Raspberry Pi Setup

Connect your Raspberry Pi to noBGP and manage it through your AI assistant. This guide covers installation, configuration, and common Pi-specific use cases.

Why Connect Your Pi?

Once connected to noBGP, you can:

• Manage remotely through your AI assistant (no SSH needed)
• Access via browser terminal from anywhere in the world
• Expose services running on your Pi (web servers, dashboards, etc.)
• Integrate with other infrastructure in your noBGP networks
• Monitor and troubleshoot through natural conversation

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 3, 4, or 5 (recommended)
• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (minimum)
• Original Pi Zero W (armv6) works for light workloads but is below the recommended minimum
• 512MB RAM minimum (1GB+ recommended)
• 4GB SD card minimum (8GB+ recommended)
• Internet connectivity (Ethernet or WiFi)

Software Requirements

• Raspberry Pi OS (32-bit or 64-bit)
• Debian-based OS (Ubuntu, Raspbian, etc.)
• Root/sudo access
• Active internet connection

tip

The noBGP agent works on both 32-bit and 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS. The installer automatically detects your architecture.

Quick Installation

Step 1: Install on Your Pi

SSH into your Raspberry Pi (or work directly on it), then run:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.nobgp.com/agent/install.sh | sh

The install script handles everything: it installs the agent, opens your browser for sign-in, lets you choose a network, and starts the service. Just follow the prompts.

Headless Pi?

On a Pi with no browser (Pi OS Lite, or an SSH session) the plain form above still works: it prints the sign-in link and, on a terminal, a QR code you can scan with your phone, and the sign-in completes there. From agent 0.4.154 an ordinary 80×24 SSH window gets that code — agent 0.4.153 left it out of a window too small for the drawing it used. From agent 0.4.158 the Pi's own text console (TERM=linux) gets the painted black-and-white code like any other terminal; agents 0.4.154 to 0.4.157 gave it the block-glyph form instead, because the kernel could not render the orange the code used then faithfully. From agent 0.4.136 it also stops telling you to look at a browser window that was never opened. See nobgp register.

To register without any browser at all, use a registration key:

curl -fsSL https://downloads.nobgp.com/agent/install.sh | NOBGP_KEY=<YOUR_REGISTRATION_KEY> NOBGP_NAME=raspberry-pi sh

Get your key from the noBGP Add Node page or ask your AI assistant.

⚠ No sudo on the key-carrying form: the script elevates itself, and sudo writes the environment assignments on its own command line to the system log, where the key would then stay. The plain form above has nothing to leak and sudo sh is fine there.

Step 2: Verify Connection

Ask your AI assistant:

Show me my networks and nodes

You should see your Raspberry Pi listed as "online"!

Complete Setup Example

Here's a complete walkthrough from start to finish:

# 1. Install, register, and start (follow the prompts)
curl -fsSL https://downloads.nobgp.com/agent/install.sh | sh

# 2. Check status
sudo nobgp service status

Expected output:

service is running

(service is stopped and service is not installed are the other states; exit codes 1 and 2.)

Verification

From Your Pi

Check the service status:

sudo nobgp service status

View logs:

sudo journalctl -u nobgp.service -f

From Your AI Assistant

Verify connectivity:

You: Show me my Raspberry Pi status

AI: Your Raspberry Pi "home-pi" is online.

    - OS: Raspberry Pi OS (Debian 12)
    - Architecture: arm64
    - Connected to network: default
    - Uptime: 2 hours, 34 minutes
    - IP: 192.168.1.42

Common Pi Use Cases

1. Home Automation Hub

Access your Home Assistant, Pi-hole, or other dashboards from anywhere:

You: Publish the Home Assistant interface from my raspberry-pi

AI: ✓ Service published: https://ha123.nobgp.link (auth required)

    You can now access your Home Assistant from anywhere!

2. Browser-Based Terminal

Get terminal access through your web browser:

You: Create a browser terminal for my raspberry-pi

AI: ✓ Terminal created: https://term456.nobgp.link

    Open this URL to access your Pi's terminal from any browser.

3. Remote Monitoring

Check system stats through conversation:

You: What's the CPU temperature on my Pi?

AI: Current temperature: 45.2°C

    Temperature is normal. The Pi is running cool.

You: What about disk space?

AI: Disk usage: 3.2GB / 32GB (10%)

    Plenty of space available.

