DepthAI Library

DepthAI library for interfacing with Luxonis DepthAI hardware. It’s written in C++ and offers Python bindings out of the box.

Important — You’re viewing the v3.x.y branch.

• For production projects that still rely on v2, check out the v2_stable branch.
• Need to migrate? Follow the step-by-step v2 → v3 Porting Guide.

Documentation

Documentation is available over at Luxonis DepthAI API

Examples

Examples for both C++ and Python are available in the examples folder. To see how to build and run them see README.md for more information. To build the examples in C++ configure with the following option added:

cmake -S. -Bbuild -D'DEPTHAI_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON'
cmake --build build

Dependencies

• CMake >= 3.20
• C/C++17 compiler
• [Linux] libudev >= 1.0.0
• [optional] OpenCV 4 (required if building examples and for record and replay)
• [optional] PCL (required for point cloud example)

To install libudev on Debian based systems (Ubuntu, etc.): sudo apt install libudev-dev

To install OpenCV: MacOS: brew install opencv Linux: sudo apt install libopencv-dev Windows: choco install opencv

To install PCL: MacOS: brew install pcl Linux: sudo apt install libpcl-dev

Using Python bindings

Installing the latest pre-released version of the library can be done with:

python3 -m pip install --extra-index-url https://artifacts.luxonis.com/artifactory/luxonis-python-release-local/ --pre -U depthai

or by running:

python3 examples/python/install_requirements.py on the branch you want to install

For more specific information about Python bindings, see Python README.

Building

Make sure submodules are updated

git submodule update --init --recursive

Then configure and build

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --parallel [num CPU cores]

On Windows it’s often required to specify the location of the OpenCV installation. In case you used chocolatey to install OpenCV, you can use the following command:

cmake -S . -B build -DOpenCV_DIR=C:/tools/opencv/build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release --parallel [num CPU cores]

ℹ️ To speed up build times, use cmake --build build --parallel [num CPU cores].

Dynamic library

To build a dynamic version of the library configure with the following option added

cmake -S . -B build -D'BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON'
cmake --build build --parallel [num CPU cores]

Installation and Integration

Installation of the DepthAI library is currently only available as a dynamic library. To install the library, use the following command:

cmake -S . -B build -D'BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON' -D'CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=[path/to/install/dir]'
cmake --build build --target install --parallel [num CPU cores]

ℹ️ Make sure to check out our template C++ project.

Verifying installation

To verify the installation works as expected, you can test if the integration project compiles and runs. This is done by running the following command:

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

Changelog for package depthai

3.1.0 (2025-11-05)

## Features * Automatically select the number of pools in Camera node * Improves the performance at high resolutions for OAK1-Max * Implement the maximum exposure cap in AE on RVC4 * Requires Luxonis OS v1.19.1 * Add setters to [PointCloudData]{.title-ref} message * C++ example [here](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/blob/main/examples/cpp/RGBD/rgbd_pcl_processing.cpp) * Python example [here](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/blob/main/examples/python/RGBD/rgbd_pcl_processing.py)

## Bug fixes * Address MacOS weak vtables issues causing deadlocks in the new [DynamicCalibration]{.title-ref} node * Turn on the watchdog early during discovery of RVC2 USB devices to avoid soft bricking the device along with handling the case where the device gets into that state to recover it on the next boot * Fix the usage of RVC2 devices inside Linux containers because of missing udev support * Fix undistortion on RVC4 for the chroma plane when [NV12]{.title-ref} type is requested * Use the correct [ImgTransformations]{.title-ref} in SpatialDetectionNetwork on RVC4 in case depth was not aligned to RGB * Stability fixes for rare case with IMU halting the destruction on RVC2 * Fix a timestamp overflow bug on the BNO08x IMU on RVC2

## Misc * Update [zoo_helper]{.title-ref} binary with better error handling * Reduce the number of symbols on Windows by performing more aggressive inlining * [DynamicCalibration]{.title-ref} input control now has a shorter API to send commands to the node * Add intrinsics metadata to thermal frames * Update the examples using [StereoDepth]{.title-ref} node with removing the explicit [NV12]{.title-ref} type request for better performance * Improve IMX678 support on RVC2 with better black level correction, improving brightness and color accuracy * [Python bindings] Add explicit [numpy]{.title-ref} requirement to the Python wheels * [Python bindings] Add missing bindings to set the filter order on the [StereoDepth]{.title-ref} node

3.0.0 (2025-07-31)

# DepthAI v3.0.0 release candidate is out :tada: We’re proud to announce a new major revision of the DepthAI library is now in release candidate stage and ready to be used.

## Simplified API We've simplified and unified the API to lower the barrier to entry and make development more intuitive. Core tasks like setting up camera streams, running neural networks, and building spatial pipelines are now streamlined with fewer lines of code.

We have removed many deprecated functions and simplified node constructors, creating a cleaner, more consistent, and easier-to-use library for newcomers as well as more experienced users.

## Refreshed nodes We've revisited some of the most fundamental nodes to make them more powerful and flexible.

• Camera
  • The [ColorCamera]{.title-ref} and [MonoCamera]{.title-ref} nodes have been replaced by a single, generic [Camera]{.title-ref} node that works across all platforms.
  • It supports a variable number of outputs, where each can have an independent:
    • Type (NV12, RGB interleaved or planar, ...)
    • Size
    • FPS
  • [Python](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/python/Camera) and [C++](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/cpp/Camera) examples.
• ImageManip
  • The [ImageManip]{.title-ref} node has been revised for more robust and predictable behavior (we now track the order of operations to make the output fully deterministic).
  • It now supports relative crops and can be used as a host-side node in addition to running on RVC2 and RVC4 devices.
  • [Python](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/python/ImageManip/) and [C++](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/cpp/ImageManip/) examples.

## New nodes DepthAI v3 introduces new high-level nodes to simplify working with high level concepts (RGBD pointclouds, SLAM)

• RGBD: This node makes it easy to work with synchronized and aligned color and depth data. It features an "autocreate" mode that automatically constructs the required input pipeline, delivering a ready-to-use RGBD message or a colored point cloud.

  • [Python](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/python/RGBD) and [C++](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/cpp/RGBD) examples.

• VSLAM: We've added SLAM and VIO as host nodes, enabling advanced spatial AI applications. These are currently available on Linux and macOS and are in early preview.

  • [Python](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/python/RVC2/VSLAM) and [C++](https://github.com/luxonis/depthai-core/tree/main/examples/cpp/RVC2/VSLAM) examples.

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