First Boot & SSH
Insert the SD Card & Power On
Insert the microSD card you flashed into your Pi's card slot, connect any peripherals you plan to use, and connect power last. The Pi will boot automatically — first boot takes a bit longer than usual while it expands the filesystem and applies your Imager settings.
Headless vs Monitor + Keyboard Setup
- Headless (no monitor) — if you set a hostname, enabled SSH, and configured WiFi in Raspberry Pi Imager's advanced options, your Pi will connect to your network and accept SSH connections with no extra steps. Skip ahead to Finding Your Pi's IP Address below.
- Monitor + keyboard — if you used the Desktop image without presetting SSH, connect a monitor and keyboard and complete the on-screen first-boot wizard, which will prompt you to set a username/password, connect to WiFi, and (optionally) enable SSH from Preferences → Raspberry Pi Configuration → Interfaces.
Finding Your Pi's IP Address
You'll need this to connect over SSH from another computer. Try these in order:
- Hostname (easiest) — if you set a hostname in Imager (e.g.
mypi), tryping mypi.localfrom another computer on the same network. This works out of the box on macOS and most Linux distros; on Windows, install Bonjour Print Services or use the router method below if it doesn't resolve. - Router admin page — log into your router's admin interface and look for a connected device named after your Pi's hostname.
- Network scanner — tools like
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24(adjust to your subnet) or a phone app like Fing can list devices on your network.
SSH Into Your Pi
ssh <your-username>@<hostname-or-ip>
# e.g. ssh myuser@mypi.local
⚠️ Note: Modern Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm and later) does not ship a default
pi/raspberrylogin — you must SSH in as the custom username and password you set in Raspberry Pi Imager's advanced options during flashing. If you skipped that step, you'll need to complete first-boot setup with a monitor and keyboard to create an account.
Accept the host key fingerprint prompt the first time you connect.
Initial Configuration with raspi-config
Once connected, run:
sudo raspi-config
This opens a text-based menu. Worth checking on first boot:
- Localisation Options — set timezone and keyboard layout if not already set via Imager
- Advanced Options → Expand Filesystem — usually done automatically on first boot, but confirm here if your Pi doesn't show the SD card's full capacity (
df -h)
Select Finish and reboot if prompted.
Update the System
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
This pulls the latest security and package updates. Reboot afterward with sudo reboot if the upgrade touched the kernel or firmware.
Next: GPIO Setup
➡️ Continue to GPIO Setup & First Script
