# lwfinger/rtw88

A backport of the Realtek Wifi 5 drivers from the wireless-next repo.

Repository: https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rtw88
Language: C
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-05-21T11:09:38+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 70/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 83, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2249, "days_push": 104, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1632, forks 308 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:14.209964+00:00)

## What it is
A downstream backport of the Realtek rtw88 series WiFi 5 drivers from the Linux wireless-next repository, supporting PCIe, SDIO, and USB chipsets. It keeps the driver code in sync with upstream kernel development while accommodating kernel API changes for kernels 5.4 and newer.

## Use cases
- get a Realtek RTL8822BU USB wifi adapter working on Linux
- install drivers for RTL8821CE PCIe wifi card on Fedora
- fix wifi not working after kernel update on Ubuntu
- enable RTL8723DS SDIO wifi on a Raspberry Pi
- build Realtek wifi drivers with DKMS for Secure Boot systems
- test the new RTL8814AU chipset driver

## When to choose
- your Realtek WiFi 5 chipset is not working with your distro's built-in driver
- you need the latest upstream rtw88 fixes on an older kernel (5.4+)
- you use a supported USB, SDIO, or PCIe Realtek adapter on a mainstream distro

## When to avoid
- you run RHEL or an RHEL-based distro with modified kernel APIs
- you need WiFi 6 (rtw89) chipsets rather than WiFi 5
- your distro already ships a working rtw88 driver for your kernel

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: networking, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, hardware, developer-tools
- platform: c
- tags: wifi-driver, realtek, kernel-module, dkms, wireless, backport, rtw88, linux

## Member repositories
- lwfinger/rtw88 (main) score 70

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:14.209964+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:47:47.350867+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:14.209964+00:00, sha a25fe3d2b11c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.