Rockchip Environment Setup

Operating System

Armbian is without a doubt the best OS for Orange Pi single-board computers.

GPU Drivers

Install Mali GPU drivers from tsukumijima/libmali-rockchip.

For the Orange Pi 5 Plus with an Arm Mali-G610 GPU, download and install libmali-valhall-g610-g24p0-gbm_1.9-1_arm64.deb.

RKNN Runtime

Install RKNN Runtime using Pelochus's rknn-toolkit2 install script

RKLLM Runtime

Install RKLLM Runtime using Pelochus's rknn-llm install script

NPU/RGA Drivers

The RKNPU/RKRGA drivers require a compatible kernel. According to Frigate's Rockchip documentation, Linux kernel 5.10 or 6.1 is required.

To install the appropriate kernel on Armbian (Ubuntu Server):

1. Open armbian-config
2. Install the alternative kernel: linux-image-vendor-rk35xx=25.11.0 (v6.1.115)
3. Reboot the system

The RKNPU driver should be available after reboot.

Additional Resources

• Pelochus/ezrknpu repo
• Frigate Rockchip Installation Guide
• DeGirum RKNN Runtime Documentation
• Jellyfin Hardware Acceleration Setup for Orange Pi 5
• Armbian Forum: RK3588 Mali Hardware Acceleration