4. Software Updates

Keep your Pi updated:

You: Update all packages on my raspberry-pi

AI: I'll update the package list and upgrade installed packages.

    [Runs apt update && apt upgrade]

    Updated 23 packages. System is up to date.
    A reboot is recommended. Should I reboot the Pi?

You: Yes, reboot it

AI: [Reboots Pi]
    ✓ Reboot initiated

5. Media Server Management

Manage Plex, Jellyfin, or other media servers:

You: Check if Plex is running on my raspberry-pi

AI: Plex Media Server is running (PID: 1234)
    Using 15% CPU, 320MB RAM

6. IoT Projects

Run scripts and manage GPIO:

You: Run my LED blink script on the Pi

AI: [Executes script]
    ✓ Script running. LED is blinking every 2 seconds.

Configuration Tips for Pi

Optimize for Limited Resources

If you have a Pi Zero or older model with limited RAM, use these settings:

sudo nobgp config --log-level warning

This reduces logging overhead.

WiFi Considerations

For WiFi-connected Pis, you might want to increase the ping interval to reduce network usage:

sudo nobgp config --ping 120s

Node Naming

Give your Pi a descriptive name during registration. The name is set when you first install and register the agent — either through the interactive prompt or via the NOBGP_NAME environment variable:

# Set a descriptive name during install:
curl -fsSL https://downloads.nobgp.com/agent/install.sh | NOBGP_KEY=<KEY> NOBGP_NAME="living-room-pi" sh

# Or during manual registration:
sudo nobgp register --name "garage-camera"

Choose names that identify the device's role or location (e.g., "living-room-pi", "garage-camera") rather than generic names like "pi1".

Running on Pi OS Lite

If you're using Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no desktop), the agent works perfectly:

1. Install as normal
2. All management happens remotely through your AI assistant
3. Use browser terminals for command-line access
4. No need for SSH once noBGP is set up

Multiple Pis in One Network

You can connect multiple Raspberry Pis to the same network. On each Pi, install and register:

# On Pi #1
sudo nobgp register --name "bedroom-pi" --network "home"

# On Pi #2
sudo nobgp register --name "kitchen-pi" --network "home"

# On Pi #3
sudo nobgp register --name "garage-pi" --network "home"

Then manage them all through your AI assistant:

You: Show me all my Raspberry Pis

AI: You have 3 Raspberry Pis online:
    - bedroom-pi (online)
    - kitchen-pi (online)
    - garage-pi (online)

You: Check disk space on all of them

AI: Disk usage:
    - bedroom-pi: 12% (2.1GB / 16GB)
    - kitchen-pi: 45% (7.2GB / 16GB)
    - garage-pi: 8% (1.3GB / 16GB)

Project Ideas

Home Lab

Build a Pi cluster:

You: I want to set up a 3-node Kubernetes cluster on my Pis

AI: Great! I'll help you set up Kubernetes on your three Pis.
    [Walks through installation and configuration]

Network-Wide Pi-hole

DNS filtering for your whole network:

You: Install Pi-hole on my raspberry-pi and publish the admin interface

AI: [Installs Pi-hole]
    [Publishes admin dashboard]
    ✓ Pi-hole is now running
    ✓ Admin dashboard: https://pihole789.nobgp.link

Security Camera System

Manage motion detection cameras:

You: Check if motion is running on my garage-pi

AI: Motion is running and has detected 3 events today.
    Latest event: 2 hours ago

You: Show me the most recent camera image

AI: [Retrieves latest image]
    [Shows timestamp and thumbnail]

Weather Station

Monitor environmental sensors:

You: Run my weather station script and show me current conditions

AI: [Executes script]

    Current conditions:
    Temperature: 72°F (22°C)
    Humidity: 45%
    Pressure: 1013 hPa

Troubleshooting Pi-Specific Issues

Agent Won't Start on Pi Zero

Issue: Limited resources on Pi Zero W

Solution:

# Use minimal config
sudo nobgp config --log-level error

# Increase swap if needed
sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile  # Set CONF_SWAPSIZE=512
sudo dphys-swapfile setup
sudo dphys-swapfile swapon

WiFi Disconnects

Issue: Pi loses connection on WiFi

Solutions:

• Disable WiFi power management:

  sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off

• Add to /etc/rc.local:

  /sbin/iwconfig wlan0 power off

• Consider using Ethernet if possible

SD Card Running Out of Space

Issue: Limited SD card space

Solutions:

You: My Pi is running out of space, help me clean it up

AI: I'll check what's using space...

