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Beginner • ~15 min read

Raspberry Pi Setup

Set up your Raspberry Pi for the first time and prepare it for MudPi installation.

What You'll Need

  • Raspberry Pi (3B+, 4, 5, or Zero 2 W)
  • MicroSD card (16GB minimum, 32GB recommended)
  • USB-C power supply (5V/3A for Pi 4, 5V/5A for Pi 5)
  • Computer with SD card reader for initial setup
  • WiFi network or Ethernet cable
Video Guide

Watch: Preparing the SD Card & Installing Raspberry Pi OS

Step 1: Download Raspberry Pi Imager

Download the Raspberry Pi Imager from raspberrypi.com/software. This tool handles flashing and pre-configuring the OS in one step.

Tip

For garden use, we recommend Raspberry Pi OS Lite (headless, no desktop). It uses fewer resources and is more stable for a dedicated MudPi controller.

Step 2: Flash the SD Card

Open Raspberry Pi Imager, select Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit), and choose your SD card as the target.

Step 3: Configure SSH, WiFi & User

Before writing, click the gear icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+X) to open the OS Customization menu. This is the recommended way to set up headless access on modern Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm and later).

In the customization menu, configure:

  • Set hostname: e.g. mudpi
  • Enable SSH with password authentication
  • Set username and password: choose your own (the old pi/raspberry defaults no longer apply)
  • Configure wireless LAN: enter your WiFi SSID, password, and country

Then click Write to flash the SD card. This process usually takes 5–10 minutes.

No more wpa_supplicant.conf

Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm and later uses NetworkManager instead of wpa_supplicant. The old method of dropping a wpa_supplicant.conf file into the boot partition no longer works. Use the Imager's OS Customization menu instead.

Already booted without WiFi?

If your Pi is already running and connected via Ethernet, you can configure WiFi from the command line using NetworkManager:
sudo nmcli dev wifi connect "YourNetwork" password "YourPassword"
Or use the interactive text UI: sudo nmtui
Video Guide

Watch: Booting Up & Configuring Raspberry Pi OS

Step 4: Boot and Connect

Insert the SD card into your Pi, connect power, and wait about 90 seconds for the first boot (it may take longer as it applies your customization settings). Then SSH in using the username you configured in the Imager:

Shell 
ssh your-username@mudpi.local

Note

Replace your-username with the username you set in the Imager. The hostname (mudpi.local) matches what you configured. If you didn't change the hostname, it defaults to raspberrypi.local.

Step 5: Update Your System

Update the package list and upgrade all installed packages to the latest versions:

Shell 
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Note

This may take several minutes on a fresh install. Make sure your Pi is connected to a stable power source during this process.

Next Steps

Your Pi is ready! Continue to Installing MudPi to set up the core system.

Next Guide Installing MudPi →