Installation and Runtime Environment¶

Validation scope: the environments below are the repository's routine installation and CI baselines. Other driver/toolkit combinations require their own validation. The framework test profile admits CANN 9.0 and newer version lines; admission is separate from measured compatibility. See the framework environment contract.

CI Baselines¶

A3 and A5 run different CANN releases (A3 on 9.0.0 community, A5 on 9.1.T500), and the NPU drivers are two separate releases as well. Pick the matching pair for your hardware below.

Item	A3	A5
NPU driver	26.0.rc1	25.6.rc1.b108
CANN major version	9.0.0	9.1.T500

How to Check Versions¶

Read the driver info from /usr/local/Ascend/driver/version.info on both boxes (the file is written by the .run installer, does not depend on npu-smi, and is readable on the A5 EVB even though npu-smi is unavailable there):

cat /usr/local/Ascend/driver/version.info
# Fields of interest:
#   Version=...                ← driver version
#   compatible_version=...     ← compatible CANN version range

Installation Steps¶

1. Install Driver / Firmware / CANN (system-level, one-time)¶

Install order: driver → firmware → CANN. Refer to the official docs for the exact commands; this repository deliberately does not duplicate them (they drift across releases).

Driver / firmware: pick the right .run package for your hardware from the Ascend HDK software download page.
A3 direct download: Ascend HDK driver / firmware (A3)
CANN: install the version that matches your hardware (A3 → 9.0.0 community, A5 → 9.1.T500). Both offline and online installs are available; this repository primarily uses the offline toolkit + standalone driver combination.
A3 — follow the CANN 9.0.0 install guide — openEuler / netyum; direct download: CANN 9.0.0 Community Edition (A3).
A5 — CANN 9.1.T500.

After installing the driver and firmware you typically need a reboot (or a kernel-module reload). CANN, when installed to the default location, creates a latest symlink under /usr/local/Ascend/ascend-toolkit/. Once installed, use the commands in "How to Check Versions" above to confirm version.info / version.cfg can be read back successfully.

2. Install This Repository¶

Follow the standard flow from getting-started.md — identical for A3 and A5:

python3 -m venv --system-site-packages .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --no-build-isolation -e .