    Largest directories:
    1. /var/log - 2.1GB
    2. /var/cache - 800MB

    Should I clean old logs and cached packages?

You: Yes

AI: [Cleans up space]
    ✓ Freed 2.8GB

Can't Access Pi After Setup

Issue: Pi not showing as online

Solutions:

1. Check Pi is connected to internet
2. Verify registration status:

   nobgp show

3. Check service status:

   sudo nobgp service status

4. View logs for errors:

   sudo nobgp service logs -n 50

Performance Considerations

Pi Model Recommendations

Model	Use Case	Notes
Pi Zero W	Light monitoring, simple sensors	Minimal resources
Pi Zero 2 W	Basic home automation	Adequate for most uses
Pi 3	Home servers, media centers	Good all-around
Pi 4 (2GB)	Docker containers, multi-service	Recommended
Pi 4 (4GB+)	Heavy workloads, databases	Best performance
Pi 5	All use cases	Latest and fastest

Resource Usage

Typical noBGP agent resource usage on a Pi:

• CPU: < 1% idle, 2-5% during operations
• RAM: 20-40MB
• Storage: ~50MB for agent binary and config
• Network: Minimal (ping every 58s, command traffic as needed)

Advanced Configuration

Custom Router

Enterprise Feature

Custom routers are available for enterprise deployments only. Contact sales@nobgp.com for more information.

For enterprise deployments with custom routers:

sudo nobgp config --router "custom-router.example.com"

Environment Variables

For Docker or automated setups:

export NOBGP_KEY="<YOUR_REGISTRATION_KEY>"
export NOBGP_NAME="docker-pi"
export NOBGP_LOG_LEVEL="info"

sudo -E nobgp register

Headless Auto-Setup

For completely automated setups (provisioning scripts), use a registration key:

#!/bin/bash
curl -fsSL https://downloads.nobgp.com/agent/install.sh | \
  NOBGP_KEY="<YOUR_REGISTRATION_KEY>" NOBGP_NAME="auto-pi-$(hostname)" sh

With a key present the script never prompts and never needs a terminal, so it works from cloud-init, /boot/firmware/firstrun.sh, a systemd unit, or a cron job on a fully headless Pi. The script elevates itself, so there is no sudo here.

Uninstallation

The simplest way to remove noBGP from your Pi is the built-in nobgp uninstall command, which stops the service, deletes the binaries, and clears runtime files in one step:

# Keep the node identity so a reinstall re-enrolls as the same node
sudo nobgp uninstall

# Fully remove the agent, including configuration and credentials
sudo nobgp uninstall --purge

Or remove it via the package manager instead:

# Stop and uninstall service
sudo nobgp service uninstall

# Remove package (Raspberry Pi OS / Debian)
sudo apt purge nobgp

# Remove configuration
sudo rm -rf /etc/nobgp/

info

apt remove vs apt purge:

• apt remove leaves configuration files intact
• apt purge completely removes configuration files
• If configuration files are present when reinstalling, the device will be automatically restored to its previously configured state

Next Steps

• Publishing Services - Expose Pi services to the internet
• Interactive Terminals - Advanced terminal usage
• Use Cases & Examples - More Pi project ideas

Community Resources

• Raspberry Pi Official Site
• Raspberry Pi OS Download
• noBGP Pi Community: Share your projects!

FAQ

Q: Does noBGP work on Raspberry Pi 1 or 2? A: The Pi 1 is not supported. Pi 2 may work but is not officially tested.

Q: Can I use noBGP with Ubuntu on my Pi? A: Yes! Ubuntu for Raspberry Pi is fully supported.

Q: Will noBGP slow down my Pi? A: No. The agent has minimal resource usage (< 1% CPU, ~30MB RAM).

Q: Can I use GPIO pins while noBGP is running? A: Yes! noBGP doesn't interfere with GPIO or any hardware features.

Q: Do I need to keep SSH enabled? A: No. Once noBGP is set up, you can disable SSH and use browser terminals instead.

Q: Can I run noBGP on a Pi with Docker? A: Yes. Docker containers need NET_ADMIN capability and access to /dev/net/tun. See the Docker and Automation section for examples.