Armbian
Upstream architecture
Distribution
Good for newcomers
Bottom line
The main reason domestic RISC-V boards are usable out of the box; look here first for newer boards like K3/BPI-F3.
- Based on
- Debian/Ubuntu (Armbian build framework)
- Upstream
- The official build framework (armbian/build) produces riscv64 images directly, with boards graded Platinum/Standard/Community; RISC-V boards get their own download page and image list on the site.
- Versions
- 26.8.9 (MusePi Pro) · 26.8.3 (BPI-F3 / K3 Pico-ITX)
- Doc languages
- en
- Derivatives
- Unofficial VisionFive 2 support exists in derivatives such as DietPi (Armbian/Debian based)
- Checked
- 2026-11-01
Boards
- SpacemiT K3 (Pico-ITX / CoM260) Official MusePi Pro is Platinum (kernel 6.18.55 current / 6.6.100 legacy); K3 Pico-ITX is Platinum too
- Banana Pi BPI-F3 (SpacemiT K1) Official Standard tier, kernel 6.18.45; a Bianbu variant also exists
- Orange Pi RV2 (Ky X1) Community Community tier, Debian 13 minimal only (6.18.58)
- StarFive VisionFive 2 Community Community tier, vendor kernel 6.6.20, three Ubuntu/Debian images
Download
Docs and videos
Pitfalls
- Many boards still depend on a vendor kernel (6.6.x Bianbu), with varying degrees of mainline support
- Community-tier boards get a single CLI image; desktops and updates come from the community
- No Meles / Pioneer / Megrez / K230 boards
- The same release number ships different kernel versions on different boards — don't hard-code it in docs
RuyiSDK test reports9
Hands-on records from RuyiSDK, board by board. Open a report for the full install steps and verdict.
| Boards | Status | Versions | Last tested | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIT-BRICK K1 | ◐ Basic | 25.2.1(minimal) | 2025-03-13 | Open report |
| Banana Pi BPI-F3 (SpacemiT K1) | ◐ Basic | 25.2.0(noble) · 24.5.0 | 2025-01-20 | Open report |
| Lichee Cluster 4A | ◐ Basic | 20.04 | 2024-06-21 | Open report |
| LicheePi 4A | ◐ Basic | 23.09.15 | 2024-03-04 | Open report |
| Mars | ◐ Basic | 25.8.0 | 2025-05-24 | Open report |
| STAR64 | ✕ Fails to boot | 25.2.0-trunk.124 | 2025-10-02 | Open report |
| SiFive HiFive Unmatched | ✕ Fails to boot | 25.2.0-trunk.266(noble) | 2025-04-14 | Open report |
| VisionFive | ◐ Basic | — | 2024-06-21 | Open report |
| StarFive VisionFive 2 | ● Good | 24.5.0 | 2024-06-21 | Open report |
Status meanings: good — fully usable (desktop boots); basic — basic system (serial console works); part — partial functionality; cft — image exists, needs verification; cfh — documented as supported but fails to boot; cfi — claimed supported, no image; wip — announced only.
Sources13
- armbian.com/boards/musepipro
- armbian.com/boards/bananapif3
- armbian.com/boards/k3picoitx
- armbian.com/boards/orangepirv2
- armbian.com/boards/visionfive2
- docs.armbian.com/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Bit-Brick_K1/Armbian/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/BPI-F3/Armbian/README_noble/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/LicheeCluster4A/Armbian/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/LicheePi4A/Armbian/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Mars/Armbian/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/STAR64/Armbian/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/
The full source list and how each claim is judged: Sources