older “VPU” name):

per OP github link:

https://github.com/intel/linux-npu-driver

since you atleast see the lspci device:

80:14.5 Non-VGA unclassified device: Intel Corporation Device 7f2f (rev 10)

that tells me that this may require the adatial software and modprobe data for the npu-driver

That 8086:7f2f ID is an Arrow Lake NPU function that often shows up exactly like this until the iVPU driver binds. Multiple reports list the same 7f2f ID prior to driver attach.

BUT, the module you want to test and try to load it is...

module you want is intel_vpu (iVPU). Try modprobe intel_vpu

If the module isn’t found, your Unraid kernel wasn’t built with DRM_ACCEL_IVPU—you’ll need an Unraid build that enables it, a custom kernel, or pass the device through to an Ubuntu VM and use Intel’s NPU driver there... since on the betat may need a beta post:

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/release-notes/7.2.0/

but i'm curious what the out put of is...

uname -r
modinfo intel_vpu
zcat /proc/config.gz | grep DRM_ACCEL_IVPU
dmesg | grep -i ivpu

as I'm not using the beta and not sure if the dev will add addational driver support to the linux kernel

Linux kernel

• version 6.12.42-Unraid

  • built-in: CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS: EFI Variable filesystem

  • CONFIG_INTEL_RAPL: Intel RAPL support via MSR interface

root@computenode:~# cat /usr/src/linux-6.12.47-Unraid/.config | grep IVPU

CONFIG_DRM_ACCEL_IVPU=m

The module Is there but maybe PCI ID is not in the 6.12 kernel and will need a later version.

On 9/17/2025 at 8:42 PM, bmartino1 said:

you can pass it into a vm and use a vm on a differnt OS.

I'm not sure of all the drivers and support for theses devices. That's more ICH777 area and his driver plugins that use and support this for use in things like frigate docker and Home assistant. as an example...

As unrad runs on x86_64 with slack ware linus. if i'm understanding you have
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/241060/intel-core-ultra-9-processor-285k-36m-cache-up-to-5-70-ghz/specifications.html

if the chip supports x86_64 instructions, then it will work in unraid/linux...

in order to use these additional chipset and instruction, the kernel needs to load them... (they may not be loaded by default...)

at this Time, I'm not 100% sure if unraid supports them or not... As this is a IT software and hardware specific issue and your results will vary....

However, Ive used and seen some npu with dockers on unraid...) the intel plugin and docker that support and use openVINO will use and benefit for having a NPU...

in general this post was referring to the Coral applications and existences of npu drivers that already exist at the kernel level.

it more of what dockers have support and can use and benefit from the npu.

and someone wanting to load additional npu to the host which is not possible outside of a drive plugin. (that may or not be needed) or script loading additional software....

as this is more cpu instruction sets and the processor support npu.... its not realy a question of does unraid use and can use it but whats your intent and how are you running xyz that may or may not use the npu...

these npu are additional addons that can help with AI and other task that use the added processor instruction set... some npu are built into the cpu....

the host unraid problem still lies in the need for a modprobe to utilize the npu on the host...
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1dkqwf6/is_there_any_use_for_a_npu_module_on_linux/

which is why I informed of the plugin drivers:

An example of a Linux compatible NPU is Google Coral
https://coral.ai/products/accelerator/

which others on the forum have used and have used with unraid on the forum with face identification in frigate. with out knwoning more on the NPU I can't say one way or the other...

so the question is more what npu hardware are you running and does unraid slackware liunx have a kernal level modprobe driver for that hardware...

otherwise a driver may be needed depending on how you use and will use the npu...

Hi, thanks for the answer.

In fact my goal was to pass the NPU to my Scrypted container, and after doing some research on the internet I succeeded by passing these extra parameters --device=/dev/dri --device=/dev/accel. Now the NPU is recognized and used by Scrypted.

This NPU replaces my Coral USB which tends to freeze from time to times.