Most Raspberry Pi units keep the microSD card in a slot on the underside of the board. If yours is in a case, open it and take the card out before you start.
You need the card, a card reader if your computer has no slot, and a tool to write the image. Raspberry Pi Imager is the one we suggest, because it downloads the image for you.
With Raspberry Pi Imager
- Download and install the latest version of Raspberry Pi Imager.
- Power off the Raspberry Pi, open the case if it has one, remove the SD card, and insert it into your computer’s card reader.
- If Windows offers to format the card, format it as FAT32.
- Open Raspberry Pi Imager.
- Under Choose Device, select your model: Raspberry Pi 4 or 5. The Pi 3 is also selectable, though it is not what we recommend for a new screen.
- Under Choose OS, select Freemium and Paid-For OS, then Digital Signage OS, then Screenly Digital Signage, and pick the image.
- Under Choose Storage, select your SD card.
- Click Next to start writing. The defaults are correct, so no customization is needed if you are prompted.
- When it finishes, eject the card safely and remove it.
- Put the card back in the slot on the Raspberry Pi, reassemble the player, and power it on.
From a downloaded image
If you would rather not use Raspberry Pi Imager, download the image and write it with any flashing tool.
- Download the latest image: screenly-latest-pi64-stable.img.zip.
- Install a flashing tool. balenaEtcher is a common choice, though any image writer works.
- Open the tool and select the downloaded ScreenlyOS image as the source.
- Select your SD card as the target.
- Start writing and wait for it to finish.
- Eject the card safely, put it in the Raspberry Pi, and power it on.
Pair the screen
Whichever method you used, the device shows a pairing code on the display when it boots. In your dashboard, open Screens, click Connect screen, and enter the code.
Boot and pair the device covers what first boot does and what to expect.
How much space it takes
The install itself is around 1 GB, though that moves as we extend the operating system. The rest of the card is working space for the content a screen caches, which is why the 16 GB minimum on SD cards is about your playlists rather than about the install.
Always write the latest image
ScreenlyOS updates itself once it is online, so an older image will catch up on its own. Starting from the latest image skips that first round of updates and gets the screen playing sooner.
Building a player from parts
If you are assembling a player from scratch, Build your own player covers the parts to buy and how to put them together.