Install Precompiled OpenCV on Raspberry Pi

Install Precompiled OpenCV on Raspberry Pi

OpenCV is an open-source library for image processing, computer vision, and machine learning. OpenCV is widely used for object detection, gesture recognition, motion tracking, face detection and recognition, image segmentation, medical image analysis, license plate recognition, and so on. This tutorial shows how to install precompiled OpenCV on Raspberry Pi.

    Install OpenCV

    Connect to Raspberry Pi via SSH. Download the .deb package from releases page of the repository:

    curl -sSLo opencv.deb https://github.com/prepkg/opencv-raspberrypi/releases/latest/download/opencv-aarch64-linux-gnu.deb

    Execute the following command to install OpenCV:

    sudo apt install -y ./opencv.deb

    Run the opencv_version command to check version of OpenCV:

    opencv_version

    The .deb package is no longer needed, remove it:

    rm -rf opencv.deb

    Testing OpenCV

    Before starting, make sure GNU C++ compiler is installed:

    sudo apt install -y g++

    Create a main.cpp file:

    nano main.cpp

    Add the following code:

    #include <opencv2/opencv.hpp>

int main() {
    std::cout << cv::getBuildInformation() << std::endl;

    return 0;
}

    Execute the following command to compile code:

    g++ main.cpp -o test -lopencv_core

    The core functionality of OpenCV was used, so the libopencv_core.so shared library needed to be linked.

    Run a program:

    ./test

    Uninstall OpenCV

    If decided to completely remove OpenCV and related dependencies, execute the following command:

    sudo apt purge --autoremove -y opencv

    Related

    The 33 Comments Found

    1. Avatar
      James Hodds Reply

      I have loaded this onto my Raspberry Pi 3b+ what do I need to do now how do I run Opencv

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi, James
        First of all, try to run simple C++ and Python examples provided in this post to verify if OpenCV is working fine in your Raspberry Pi. If examples are working fine then you can read posts provided in OpenCV category.

    2. Avatar
      Robert Reply

      I am pretty new to OpenCV,
      All I get is:

      "terminate called after throwing an instance of 'cv::Exception'
what():  OpenCV(4.5.5) /home/pi/opencv-src/modules/highgui/src/window.cpp:1268: error: (-2:Unspecified error)
The function is not implemented. Rebuild the library with Windows, GTK+ 2.x or Cocoa support.
If you are on Ubuntu or Debian, install libgtk2.0-dev and pkg-config, then re-run cmake or configure script in function 'cvShowImage'"
        • Avatar
          huangganggui Reply

          Hi,lindevs

          It's a nice package for me. But I want to know why "built without GUI support". It is very useful for python like "cv2.imshow()",(cv2.imshow not work without GUI support)

        • Avatar
          lindevs Reply

          The OpenCV binaries without GUI support can be useful for Raspberry Pi OS Lite with no desktop environment. But there is a plan to build a separate Debian package that contains precompiled OpenCV binaries with GUI support.

          • Avatar
            Robert S Reply

            Hi,

            Nice Package. Do you have the package available, yet, with GUI Support?

            Thanks,
            Robert

          • Avatar
            lindevs Reply

            Hi,
            Unfortunately, we don't provide a package with GUI support yet.

    3. Avatar
      Terry Jones Reply

      I am still not there yet, but I have to say that after struggling with both Buster and Bullseye and every flavour of OpenCV I tried and every install tutorial for openCV (I am like 12 hours into this task...) yours is the very first "install" that actually got me to the point where "import cv2" worked in python3

      So for now, huge thanks for the one small step towards my motion tracking project...

    4. Avatar
      jay scott Reply 
      apt -y install ./opencv.deb 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'opencv' instead of './opencv.deb'
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 opencv : Depends: libgstreamer1.0-0 (>= 1.18.4) but 1.14.4-1 is to be installed
          Depends: libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0 (>= 1.18.4) but 1.14.4-2+deb10u1 is to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

      what do i do?

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi, Jay
        Perhaps you have installed Raspberry Pi OS Buster. Please update OS to the latest version.

    5. Avatar
      Tac Tacelosky Reply

      I upgraded to the 64-bit version of Pi OS, following the commands above everything worked exactly as expected. Thanks!

