Zero Screen: A Raspberry Pi Zero Kiosk Guide

Welcome to Zero Screen, your go-to guide for setting up a lightweight, cost-effective kiosk using the Raspberry Pi Zero. This project is tailored for those who need to display full-screen images while not breaking the bank and compromising on live updates or other functionalities.

Finding a solution that supports the relatively low-end hardware of the Pi Zero, including challenges like the lack of Chromium support, can be daunting. Zero Screen emerges as a practical workaround, offering a step-by-step guide to creating a kiosk that not only meets these requirements but is also simple to update and maintain.

This README serves as a personal log and a comprehensive guide for setting up your kiosk. Whether you're looking to replicate my setup or customize it to fit your needs, you'll find all the necessary steps and recommendations here. This guide will evolve over time as new improvements and methods are discovered.

Update (September 20, 2024)

After lots of testing, I have found that using each Pi Zero independently as both a file server as well as a screen has minor performance constraints. Due to the Zero being such a lightweight computer, it struggles to keep the file server running consistently. Often, reboots are required to access the file server again.

My current approach that works very well is using a Raspberry Pi 4 (or any other small PC/ File server) as the main file server, and having the Raspberry Pi Zeros act as nodes that copy over data using rsync.

While this does mean the purchase of an additional device, any old laptop or PC would do the trick. It immensly speeds up the system. Also it means you can scale using Zeros as nodes which is still cheap.

I will be updating the guide in due course to reflect this new approach, however much of the scripts and resources on this page still apply and are helpful to getting it up and running.

Getting Started

To kick things off, you'll need a Raspberry Pi Zero and a basic understanding of working with Raspberry Pi OS. Follow these steps to transform your Pi Zero into a fully functional kiosk:

1. Prepare Your Raspberry Pi Zero

• Flash an SD Card: Start by flashing an SD card with the Raspberry Pi OS (Desktop Version).

2. Initial Setup

• Secure Shell (SSH) Access: SSH into your Pi Zero to perform the initial setup and updates.

3. Configure the Display

• Disable Screen Blanking: Use raspi-config and select 2: Display Options to find the screen blanking setting. Disable screen blanking, ensuring your display remains active during kiosk.

4. Install Necessary Software

• Feh Image Viewer: Install feh, a lightweight image viewer, to manage your display images.

• sudo apt install feh

• Unclutter: Install unclutter to hide the cursor from the screen.

• sudo apt install unclutter

5. Repository Setup

• Clone This Repository: Clone this git directory to your Raspberry Pi Zero.

6. Autostart Configuration

• Modify screen_autostart.desktop: Adjust the Exec path in screen_autostart.desktop to point to the start_screen.sh script. Feel free to move start_screen.sh to a desired location before proceeding.
• Setup Autostart: Move screen_autostart.desktop and unclutter_autostart.desktop to ~/.config/autostart/.

  mkdir ~/.config/autostart/
  mv screen_autostart.desktop ~/.config/autostart/
  mv unclutter_autostart.desktop ~/.config/autostart/

7. Image Folder Setup

• Prepare Image Folder: Create a directory to store your images (e.g., /home/$USER/Sync/) and adjust the SHARE_PATH variable in your scripts to match this location.

8. File Browser Installation

• Install FileBrowser: Set up FileBrowser to manage your files easily. Refer to the installation guide for detailed instructions.

9. Network Configuration

• Set Local IP Address: Modify the IP_ADDRESS in start_screen.sh to match your Raspberry Pi Zero's local IP address. Ensure this IP address is reserved in your router settings to avoid conflicts.

Customization and Tips

• This guide is designed with flexibility in mind. Feel free to replace or modify any step to better suit your project's needs.
• Regularly check back for updates and new tips on enhancing your Zero Screen setup.

Feedback and Contributions

Your feedback and contributions are welcome! If you have improvements, suggestions, or have found this guide helpful, please feel free to share your thoughts or submit a pull request.