Steps to compile AMD's XDNA driver on Debian 13

xdna_debian_13.md

Installing xdna drivers for Ryzen AI HX 370 NPU

Make sure kernel sources and headers are installed

apt install linux-headers-amd64

also make sure the build directory of the kernel headers is a link to the kernel sources, like:

$ l /usr/lib/modules/6.12.25-amd64/build
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 40 May 10 19:19 /usr/lib/modules/6.12.25-amd64/build -> ../../../src/linux-headers-6.12.25-amd64

At my second compilation it wasn't and I became stoopid for an hour...

Very important: if you have Secure Boot enabled, you need to properly set up DKMS with a registered MOK (Machine Owner Key) and import it in the BIOS so the boot process will allow your new driver to be loaded. How to do this depends a lot on your computer's BIOS and (partially) on the distro you're using (the process is similar but some paths or details mught be different).

Steps to Build AMD XDNA Driver & XRT on Debian

These steps are derived from the official readme but some steps are executed manually to work around platform-specific problems with the original scripts/instructions.

1. Clone the repository at https://github.com/amd/xdna-driver then:

2. cd xdna-driver

3. git submodule update --init --recursive

4. become root with sudo su

5. Install Dependencies

   • Navigated to xdna-driver/ and ran the dependency script:

     ./tools/amdxdna_deps.sh

   • Installed pybind11-dev manually when needed (the above script doesn't manage to install it for Debian):

     apt-get install -y pybind11-dev

6. Build XRT with NPU Support

   • Edit xdna-driver/xrt/src/CMake/cpackLin.cmake:139 and remove the ubuntu-related IF that was checking if I had Ubuntu 23.10 (you should see the lines in the error messages if it happens like on my system)
   • Navigate to xrt/build/ and run the build script:

     ./build.sh -npu -opt

7. Install XRT Packages

   • Reinstalled XRT Debian packages after build:

     apt reinstall ./Release/xrt_202510.2.19.0_-amd64-*.deb

   • Source XRT environment:

     source /opt/xilinx/xrt/setup.sh

8. Built XDNA Driver

   • Returned to xdna-driver/build/, (make sure there's a build directory in the kernel source files directory) and ran:

   • mkdir /lib/modules/6.12.25-amd64/build # create if build is missing

     ./build.sh -release ./build.sh -package

   • Installed the XDNA plugin package:

     apt reinstall ./Release/xrt_plugin.2.19.0_debian-x86_64-amdxdna.deb

9. Tested the Installation

   • Built and ran the example test:

     ./build.sh -example
     ./example_build/example_noop_test ../tools/bins/1502_00/validate.xclbin

Test passed, printing:

Host test code start...  
Host test code is creating device object...  
Host test code is loading xclbin object...  
Host test code is creating kernel object...  
Host test code kernel name: DPU_PDI_0  
Host code is registering xclbin to the device...  
Host code is creating hw_context...  
Host test code is creating kernel object...  
Host test code allocate buffer objects...  
Host test code sync buffer objects to device...  
Host test code iterations (~10 seconds): 70000  
Host test microseconds: 4522178  
Host test average latency: 64 us/iter  
TEST PASSED!

---

Key Notes

• Debugging: Checked xrtdeps.sh and xdna-driver/xrt/src/CMake/cpackLin.cmake for adjustments to Debian (remove the IF starting at line 139 about Ubuntu versions)
• Dependencies: Installed pybind11-dev manually.
• Reinstallation: Manually reinstalled XRT and XDNA .deb packages after builds from the newly built .deb files inside ./build/Release/ directories

Debug

root@nadesico:~# xrt-smi examine    
System Configuration  
 OS Name              : Linux  
 Release              : 6.12.25-amd64  
 Machine              : x86_64  
 CPU Cores            : 24  
 Memory               : 47789 MB  
 Distribution         : Debian GNU/Linux trixie/sid  
 GLIBC                : 2.41  
 Model                : AI Series  
 BIOS Vendor          : American Megatrends International, LLC.  
 BIOS Version         : 1.02  
  
XRT  
 Version              : 2.19.0  
 Branch               : HEAD  
 Hash                 : d5835aaa7fcdbcb749f4d837d9a0a605c1a4d312  
 Hash Date            : 2025-05-10 19:05:33  
 amdxdna              : 2.19.0_20250510, b5c9598559bc840efa42ab71a37b988689401ed3  
 virtio-pci           : unknown, unknown  
 NPU Firmware Version : 1.0.9.117  
  
Device(s) Present  
|BDF             |Name       |  
|----------------|-----------|  
|[0000:c6:00.1]  |NPU Strix  |  
  
  
root@nadesico:~# xrt-smi validate  
Validate Device           : [0000:c6:00.1]  
   Platform              : NPU Strix  
   Power Mode            : Performance  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Test 1 [0000:c6:00.1]     : gemm                                                   
   Details               : TOPS: 51.0  
   Test Status           : [PASSED]  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Test 2 [0000:c6:00.1]     : latency                                                
   Details               : Average latency: 66.6 us  
   Test Status           : [PASSED]  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Test 3 [0000:c6:00.1]     : throughput                                             
   Details               : Average throughput: 57201.5 ops  
   Test Status           : [PASSED]  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Validation completed. Please run the command '--verbose' option for more details

This process gives you a working XDNA driver... but there's currently little to no software for Linux that uses it :-(