brektrou/rtl8821CU
Realtek RTL8811CU/RTL8821CU USB Wi-Fi adapter driver for Linux observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
32/100
- Activity 0
- Release rhythm 35
- Longevity 100
Flags: no_releases
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: n/a
- age_days: 2742
- days_rel: n/a
- days_push: 982
- n_releases_24m: 0
Adoption not part of the score
1723 stars · 469 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded
An out-of-tree Linux kernel driver for Realtek RTL8811CU/RTL8821CU USB Wi-Fi adapters, written in C. It supports DKMS-based automatic rebuilds across kernel updates and includes usb_modeswitch guidance for adapters that start in CD-ROM mode.
Use cases
- get a Realtek RTL8821CU USB wifi dongle working on Linux
- install a kernel driver for an 802.11ac USB adapter that Linux doesn't recognize
- make a USB wifi adapter survive kernel updates with DKMS
- switch a Realtek USB wifi adapter out of storage mode with usb_modeswitch
- build the rtl8821CU driver from source on Ubuntu or Arch
When to choose
- you have an RTL8811CU/RTL8821CU-based USB Wi-Fi adapter that isn't supported by the in-kernel driver
- you run Linux 4.4 through 5.x and need a working 802.11ac USB dongle
- you want DKMS to automatically rebuild the module on kernel upgrades
When to avoid
- your adapter uses a different Realtek chipset (e.g. RTL8812AU or RTL8188EU)
- your kernel version is newer than what this driver supports and an in-kernel or vendor driver exists
- you need a maintained driver with active upstream development
Facets
library · maturity maintenance
networking embedded hardware operating-systems wifi-driver kernel-module realtek usb-wifi dkms rtl8821cu linux
1 source
- readme: https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU · fetched 2026-08-28 · cbee74f048b5
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| brektrou/rtl8821CU | main | 32 |
For agents
markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="brektrou/rtl8821CU")
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem