Documentation

This is the official documentation repository for Raspberry Pi hardware and software. It covers the complete range of Raspberry Pi single-board computers, the RP-series microcontrollers, and the Raspberry Pi operating system. The documentation provides reference material for setting up devices, configuring hardware, and using the system for tasks including AI inference, camera and video capture, embedded development, and remote access.

The documentation covers the full boot chain from the GPU firmware and EEPROM bootloader through to kernel loading, with detailed guidance on boot configuration, device tree overlays, and boot source selection across SD card, USB, NVMe, and network booting. It documents the libcamera and Picamera2 stack for camera control, the NPU-accelerated AI inference pipeline, and the RP1 southbridge I/O controller. Security features including secure boot, OTP programming, bootloader revocation, and user account management are covered alongside remote access methods using SSH, VNC, and cloud relay services.

The repository includes guides for operating system installation and management, software package management, hardware troubleshooting, performance tuning through overclocking and thermal management, and system monitoring tools. It documents hardware expansion through HATs, camera modules, displays, PCIe storage, and accessories, as well as GPIO interfacing and hardware communication protocols. Microcontroller programming for Pico-series devices is covered for both the C/C++ SDK and MicroPython, including SWD debugging and UART bridging.

Contributions to the documentation are accepted through the project's source repository.

Features

NPU Inference Execution - Runs machine learning models on a dedicated NPU attached via M.2 or HAT.
On-Device Inference Executions - Runs machine learning models using dedicated AI accelerators and software libraries.
Raspberry Pi Basics - Covers initial hardware assembly, OS installation, and first-boot configuration for desktop or headless use.
MIPI Display and Camera Interfaces - Documents MIPI DSI display and CSI-2 camera connections through integrated transceivers.
MicroPython Runtimes - Ships MicroPython firmware for programming Pico-series microcontrollers.
Microcontroller SDK Development Setups - Documents setting up the SDK and building projects for RP-series microcontrollers.
Display Output Configurations - Documents switching audio output devices and adjusting screen resolution, orientation, and blanking.
System Software Updates - Documents updating installed packages, the Linux kernel, and firmware using APT.
System Package Managers - Documents installing, updating, and removing software using APT and graphical package managers.
Microcontroller SDKs - Provides the official C/C++ SDK for programming Pico-series microcontrollers.
CSI-2 Camera Attachments - Documents connecting one or two CSI-2 cameras to the Compute Module and configuring the driver through Device Tree overlays.
Device Tree Overlay Loaders - Extends hardware configuration at boot by loading DTB overlay files for peripherals.
BOOTSEL Mode Communications - Documents communicating with RP-series microcontrollers in BOOTSEL mode.
GPIO Pin Controllers - Documents reading and writing GPIO pins using a supported command-line utility.
Camera Hardware Controls - Documents programmatic control of Raspberry Pi camera modules via libcamera and Picamera2.
Device Tree Peripheral Wiring - Documents connecting I2C, SPI, camera, and display peripherals to GPIO pins and enabling them using Device Tree overlays.
Initial Hardware Setups - Documents initial hardware assembly, OS installation, and first-boot configuration.
SPI I2C One-Wire Serial Activators - Documents activating SPI, I2C, one-wire, and serial interfaces to communicate with external sensors and displays.
Documentation - Provides comprehensive documentation for programming RP-series microcontrollers with C/C++ SDK and MicroPython.
Device Tree Overlay Selections - Documents selecting the correct device tree overlay and tuning file for connected camera modules.
Southbridge I/O Offload Controllers - Offloads USB, Ethernet, and PCIe from the main SoC via a dedicated southbridge chip.
Single-Board Computer Resources - Serves as the official reference for Raspberry Pi hardware, OS installation, and peripheral configuration.
libcamera Application Frameworks - Documents creating custom camera applications using the libcamera C++ API and event loop framework.
Python Camera Libraries - Documents controlling cameras via the Picamera2 Python library.
libcamera and Picamera2 References - Provides technical documentation for using camera modules with libcamera, Python, and C++ APIs.
