Updated 2024-03-02 !
I like the Raspberry Pi(RPi), with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no Desktop is included), headless operation, and then adding the software You need. Until now I haven't had a use case where I needed a Desktop but now was time.
Why don't use the Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop ?? In that package there
is a lot of software I don't need and I really want to optimize the RPi. I
think that the less software You install the happier RPi will be...
😉
So after some Googling inspired from this guide I came up with the following setup.
Prerequisites
Start up with a fresh
Raspberry PI OS Lite installation, and don't forget to update with
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y && sudo apt clean
Adding Desktop/GUI
Standard
Before Bookworm Pixel was the standard RPi desktop but it
changed to Wayland.
Both variants are installed, depending on your RPi OS, using the same command
sudo apt install raspberrypi-ui-mods
Other variants
The easiest way to install other Desktops, and some other software, is using
sudo tasksel
The easiest way to install other Desktops, and some other software, is using
sudo tasksel
Remote access
Wayvnc(Bookworm)
There is a new VNC server which is installed together with Wayland. Anyway, the command is
sudo apt install wayvnc
2024-03-02 !!!!
- Did a fresh install of VNC via sudo raspi-config and RealVNC was installed ? and works fine.
- RealVNC and RPi 5 will for the moment not work.
VNC(Before
Bookworm)
You have to install the software for the VNC server and the easiest way is
to use
sudo raspi-config
3 Interface Options
P3 VNC
2 Display Options
D1 Resolution
DMT Mode 16
For Bullseye
D5 VNC Resolution
Finish and reboot
Please note that two systemd services are initiated via
vncserver-x11-serviced.service
vncserver-virtuald.service
Access the RPi with
VNC Viewer from Your PC/Mac/Phone.
RDP(Problem with Bookworm....)
If You want o use RDP instead, more lightweight than VNC, install the following server software
sudo apt-get install xrdp
Please note that two systemd services are initiated via
xrdp-sesman.service
xrdp.service
Then install the RDP on your client. I prefer the Microsoft package
which works well on both
PC/Mac/iPad/iPhone
Add WEB-browser ?
Chrome
Install the default one with
sudo apt install chromium-browser --yes
sudo apt install chromium-browser --yes
Firefox(Smaller application compared to Chrome)
sudo apt install firefox
SD Card Copier
Install with
sudo apt install piclone
Install with
sudo apt install piclone
or use the command line one.
Remote access from outside
A really nice software solution for http, ssh, vnc, rdp, SAMBA.... is remote.it Quick
installation is found here.
Remark
If using Stretch delete the following package (In Buster it is not installed)
sudo apt-get purge xserver-xorg-legacy
unfortunatley sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-ui-mods does not work on my rpi i get the error massage unable to locate package raspberry-ui-mods. i tried sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-gui-mods but that gives the same result.
ReplyDeletewhat did I do wrong?
Which version of Stretch are You using?
DeleteThanks for this. I set up my Pi4 as a NAS and wanted to keep it completely headless but trying to move files around drives via the terminal was getting old, quick. Using samba file browsers on other systems was slow and often failed. Now I can use vnc to control my pi with the familiar interface.
ReplyDelete👍
DeleteHi, I followed all the instructions, but when I try connecting from my PC using realvnc client, the mouse cursor spins for a moment and nothing happens. No error messages or anything.
ReplyDeleteI'm running the client on Win10 Pro, and vnc server is on an rpi zero W
Hi, since "ssh" seems to work, check the log with "cat /var/log/syslog". Another approach is to use RDP instead or just connect mouse/keyboard/screen to the Zero, and troubleshoot from there.
DeleteAfter logging on to the RPi, Pixel is installed with
ReplyDelete"sudo apt install raspberrypi-ui-mods"
...Do not forget that you need "sudo apt install xinit" in order to get startx command needed to start pixel
Thanks for your feedback, but "xinit" is by default installed via "raspberrypi-ui-mods". Just tested with Bullseye.
DeleteI am on Buster (reverted to that because of possible compatibility problems with the RTL-SDR stick I was using) I reinstalled raspberrypi-ui-mods but startx would not work until I installed xinit properly.
DeleteOK, not a "standard" installation ! ;-)
DeleteYes, I had tried everything else, but in the end it was a hardware problem. I learned a lot but had to give up.
DeleteSorry guy but you must apt install xinit, i have a new fresh install of raspberry OS lite, and the startX is not installed with raspberrypi-ui-mods
Delete..and piclone needs to be started with:
ReplyDelete"sudo dbus-launch piclone"
Thanks for your feedback. I start "SD card copier" from the Application menu. Just tested with Bullseye.
DeleteYes, normally so do I now that the gui is running.. it's just that at that point in the instructions it seemed useful to have a way of kicking off a backup from the console to save everything done up to that point. :-)
DeleteOK then I understand, but it doesn't work with "ssh", using headless, so I really recommend https://pysselilivet.blogspot.com/2017/11/rpi-clone-raspberry-boot-disk.html
DeleteYes, thanks for your great work here. I only wish I had had more luck with the hardware :-)
ReplyDelete👍
Delete