29-05-2021 by MNP
Raspberry Pi Imager is the fabulous Raspberry Pi foundation tool that makes installing a system on SD card or even SSD with just a few clicks very easy.
It is a well thought out tool that even allows you to directly choose the image to install from a large list including, for example, the Lite version of Raspberry Pi OS, so light and fast, which is perfect for our home automation guides.
Available Windows, macOS and linux, the tool is universal. To install Raspberry Pi OS on ubuntu, you just have to play the following command in a terminal.
sudo apt install rpi-imager
New, very practical advanced options
If the tool is already very practical, an advanced option menu (a little hidden) allows you to go even further in the customization of your operating system for the Raspberry Pi. To activate this option menu, it you have to use the key combination CTRL + Shift + X under Windows and Linux, or Command + Shift + X under mac OS.
Easier to activate SSH
Until now, you had to think about creating an ssh file (without extension) at the root of the SD card or USB media. With this new foundation tool, a simple checkbox allows you to activate SSH access. You can even define the access password there to replace the classic "raspberry" ssh password.
Set a hostname to the system on your network
Another very practical option is to be able to define the name of the system that will be used on your home network.
The easiest way to preconfigure wifi
But the big change is undoubtedly being able to configure the Raspberry Pi's wifi connection very easily, without having to modify an upstream configuration file.
Activate your modifications for the next images
Finally, bonus on the board. If like me you spend your time fiddling with Raspberry Pi, you can save all these settings to use them on future installations. Simple, fast and effective.
The foundation, when it is not working on a new nano computer, does not twiddle its thumbs as it proposes changes to the ecosystem that revolves around the Raspberry Pi. This discovery is really a real plus which makes the use of the Raspberry Pi ever simpler and more accessible by the general public.
raspberry pi, imager, update, linux, mac, windows