Preparing Your Raspberry Pi

Get your Pi ready for OpenClaw installation.

Preparing Your Raspberry Pi

Before we install OpenClaw, we need to prepare the Pi. This includes installing the OS and updating the system.

Step 1: Write Raspberry Pi OS to microSD Card

Get the Tools

Download Raspberry Pi Imager from raspberrypi.com/software.

Available for:

• Windows
• macOS
• Ubuntu/Linux

Insert Your microSD Card

• Use a card reader
• Connect to your computer
• Make sure you identify the correct card (this is important!)

Open Raspberry Pi Imager

Launch the application you just downloaded.

Configure Your Image

1. Click Choose Device → Select your Pi model (Pi 4 or Pi 5)
2. Click Choose OS → Select Raspberry Pi OS (Lite)

Why Lite? No GUI = less resource usage. You’ll access OpenClaw through the web, not a desktop.

1. Click Choose Storage → Select your microSD card

⚠️ Warning: Triple-check this is the right card. You cannot undo this.

Set Up Advanced Options

Click the gear icon (⚙️) to open advanced options:

• Set hostname: Something memorable (e.g., openclaw-pi)
• Enable SSH: ✅ Check this box
• Set username and password: Change from default pi/raspberry
• Configure wireless LAN: Optional but useful

Example hostname: openclaw-pi Example username: kev

Write the Image

Click Write and confirm. This takes a few minutes.

Once complete, eject the card and insert it into your Pi.

Step 2: Power On and Boot

• Plug in your power supply
• Give it 30-60 seconds to boot
• You should see LED activity

Step 3: Connect Over SSH

Find Your Pi’s IP Address

Option A: Using a network scanner

# On your computer, scan your network
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24 | grep -i raspber

Look for a hostname like openclaw-pi.local or raspberrypi.local.

Option B: Check your router Log into your router’s admin interface and look for connected devices.

Option C: Connect directly If you have a monitor and keyboard, connect them to your Pi and see the IP address at boot time.

SSH In

ssh [email protected]

Or using IP address:

ssh [email protected]

(Replace kev with your username and IP with yours)

You’ll be prompted for your password. Enter it.

Verify Connection

You should see a prompt like:

kev@openclaw-pi:~ $

Great! You’re in.

Step 4: Update the System

Critical step. Don’t skip this.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

This:

• Updates package lists
• Upgrades all installed packages
• Includes security patches

On a Pi with internet connection, this typically takes 5-15 minutes depending on how many updates are available.

What it’s doing:

Setting up libssl-dev (3.0.x-y_armhf) ...
Setting up libpython3.11-dev (3.11.x-y_armhf) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.36-9+rpt2_armhf) ...

Let it finish. Don’t interrupt it.

Step 5: Check Disk Space

df -h

You should see:

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/root        29G  2.8G   25G  10% /

Key numbers:

• Size: Total space (should be ~29G for 32GB card)
• Used: Currently used (~2-3G for OS)
• Avail: Free space (should be ~25G)
• Use%: Percentage used (should be <15%)

If you’re below 10% available, you don’t have enough space. Consider a larger card.

Step 6: Check Memory

free -h

Output example:

               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           7.6Gi       200Mi       7.0Gi        39Mi       386Mi       7.2Gi

Key number:

• total: Your Pi’s RAM (should match what you bought)
• available: Actual usable RAM (usually close to total)

If you see less than 2GB, you have a problem with your Pi.

Step 7: Check Network

ping -c 3 8.8.8.8

This pings Google’s DNS. If it works:

PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=119 time=12.3 ms

If it fails, your network isn’t working. Check:

• Ethernet cable is connected
• Wi-Fi password is correct
• Router is working

Step 8: Optional - Set Static IP

If you want your Pi to always have the same IP (helpful for reliability):

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Add at the end:

interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.1.100/24
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8

(Adjust IP and router IP to match your network)

Save (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter) and reboot:

sudo reboot

You’re Ready!

Your Pi is now prepared and ready for Docker installation. Let’s move on to the next step.

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