Izwi runs on most modern Linux distributions. Linux GitHub Release assets keep the public izwi and izwi-server names and are intentionally CPU-only. See the Runtime Support Matrix for the current artifact contract.

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Requirements

  • Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 36+, or similar
  • 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended)
  • 10 GB free disk space (more for models)
  • NVIDIA GPU (optional, for CUDA acceleration)

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Install from GitHub Releases

Linux release surfaces are CPU-only native artifacts:
  • .deb package for Debian/Ubuntu installs
  • AppImage desktop bundle and updater artifact
  • terminal tarball
The public command names stay izwi and izwi-server. CUDA runtime libraries and CUDA-linked binaries are not bundled in native Linux release artifacts.

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Install from .deb Package (Debian/Ubuntu)

The .deb package is CPU-only. Use Docker CUDA or a source build when you need NVIDIA acceleration.

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Step 1: Download

wget https://github.com/izwi-ai/izwi/releases/latest/download/izwi_amd64.deb

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Step 2: Install

sudo dpkg -i izwi_amd64.deb
If you encounter dependency errors: 
sudo apt-get install -f

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Step 3: Verify

izwi version --full
For terminal tarballs, unpack the release archive and keep the bundled binaries together.

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Optional: Install espeak-ng for Kokoro-82M

Kokoro-82M uses espeak-ng for phonemization. Install it before using Kokoro voices.

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Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y espeak-ng

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Fedora

sudo dnf install -y espeak-ng

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Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S espeak-ng

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Verify

espeak-ng --version

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Install from Source

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Prerequisites

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential curl git pkg-config libssl-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install -y gcc gcc-c++ make curl git openssl-devel

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S base-devel curl git openssl

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Install Rust

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
rustup update stable

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Build Izwi

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/izwi-ai/izwi.git
cd izwi

# Install CLI tools (defaults to CPU on Linux)
./scripts/install-cli.sh

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CUDA Support (NVIDIA GPUs)

Native Linux GitHub Release artifacts are CPU-only. For CUDA-capable binaries on NVIDIA Linux hosts, use the Docker CUDA profile: 
nvidia-smi
git clone https://github.com/izwi-ai/izwi.git
cd izwi
CUDA_COMPUTE_CAP=80 docker compose --profile cuda up
Adjust CUDA_COMPUTE_CAP for the target GPU architecture if you build on a machine without nvidia-smi.

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Source Build CUDA Path

Source builds still require a CUDA toolkit.

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Step 1: Install CUDA Toolkit

# Ubuntu 22.04
wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2204/x86_64/cuda-keyring_1.1-1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i cuda-keyring_1.1-1_all.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y cuda-toolkit-12-4

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Step 2: Build with CUDA

IZWI_BUILD_BACKEND=cuda ./scripts/install-cli.sh

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Step 3: Verify CUDA

Start the server in one terminal: 
izwi serve --backend cuda
In a second terminal: 
izwi version --full
izwi status --detailed
For source builds, izwi version --full should include CUDA under Compiled Backends. Runtime selection still comes from izwi status --detailed.

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Data Locations

DataLocation
Models~/.local/share/izwi/models/
Config~/.config/izwi/config.toml
Logs~/.local/share/izwi/logs/
Binaries/usr/bin/ (deb) or ~/.local/bin/ (source)

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Running as a Service

Create a systemd service for automatic startup: 
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/izwi.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Izwi Audio Inference Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=YOUR_USERNAME
ExecStart=/usr/bin/izwi serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual username, then: 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable izwi
sudo systemctl start izwi
Check status: 
sudo systemctl status izwi

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Uninstall

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From .deb Package

sudo dpkg -r izwi

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From Source

rm -f ~/.local/bin/izwi ~/.local/bin/izwi-server ~/.local/bin/izwi-desktop

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Remove Data (Optional)

rm -rf ~/.local/share/izwi
rm -rf ~/.config/izwi

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Troubleshooting

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Permission denied when binding to port 8080

Either use a higher port or run with elevated privileges: 
# Use a different port
izwi serve --port 8888

# Or allow binding to privileged ports (not recommended)
sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' $(which izwi-server)

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CUDA not detected

  1. Verify NVIDIA drivers are installed: 
    nvidia-smi
  2. If you installed from source, ensure CUDA toolkit is in your PATH: 
    export PATH=/usr/local/cuda/bin:$PATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
  3. If you installed from source, rebuild with CUDA: 
    IZWI_BUILD_BACKEND=cuda ./scripts/install-cli.sh
  4. Verify the runtime: 
    izwi serve --backend cuda
izwi status --detailed

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Audio playback not working

Install audio libraries: 
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install -y libasound2-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install -y alsa-lib-devel

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Kokoro error: espeak-ng not found

Install espeak-ng with your distro package manager, then verify: 
espeak-ng --version

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Next Steps