What will we need?

Raspberry Pi 5 with an SSD drive. A compact solution is available in our e-shop.

A power adapter with at least 25 W.

Software

For the Raspberry Pi we’ll use Raspberry Pi Imager, available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Due to recent security changes, the image no longer has a default password and you need to create one during imaging. The easiest way is with this utility. Download it from the link below:

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

After installation, launch Imager and select your Raspberry Pi model. Then choose Raspberry Pi OS (Other) and Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) for your Raspberry Pi.

In the final step, select your SSD drive (be careful to pick the correct device—it's safer to unplug all other USB drives and flash sticks!). Click Next and when asked about OS Customization, choose Edit Settings. Under the Services tab, enable SSH by selecting Enable SSH, and in General set the hostname like "pinas" or "picloud" and the default SSH username and password. Click Save and then Yes.

Now just insert the SSD into the Raspberry Pi, connect a LAN cable to your home/office router or network, and plug in the power. The green LED should start blinking. If the ethernet cable is connected, your RPi likely received an address from the router’s DHCP. 

We’ll use SSH to access our RPi. If you’re new to the terminal (the Linux command line), you might find this guide useful: Command line guide for beginners in Linux. It may look intimidating, but it’s one of the best things about Linux—it just works everywhere and, importantly, has worked the same way for decades.

Windows already has built-in SSH support via the shell (how-to). For other Windows versions we recommend PuTTY. Linux users don’t need anything extra. Connect via the terminal using the SSH command below. Use hostname.local or replace with the IP address from the router. Enter the username and password you set in Raspberry Pi Imager. For us, for example:

ssh opentux@pinas.local

      1) Installing CasaOS

After connecting, update the OS with two consecutive commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

This will take a few minutes. Finally, install CasaOS by running the installer script:

wget -qO- https://get.casaos.io | sudo bash

After a few more minutes, CasaOS will be ready to use. Once the installation completes, open your web browser and enter your Raspberry Pi’s address. In our case, http://192.168.1.56. The first time you’ll be prompted to create an admin account for CasaOS.

Then, open Apps and type "assistant" to catalog. Open Home Assistant and choose Custom under down arrow icon.