Build Driver Compiler on Linux

April 16, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

This guide explains how to build the Driver Compiler (also known as Compiler in Driver or CiD) on Linux. The Driver Compiler is built as an extra module of a static OpenVINO package.

Before you start:

Environment Setup

Use these environment variables for both quick and detailed builds:

Commands 
export OPENVINO_HOME=/path/to/openvino
export NPU_PLUGIN_HOME=/path/to/cloned/applications.ai.vpu-accelerators.vpux-plugin
export CONFIG=Release        # Or Debug/RelWithDebInfo
export TBBROOT=/path/to/tbb  # Optional, only if using custom TBB

Use these options for both quick and detailed builds:

Commands 
export CommonBuildOptions="-D ENABLE_LTO=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_FASTER_BUILD=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_CPPLINT=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_TESTS=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_FUNCTIONAL_TESTS=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_SAMPLES=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_JS=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_PYTHON=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_PYTHON_PACKAGING=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_WHEEL=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_ONNX_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_PYTORCH_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_PADDLE_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_TF_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_TF_LITE_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_JAX_FRONTEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_OV_IR_FRONTEND=ON \
                          -D THREADING=TBB \
                          -D ENABLE_TBBBIND_2_5=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_SYSTEM_TBB=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_TBB_RELEASE_ONLY=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_HETERO=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_MULTI=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_AUTO=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_AUTO_BATCH=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_TEMPLATE=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_PROXY=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_INTEL_CPU=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_INTEL_GPU=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_NPU_PLUGIN_ENGINE=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_ZEROAPI_BACKEND=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_DRIVER_COMPILER_ADAPTER=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_INTEL_NPU_INTERNAL=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_INTEL_NPU_PROTOPIPE=OFF \
                          -D BUILD_COMPILER_FOR_DRIVER=ON \
                          -D ENABLE_PRIVATE_TESTS=OFF \
                          -D ENABLE_NPU_LSP_SERVER=OFF"

For more information about the build options, refer to this section.

Quick Build Commands (For Immediate Use)

This section provides the complete build commands for users who need to build the Driver Compiler without diving into the detailed configuration steps.

Commands 
cd ${OPENVINO_HOME}
mkdir -p ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}
cd ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}

cmake \
    -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CONFIG} \
    -D BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
    -D OPENVINO_EXTRA_MODULES=${NPU_PLUGIN_HOME} \
    ${CommonBuildOptions} \
    ..

cmake --build . --config ${CONFIG} --target npu_driver_compiler compilerTest profilingTest vpuxCompilerL0Test loaderTest --parallel $(nproc)

# Optional, compress and pack all CiD targets
cpack -V -D CPACK_COMPONENTS_ALL=CiD -D CPACK_CMAKE_GENERATOR=Ninja -D CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME="${CONFIG}" -G "TGZ"

The Driver Compiler package is built and can be found in ${OPENVINO_HOME}/bin/intel64/${CONFIG} directory. You can ignore the remaining sections of this document.

Step-by-step Guide (For a Deeper Understanding on the Build Process)

Create Build Directory

Commands 
mkdir -p ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}

Configure CMake

Note: If you do not wish to use Ninja for compilation, please remove the line -G Ninja.

Commands 
cd ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}

cmake \
    -G Ninja \
    -D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CONFIG} \
    -D BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
    -D OPENVINO_EXTRA_MODULES=${NPU_PLUGIN_HOME} \
    ${CommonBuildOptions} \
    ..

Build Targets

Commands 
ninja npu_driver_compiler compilerTest profilingTest vpuxCompilerL0Test loaderTest -j$(nproc)

# Or, if not using Ninja:
# cmake --build . --target npu_driver_compiler compilerTest profilingTest vpuxCompilerL0Test loaderTest --parallel $(nproc)

Packaging (Optional)

All Driver Compiler-related targets will be generated in ${OPENVINO_HOME}/bin/intel64/${CONFIG} directory.

  • Compress and pack all CiD components:

    Compress and pack 
    # Compress and pack all CiD components
cd ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}
cpack -V -D CPACK_COMPONENTS_ALL=CiD -D CPACK_CMAKE_GENERATOR=Ninja -D CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME="${CONFIG}" -G "TGZ"

  • Install all CiD components to a specific location:

    Install 
    # Install all CiD components
cd ${OPENVINO_HOME}/build_${CONFIG}
cmake --install . --prefix $(pwd)/ --component CiD --verbose