Camera Image Capture - Documents attaching camera boards or AI cameras to capture still images and video.
Network Connections - Documents connecting a device to the internet via Wi-Fi and Ethernet adapters.
Internet-Wide Remote Access - Documents providing secure remote access from anywhere on the internet via VPN or cloud relay.
Local Network Remote Access - Documents providing secure terminal and desktop access from other computers on the same network.
Remote Access Enablements - Documents activating SSH, VNC, or the Connect service for remote device control.
Headless Device Controllers - Controls headless devices over a network using SSH, VNC, or a cloud relay service.
Wi-Fi Connection Managers - Documents enabling Wi-Fi, scanning networks, connecting, and pairing Bluetooth peripherals.
Boot Configuration File Settings - Documents adjusting hardware parameters via the boot configuration file.
VideoCore Firmware Boot Sequences - Runs first-stage GPU firmware that initializes hardware and loads the kernel from a FAT32 partition.
Kernel Configurations - Documents modifying kernel features and settings through a menu-driven interface or configuration file.
Kernel Image Selections - Documents how to select an alternative kernel filename on the boot partition.
Custom Kernel Compilation - Documents configuring and compiling a custom Linux kernel using native or cross-compilation.
Network Booting Utilities - Loads the operating system from a network server using DHCP and TFTP, eliminating local storage.
Operating System Installers - Documents writing an OS image to storage media for installation.
Raspberry Pi Kernel and Bootloader Guides - Provides guides for building custom kernels, configuring bootloaders, and managing device tree overlays on Raspberry Pi.
RAM-Disk Boot Environments - Documents loading a ramdisk boot filesystem for secure-boot and network boot.
AI Inference - Documents running machine learning models on a Raspberry Pi using NPU accelerators.
Camera and Video Capture - Documents capturing still images and video from camera modules using libcamera and Picamera2.
Microcontroller Programming - Documents writing and deploying firmware for RP-series microcontrollers using C/C++ SDK or MicroPython.
Boot Target Configurations - Documents setting the device to boot into desktop or CLI and customizing the boot splash screen.
GPU Boot Parameter Editors - Documents editing a text file read by the GPU before the CPU starts to set low-level hardware options.
NVMe Boot Sources - Documents how to boot Raspberry Pi from an NVMe SSD connected via PCIe.
Storage Boot Sources - Documents booting from microSD, USB, NVMe, or network storage after writing an OS image.
USB Boot Sources - Documents how to boot Raspberry Pi from a USB mass storage device.
Camera Control Bindings - Abstracts camera control and image capture through a C++ library with Python bindings.
Secure Boot EEPROM Configurations - Stores the bootloader in SPI EEPROM with secure boot via OTP-programmed public key hashes.
Boot Order Configurations - Documents setting boot device order and enabling EEPROM write-protection.
Bootloader Configuration Interfaces - Updates, resets, and configures the bootloader EEPROM to control boot order and diagnostics.
Boot Order and Network Install Managers - Documents changing the boot order, updating the bootloader, and enabling the network install interface.
Kernel Source Patching - Documents applying source patches to the kernel for hardware support.
Network & Proxy Settings - Documents configuring hostname, DHCP, static IP, and proxy settings.
Internal Temperature Monitors - Documents reading the internal SoC temperature from the GPU for thermal monitoring.
CPU and GPU Frequency Throttles - Documents the thermal throttling mechanism that prevents overheating on Raspberry Pi devices.
Desktop Preference Editors - Documents adjusting system preferences like audio, display, network, and user access through a graphical or text-based tool.
Raspberry Pi Kiosk Distributions - Documents SSH, VNC, and browser-based remote access for headless control and file transfer.
Video Stream Detections - Documents identifying predefined objects in a live camera stream using a TensorFlow Lite neural network.
Generative AI Models - Runs vision-language and other generative AI models on a local NPU accelerator.
Local LLM API Servers - Serves LLMs through a REST API and web chat interface on a local NPU accelerator.
Browser-Based Remote Desktops - Documents connecting to a desktop or terminal from any browser without additional software.
Device Tree Auto-Detection for Cameras and Displays - Documents automatic Device Tree overlay loading for recognised CSI cameras and DSI displays.
