The VuePilot Raspberry Pi image is a stripped back and clean environment.<\/p>\n
**IMPORTANT**<\/strong> Follow ALL<\/strong> the steps outlined below BEFORE<\/strong> you use VuePilot. Do not simply flash the image and start using the product. You MUST<\/strong> read and complete all steps.\u00a0 Customers skipping steps is one of the most common support issues we see.<\/span><\/p>\n Click the button below to download the image.<\/p>\n SHA256 Checksum:<\/strong> 4ec3a51bbc8bb6dbef7f06afc695abb5ff86a51b353ace3ae35eb6ce89314f96 <\/p>\n Download and install Balena Etcher, this is the tool used to flash the image onto your SD card:<\/p>\n Download Etcher: https:\/\/www.balena.io\/etcher<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Selec the image, then select your drive and click flash. This should only take a few minutes to flash<\/p>\n Once finished, you can simply put the SD card back into your Raspberry Pi and boot it up.<\/p>\n PLEASE NOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>In some cases Etcher may error at the very end of the process, reporting an issue with\u00a0“Unmounting”<\/strong>. This is usually fine, and simply means it did not have access to eject the USB disk. You can continue if you see this error.<\/p>\n Your Raspberry Pi may reboot it<\/strong> self once or twice or show errors on screen during the first boot sequence as it performs disk checks and resets the file system. This only happens on the first boot.<\/p>\n IMPORTANT: <\/strong>You must login to the device as the\u00a0vuepilot<\/strong> user. Do not create a new user account. The automatic start up scripts and application settings are configured to run under this account only.<\/p>\n The VuePilot software is updated frequently. The Raspberry Pi image however is not updated so frequently so you will want to ensure you have the latest version of the software installed and the latest operating system patches.<\/p>\n How to update the Raspberry Pi OS<\/strong><\/p>\n sudo apt update<\/strong><\/p>\n sudo apt upgrade -y<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wait for them to finish before moving onto updating the VuePilot software<\/p>\n How to update the VuePilot Software<\/strong><\/p>\n sudo snap refresh vuepilot<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n snap list vuepilot\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n Your new Raspberry Pi will likely be in the wrong timezone which will affect apps like the clock and scheduling. You can change this from the\u00a0System Configuration<\/strong> icon on the desktop then selecting Localisation > Timezone<\/strong><\/p>\n Your new Raspberry Pi will have a default machine name of “raspberrypi”.\u00a0 You will want to change this to something more descriptive and if you intend on using multiple devices it will be required as you cannot have two devices with the same name.<\/p>\n See “Managing Machine Names<\/a><\/strong>” for more information<\/p>\n From the\u00a0System Configuration<\/strong> icon on the desktop , under “System” click\u00a0“Change Hostname<\/strong>“, set a new hostname (example IT-DISPLAY-01) click save, then reboot your device.<\/p>\n If you are using a 1080p TV screen then the display resolution should default to 1920 x 1080 and you wont need to do anything.\u00a0 If you are using a 4K display however we highly recommend that you change your screen resolution to 1920 x 1080 as more apps and screens will display correctly on a 1080p resolution.\u00a0 The Raspberry Pi will also run cooler and perform much smoother using a 1080p resolution as they tend to struggle a little more rendering 4K windows.\u00a0 This is of course optional, but it is something we recommend for 24\/7 running screens and for general compatibility.<\/p>\n You can change your screen resolution from the\u00a0Screen Configuration<\/strong> icon on the desktop<\/p>\n Your new Raspberry Pi will have a default password set by us. You may wish to change this to your own, this is an optional step.\u00a0 You will need to contact VuePilot support for the current password. Please Note:<\/strong> We only give the root password to current customers, not trial users. Please do not request the root password if you are not a customer.<\/p>\n From the\u00a0System Configuration<\/strong> icon on the desktop , under “System” click\u00a0“Change Password<\/strong>“, set a new password and click save.