linux-getting-started.md

Linux Getting Started Guide

This guide will help you get started with FastFlowLM on Linux, including setup for various distributions and NPU (Neural Processing Unit) support.

Supported Distributions

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• Ubuntu 25.10
• Arch Linux
• Other (Generic Linux)

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Prerequisites

• amdxdna driver (included in kernel 7.0+, or via amdxdna-dkms)
• NPU firmware version 1.1.0.0 or later
• Python 3.8+
• XRT stack from AMD

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System Preparation

Ubuntu (24.04, 25.10)

1. Add the AMD XRT PPA (Required for NPU/XDNA)

The AMD XRT stack is a prerequisite for NPU support. Add AMD's PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lemonade-team/stable
sudo apt update

See lemonade-team/stable PPA for details.

2. Install XRT and NPU Drivers

sudo apt install libxrt-npu2 amdxdna-dkms

3. Reboot

sudo reboot

4. Install FastFlowLM

• Download the latest .deb package from the Releases page:

sudo apt install ./fastflowlm*.deb

5. (NPU) Check memlock limit

• Run:

  ulimit -l

• If not unlimited, add to /etc/security/limits.conf:

  *    soft    memlock    unlimited
  *    hard    memlock    unlimited
  

• Reboot system

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Building from Source

1. Ensure all required development packages are installed:

   sudo apt install ninja
   sudo apt install libavformat-dev  libavutil-dev libavcodec-dev libswresample-dev libswscale-dev libxrt-dev uuid-dev libdrm-dev

2. Clone the repository and pull all submodules:

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/FastFlowLM/FastFlowLM.git
   cd FastFlowLM

3. Build:

   cd src
   cmake --preset linux-default
   cd build
   cmake --build . -j$(nproc)
   sudo cmake --install .

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Validating NPU Setup

To validate your NPU setup, run:

flm validate

You should see output similar to:

[Linux]  Kernel: 7.0.0-rc1-00052-g27936bfca73d
[Linux]  NPU: /dev/accel/accel0
[Linux]  NPU FW Version: 1.1.2.64
[Linux]  Memlock Limit: infinity