    6. Avatar
      Nathan Sinclair Reply

      Is it possible to install it to another python3 installation on the pi?
      Running it installed on the system version of Python (3.9). I would like to install it in Python3.11. Any help is appreciated!

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        Currently, the OpenCV binaries provided in GitHub repository are built using Python 3.9 which is installed by default on Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye. Binaries incompatible with other Python versions, such as 3.11.

    7. Avatar
      Arczi Reply

      Great job! a package with mediapipe would be nice - they have the fastest face detection and face landmarks on the Raspberry...

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        OpenCV can be fully uninstalled by executing the command provided in the post. After that, start all over again. Download the latest opencv.deb package and perform the installation.

    10. Avatar
      Supra Reply

      I am using Bookworm on rpi with 8gb.

      sudo apt install -y ./opencv_64.deb

      Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'opencv' instead of './opencv_64.deb'
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 libavformat58 : Depends: libavcodec58 (= 8:4.3.6-0+deb11u1+rpt5)
                 Depends: libsrt1.4-gnutls (>= 1.4.2) but it is not installable
 opencv : Depends: libavcodec58 (>= 4.3.2)
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

      I need opencv 4.8.1 on latest Bookworm Not Bulseye.

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        Currently, OpenCV binaries are compatible with Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye. I'm awaiting Cross-Compiler Toolchain for Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm. Once the toolchain becomes available, I will precompile OpenCV binaries for the new OS version.

    11. Avatar
      Supra Reply

      I got error problem:
      cv2.imshow('NContours', objects)
      cv2.error: OpenCV(4.9.0) /home/pi/opencv-src/modules/highgui/src/window.cpp:1272: error: (-2:Unspecified error) The function is not implemented. Rebuild the library with Windows, GTK+ 2.x or Cocoa support. If you are on Ubuntu or Debian, install libgtk2.0-dev and pkg-config, then re-run cmake or configure script in function 'cvShowImage'

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        Currently, the OpenCV binaries available in the GitHub repository are built without GUI support.

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        The cross-compilation of OpenCV binaries for the 32-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS has been discontinued.

    13. Avatar
      Happi_Hours Reply

      Hi! I'm having this same problem trying to install openCV for my raspberry pi 3. I updated my OS version, and I am getting this result when I attempt to run sudo apt install -y ./opencv_64.deb:

      Note, selecting 'opencv:arm64' instead of './opencv_64.deb'
Some packages could not be installed, This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The folloiwng information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have ummet dependencies:
 opencv:arm64 : Depends: libgstreamer1.0-0:arm64 (>= 1.22.0) but it is not installable
                Depends: libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:arm64 (>= 1.22.0) but it is not installable
                Depends: libgvcodec59:arm64 (>=5.1.3) but it is not installable
                Depends: libgvformat59:arm64 (>=5.1.3) but it is not installable
                Depends: libgavutil57:arm64 (>=5.1.3) but it is not installable
                Depends: libswscale6: arm64 (>=5.1.3) but it is not installable
                Depends: python3-numpy:arm64 (>= 1.24.2) but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you may have broken packages.
      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Hi,
        Ensure your operating system is upgraded to the most recent version, Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm. Additionally, confirm that you're utilizing the 64-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS.

    14. Avatar
      Don M Reply

      This is amazing work. Thanks for literally saving everyone hours of compiling (and recompiling after errors).

    15. Avatar
      Don M Reply

      Would there be any issues with Raspberry Pi 5? Both have the Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm 64-bit install, but I think architecture is slightly different. I can report back in a couple days if you don't know - will be trying it shortly.

      • Avatar
        lindevs Reply

        Currently, I don't have the capability to test with a Raspberry Pi 5. Since you are running Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm 64-bit, it's possible that a precompiled OpenCV binaries will work as expected. If you're able to test, it would be great to hear your findings and any issues that might arise!

        • Avatar
          DonM Reply

          Installed no problem.
          Ignored error message with sudo apt install

          "N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/home/pi/opencv_64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)"

        • Avatar
          lindevs Reply

          I encountered this message as well while installing the OpenCV package on the Raspberry Pi 4. However, I believe the installation was successful, and the precompiled OpenCV binaries will work properly on the Raspberry Pi 5.

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