Real-Time Vision Classifications - Runs real-time object detection, segmentation, and pose estimation on camera frames using an NPU.
Composite Video and PWM Audio Outputs - Documents hardware-level composite video and PWM audio output generation.
Centralized Device Management - Documents sharing and controlling multiple devices across an organisation from a central dashboard.
M.2 HAT+ Attachments - Documents attaching an M.2 HAT+ to add SSD storage over the PCIe interface.
System Preference Editors - Documents adjusting system preferences via desktop wizard or command-line tool.
SDK Build Configurations - Documents building Pico SDK projects using CMake INTERFACE libraries.
Hardware Connection Troubleshooting Guides - Provides official guidance for diagnosing common power, boot, display, and peripheral issues.
Watchdog Timer Configurators - Documents configuring the hardware watchdog timer timeout for system reset on failure.
Custom Add-On Board Designs - Documents the HAT specification for creating custom add-on boards for Raspberry Pi.
Secure Boot Deployments - Documents configuring secure boot and encrypted file systems for mass device provisioning.
Hardware H.264 Encoders - Documents recording video with hardware H.264 encoding and MP4 container format.
Image Processing and Manipulation - Documents encoding and processing image and video streams from cameras with a C++ library.
Live Camera Stream Transmissions - Documents transmitting live camera video to remote clients using UDP, TCP, RTSP, or GStreamer.
Desktop Computer Setups - Documents configuring a Raspberry Pi with display, keyboard, and mouse as a desktop system.
Custom OS Image Builders - Documents assembling custom operating system images for embedded systems.
Serial Wire Debug Probes - Documents SWD debugging of Pico-series devices using a dedicated debug probe.
Environmental Monitoring - Documents reading and visualizing data from the Sense HAT's onboard environmental sensors.
Python Callback Controllers - Documents controlling hardware components like LEDs and buttons using a Python library with callback methods.
Overclocking - Documents raising clock speeds of the Arm CPU, GPU core, video blocks, and SDRAM for improved performance.
USB-to-UART Bridges - Documents using the Raspberry Pi as a USB-to-UART adapter for serial communication with microcontrollers.
SD Card Image Writers - Documents writing OS images to SD cards for booting Raspberry Pi devices.
Microcontroller Hardware Abstraction Layers - Provides a thin C API for accessing RP-series microcontroller hardware without direct register access.
GPIO Boot Source Selectors - Configures the device to choose a boot source based on GPIO pin states at power-on.
Early Boot GPIO Mode Settings - Documents configuring GPIO pins to specific modes and values during early boot.
CPU Frequency Boosts - Raspberry Pi boosts the default turbo-mode frequency from 1.5 GHz to 1.8 GHz on devices with two-phase power delivery.
System Performance Tuning - Documents overclocking the CPU, configuring case fan behavior, adjusting USB current limits, and setting PCIe port speed.
Installation - Documents how to choose and install desktop, standard, or command-line-only editions of Raspberry Pi OS.
OS Version Updates - Documents creating a clean installation on new boot media to move to a newer OS version.
Hardware Troubleshooting - Documents diagnosing and resolving common hardware issues with power, boot, display, and peripherals.
Boot Failure Diagnostics - Documents diagnostic information displayed on HDMI or via LED patterns for boot errors.
HTTP Boot Loaders - Downloads and boots the operating system from a remote HTTP server for network-based installation.
Network Boot Sources - Documents booting Raspberry Pi devices over a network using DHCP and TFTP.
eMMC OS Flashing - Documents writing an OS image to Compute Module eMMC storage via USB boot.
User Account Management - Documents adding, viewing, deleting user accounts, granting permissions, and configuring auto-login.
Debug Probe Interfaces - Provides a hardware debug probe connecting over SWD and UART for microcontroller debugging.
Overlay Parameters - Documents supplying configuration values to Device Tree overlays and built-in hardware interfaces.
Screen Reader Accessibility - Supports screen readers that navigate the desktop interface through spoken feedback.
Touch Display Attachments - Documents connecting an official touch display for interactive screen output and input.
Desktop Screen Magnifiers - Provides a built-in screen magnification tool for visually impaired users on the desktop.

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fbelavenuto/arpl

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raspberrypidocumentation

Features