Ubuntu
Upstream architecture
Distribution
Good for newcomers
Bottom line
Ubuntu has the most detailed board support: it publishes preinstalled images per board, but 26.04 raised the bar to RVA23, leaving older boards stuck on 24.04 LTS.
- Based on
- Debian
- Upstream
- Canonical builds and hosts the riscv64 images itself ("built and hosted by Canonical"); riscv64 is an officially supported Ubuntu architecture. From 26.04 LTS the ISA baseline moves to RVA23S64.
- Versions
- 26.10 (current, RVA23) · 26.04.1 LTS (RVA23) · 24.04.5 LTS (RVA20, older hardware still supported)
- Doc languages
- en
- Derivatives
- Ubuntu Base (riscv64 rootfs)、DeepComputing FML13V01 partner-built Ubuntu
- Checked
- 2026-11-01
Boards
- QEMU virt (virtual machine) Official 26.10 / 26.04.1 LTS provide Desktop and Server live installers plus preinstalled images; the official page has QEMU instructions
- SiFive HiFive Unmatched Official 24.04.5 LTS provides ubuntu-24.04.5-preinstalled-server-riscv64+unmatched.img.xz
- StarFive VisionFive 2 Official jh7110 image (24.04.5 LTS +jh7110, covering VisionFive 2 / VisionFive 2 Lite)
- LicheePi 4A Partial LicheePi 4A is not in the official board list (only the Sipeed LicheeRV Dock is), so you need your own or a community image
- Milk-V Meles Partial Milk-V Meles is not in the official board list
- SpacemiT K3 (Pico-ITX / CoM260) Official SpacemiT K3 platforms (CoM260, picoITX, DeepComputing FML13V05) supported since 26.10
- Zhihe A210 (XuanTie MelonPi dev board) Partial Zhihe A210 is not in the official board list
- Canaan K230 (Kendryte K230 / CanMV-K230) Partial Canaan K230 is not in the official board list
- Milk-V Megrez (ESWIN EIC7700X) Partial Milk-V Megrez is not in the official board list
- Milk-V Titan (UltraRISC DP1000) Partial Milk-V Titan is not in the official board list
- Milk-V Pioneer (SG2042, server-oriented) Partial Milk-V Pioneer is not in the official board list
- Orange Pi RV2 (Ky X1) Partial The official list only has Milk-V Mars (same K1), no Orange Pi RV2
- Banana Pi BPI-F3 (SpacemiT K1) Partial Banana Pi BPI-F3 is not in the official board list
Download
Docs and videos
Pitfalls
- 26.04 LTS requires RVA23S64: non-RVA23 hardware (VisionFive 2/JH7110, SiFive Unmatched, etc.) is limited to 24.04.5 LTS — "Hardware that is not RVA23-ready continues to be supported by our 24.04.5 LTS release"
- Some board images are headless only (no GPU, no WiFi); the official page says so explicitly under the DeepComputing FML13V01 entry
- Board images are distinguished by a +<board> suffix (+unmatched/+jh7110/+icicle/+nezha/+licheerv/+pic64gx); the wrong one won't boot
RuyiSDK test reports12
Hands-on records from RuyiSDK, board by board. Open a report for the full install steps and verdict.
| Boards | Status | Versions | Last tested | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan K230 (Kendryte K230 / CanMV-K230) | ◐ Basic | — | 2024-06-21 | Open report |
| Mars | ◐ Basic | 25.04 · 24.04.2(LTS) | 2025-04-22 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | — | 2024-11-13 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | — | 2024-11-13 | Open report |
| Milk-V Duo series (Duo / Duo 256M / Duo S) | ◐ Basic | 24.04 | 2026-09-14 | Open report |
| Orange Pi RV2 (Ky X1) | ● Good | 24.04.01(LTS) | 2025-05-22 | Open report |
| SiFive HiFive Premier P550 | ● Good | 24.04.3(LTS) | 2026-07-07 | Open report |
| STAR64 | ◐ Basic | 25.04 | 2025-05-25 | Open report |
| SiFive HiFive Unmatched | ◐ Basic | 24.10 · 24.04.2(LTS) | 2025-04-11 | Open report |
| VisionFive | ◐ Basic | 23.10 | 2024-06-21 | Open report |
| StarFive VisionFive 2 | ◐ Basic | 25.04 · 24.04.2(LTS) | 2025-04-19 | Open report |
| StarFive VisionFive 2 Lite (JH7110S) | ◐ Basic | 24.04.5 | 2026-10-26 | 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.
Sources11
- ubuntu.com/download/risc-v/canonical-built
- cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/26.10/release/
- cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/26.04/release/
- discourse.ubuntu.com/t/announcing-ubuntu-desktop-images-for-risc-v/89110
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/K230/Ubuntu/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Mars/Ubuntu/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo/Ubuntu/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo256m/Ubuntu/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/Duo_S/Ubuntu/README/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/reports/OrangePi-RV2/Ubuntu/README_LTS/
- matrix.ruyisdk.org/
The full source list and how each claim is judged: Sources