NixOS
Community port
Distribution
Needs some effort
Bottom line
Declarative config is nice, but riscv64 is in a "it runs, don't expect an easy ride" state.
- Based on
- Independent (Nix/nixpkgs, systemd)
- Upstream
- Neither nixpkgs-unstable nor the stable channels officially support riscv64-linux; the official wiki says all RISC-V platforms are currently experimental, and images come from the community.
- Versions
- 26.05 (official builds for x86_64/aarch64 only) · unstable (community riscv64 builds)
- Doc languages
- en
- Derivatives
- nixos-riscv64 (community image set)、nixos-licheepi4a / nixos-vf2 (board-level flakes)
- Checked
- 2026-11-01
Boards
- QEMU virt (virtual machine) Community Emulation works, but the wiki warns that some programs segfault under QEMU
- SiFive HiFive Unmatched Community The earliest community port target (zhaofengli/nixos-riscv64)
- StarFive VisionFive 2 Community JH7110: community image plus the misuzu/nixos-vf2 flake
- LicheePi 4A Community Community flake ryan4yin/nixos-licheepi4a
Download
Docs and videos
Pitfalls
- No official ISO; use a community image or cross-compile your own
- cache.nixos.org has no riscv64 packages, so you need a third-party substituter (e.g. cache.ztier.in / beam.attic.rs) or you compile nearly everything locally
- Unstable under QEMU (segfaults)
- Community images are tied to specific kernel/firmware versions and break easily on upgrade
RuyiSDK test reports7
Hands-on records from RuyiSDK, board by board. Open a report for the full install steps and verdict.
| Boards | Status | Versions | Last tested | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LicheePi 4A | ◐ Basic | 23.05 | 2025-03-04 | Open report |
| Mars | ◐ Basic | 25.05 | 2025-04-18 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | — | 2025-01-27 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | — | 2025-01-27 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | — | 2025-04-14 | Open report |
| STAR64 | ✕ Fails to boot | — | 2025-05-29 | Open report |
| StarFive VisionFive 2 | ◐ Basic | — | 2024-12-22 | 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.
Sources10
- nixos.org/download/
- github.com/zhaofengli/nixos-riscv64
- wiki.nixos.org/wiki/RISC-V
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/LicheePi4A/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Mars/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo256m/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo_S/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/STAR64/NixOS/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/
The full source list and how each claim is judged: Sources