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you do not wish to use our image, you can still use the software by manually installed it to your own device. Setting up the software Rasberry Pi using snaps is much like any other Linux setup instructions although there is a slightly different process for configuring the software to automatically start when the device boots,<\/p>\n To install VuePilot using snap simply follow the instructions found here<\/p>\n Installing VuePilot\u00a0 Using Snap<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n which will install snapd and then install VuePilot (snapd is the package manager that’s responsible installing, removing and updating snap packages)<\/p>\n Once done, you can move ahead to the “Automatic Startup” section<\/p>\n We recommend using a Raspberry 4 –\u00a0 2GB or above, however a Raspberry Pi 3 will also work just fine depending on the type of content you wish to display.<\/p>\n Simple images and webpages will be fine on the Raspberry Pi 3, however video, larger images, dashboards with animations would be better suited running on the Raspberry Pi 4.<\/p>\n Please see our recommended Raspberry Pi hardware guide here for the exact products that we use with our official players<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n There are a number of cases and enclosures you can use with your Raspberry Pi.\u00a0 Some are not really designed to effectively dissipate heat.\u00a0 Typically plastic cases will not dissipate heat as well as the metal cases.<\/p>\n The amount of heat your device generates is related to the content you’re displaying. If you are primarily displaying high res video content or animation heavy dashboards, you will need to ensure you have adequate cooling.\u00a0 If you are displaying simple images or announcements your cooling needs will be lower.<\/p>\n This is something to be aware of as if your Raspberry Pi overheats, it can damage it and cause slow performance, especially if you’re displaying video content.\u00a0 Some cheaper plastic cases can also be fitted with fans which will keep the temperature down and dissipate the heat.<\/p>\n The official VuePilot image will display a green number in the top right hand corner of the desktop. This is the temperature of the CPU.\u00a0 When you buy a device from us, we only use thermal efficient metal cases that keep the temperature down.<\/p>\n In general you want to ensure this temperature stays below 60 degrees (celcius) for best performance.<\/p>\n The Raspberry Pi OS has a number of ways to automatically start applications on boot, however it’s important to note that you must start the application AFTER the desktop environment has booted, as VuePilot has an interface and essentially runs a browser for you.<\/p>\n So in other words you can’t use your standard\u00a0rc.local<\/strong> or .bash_profile\u00a0<\/strong>files, instead you must use the Rasbian autostart file to load a program once the UI has come up.<\/p>\n Simply edit the \/etc\/xdg\/lxsession\/LXDE-pi\/autostart\u00a0<\/strong>file to run VuePilot by specifying the path to the snap application.<\/p>\n Example<\/p>\n Here’s a simple one liner to add the line to the file<\/p>\n Plugging in a keyboard and mouse to your VuePilot Raspberry Pi can be a hassle when the screen is on the other side of the building, the good news however is that the ability to remotely manage your Raspberry Pi device is built into the operating system and uses standard VNC software.<\/p>\n To enable remote desktop connections, see our guide here<\/p>\n Remotely Managing Your Raspberry Pi Device<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"VuePilot](\"https:\/\/www.vuepilot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/vue-pie-desktop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nStep 1: Download The Image<\/h3>\n
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\nLast Updated:\u00a0<\/strong>April 2025
\n<\/span><\/p>\nStep 2: Flash The Image To Your SD Card<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nStep 3: Update The VuePilot Software &\u00a0 Raspberry Pi OS<\/h3>\n
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Step 4: Change Your Timezone<\/h3>\n
Step 5: Change Your Machines Name<\/h3>\n
Step 6: (Optional): Change The Screen Resolution<\/h3>\n
Step 7: (Optional): Change The Device Password<\/h3>\n
Option 2: Install VuePilot Manually Using Snaps<\/h2>\n
We use snaps to install VuePilot on Linux and Raspberry Pi.\u00a0 Snaps are a sandboxed, self contained format for distributing software that ensures that all dependencies are included in the package, and no matter what Linux distribution you’re using, it will be the same experience across the board.\u00a0 Snaps also include automatic software updates as a standard and so once installed, your software will be automatically updated when new releases are published without you ever needing to lift a finger.<\/p>\nInstallation<\/h2>\n
Hardware Requirements<\/h2>\n
Regarding Temperature Control<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAutomatic Startup<\/h2>\n
@\/snap\/bin\/vuepilot<\/pre>\n
echo @\/snap\/bin\/vuepilot | sudo tee -a \/etc\/xdg\/lxsession\/LXDE-pi\/autostart<\/pre>\n
Remote Desktop Management<\/h2>\n