gesellix/pi-init2

Set up a Raspberry Pi and manage any of its configuration just from the /boot partition

Raspberry Pi Pre Init

Purpose

A program which lets you set up a Raspberry Pi solely by writing to the /boot partition (i.e. the one you can write from most computers!).

This allows you to distribute a small .zip file to set up a Raspberry Pi to do anything. You tell the user to unzip it over the top of the Pi's boot partition - the system can set itself up perfectly on the first boot.

Additionally, once a Raspberry Pi has been set up using pi-init2, files under the appliance base directory are symlinked back to the /boot, allowing you to reliably edit those "user-serviceable" files from the computer in future. So e.g. the list of wireless networks and passwords, or other files specific to the kind of appliance you're building.

Trying it out

• Download and write a standard Raspbian Jessie SD card, e.g. the Raspbian Jessie Lite.
• Unzip the latest release into the /boot partition
• Remove the SD card and put it into your Pi.

The Raspberry Pi should now boot several times. The first boot takes 2-5 minutes depending on your network, and which model of Raspberry Pi you use (I tested with model 3).

By default the following changes will be applied:

• SSH will be enabled by adding the /boot/ssh file.
• The hostname will be set to the content of /boot/hostname.
• If GitHub is reachable, SSH keys will be downloaded and saved in /home/pi/.ssh/authorized_keys, and password authentication will be disabled.

Beware: You'll need to edit the pi-install script to use your GitHub username (or remove that part completely)!

Building pi-init2

You'll find a script called '/build-and-copy' which you can use from a Linux or MacOS to build the pi-init2 program, copy all the appliance files into place, and unmount the card.

Disclaimer/Credits

Credits go to the following projects:

• pi-init2: This project is actually a fork of pi-init2, but heavily modified and stripped down to my needs. That's why the binary is still named pi-init2, so that its origin won't be forgotten.
• raspbian-boot-setup: Another project with a similar technique.
• PiBakery: A good resource to find more blocks to setup your Raspberry Pi.

Any contributions appreciated!