blakeblackshear/frigate · critical · ImportError

AXEngine is not installed.

Error message

AXEngine is not installed.

What it means

The axengine Python package (Axera AXEngine inference SDK) is not installed, so the Axengine detector plugin cannot initialize. This is a hard ImportError raised in __init__ immediately on plugin creation, meaning the deployment is on hardware/image without AXEngine support.

Source

Thrown at frigate/detectors/plugins/axengine.py:42

class AxengineDetectorConfig(BaseDetectorConfig):
    """AXERA AX650N/AX8850N NPU detector running compiled .axmodel files via the AXEngine runtime."""

    model_config = ConfigDict(
        title="AXEngine NPU",
    )

    type: Literal[DETECTOR_KEY]


class Axengine(DetectionApi):
    type_key = DETECTOR_KEY

    def __init__(self, config: AxengineDetectorConfig):
        try:
            import axengine as axe
        except ModuleNotFoundError:
            raise ImportError("AXEngine is not installed.") from None

        logger.info("__init__ axengine")
        super().__init__(config)
        self.height = config.model.height
        self.width = config.model.width
        model_path = config.model.path or "frigate-yolov9-tiny"
        model_props = self.parse_model_input(model_path)
        self.session = axe.InferenceSession(model_props["path"])

    def __del__(self):
        pass

    def parse_model_input(self, model_path):
        model_props = {}
        model_props["preset"] = True

        model_matched = False

View on GitHub (pinned to ca18b8dc13)

Solutions

1. Use a Frigate build/image for Axera hardware that bundles the axengine SDK
2. Install the AXEngine SDK (axengine package plus its runtime dependencies) into the container/environment
3. If you are not on Axera hardware, switch the detector type to cpu/onnx or another supported backend

Example fix

# before
detectors:
  axengine:
    type: axengine
# after (non-Axera hardware)
detectors:
  cpu:
    type: cpu

def axengine_available() -> bool:
    try:
        import axengine  # noqa: F401
        return True
    except ModuleNotFoundError:
        return False

try:
    detector = AxengineDetector(config)
except ImportError as e:
    if 'AXEngine' in str(e):
        raise SystemExit('AXEngine SDK missing: use the Axera Frigate build') from None
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at frigate/detectors/plugins/axengine.py:42 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: Running generic frigate docker on Axera hardware without the axengine layer; testing axengine config on x86 dev machines; SDK wheels installed for wrong python version so import fails.

Related errors

• RKNN Lite not available
• MemryX SDK is not installed. Install it and set up MIX envir
• Failed to initialize RKNN runtime
• Model does not support detector type of {detector}
• Model {model_path} is unsupported. Provide your own model or

AI-assisted analysis of blakeblackshear/frigate@ca18b8dc13 (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/974554882d513586. Report an issue: GitHub.