ScreenlyOS
The secure, single-purpose operating system for digital signage, built to run Screenly and nothing else. Based on Ubuntu Core and hardened to keep a screen running, for years, without anyone nearby to look after it.
A secure, single-purpose appliance
Most digital signage is a program installed onto a general-purpose system, a Windows PC or an Android device, sharing the machine with everything else it was meant to do. ScreenlyOS turns that around: it is the operating system, and the device exists to do one thing.
Locked down by default
Anything unnecessary is stripped out. No open ports, no way to log in remotely, and updates that are rejected outright if their signature doesn't check out.
Updates for the long haul
A screen can stay on a wall for years, long after a device maker's support window would otherwise close. Because the OS is ours, keeping it current stays our job.
Managed as one system
The operating system and the playback software are built together, update together, and are tested as one, so the whole device stays manageable from the cloud.
Built for enterprise deployments
The pillars above show up as concrete capabilities, built into the device itself.
Signed OTA updates
The OS and playback software update together over the air, transactional and cryptographically signed, with automatic rollback if an update fails.
802.1x network support
Connect to 802.1x authenticated Wi-Fi or wired networks, including static IPs, straight from the on-screen setup wizard.
mTLS-protected web assets
Players can present a device certificate when loading web content, so your server can verify the request came from an authorized device.
Workspace-wide Tailscale
Connect once from workspace settings and every player joins your Tailnet automatically, no per-device setup.
Offline content caching
Content is cached locally on the device, so playback continues and the screen never goes black if the connection drops.
Offline schedule caching
The schedule is cached on the device too, so playlists still switch on time, day-parting and all, even if the connection drops.
Apps run on the device
ScreenlyOS renders apps locally on the device itself rather than as a server-side screenshot, so they stay dynamic and interactive and keep working even when the connection drops.
Browse the app store >Remote reboot & diagnostics
Reboot a frozen screen and check CPU, memory, and network health, all from the dashboard, without a site visit.
Remote diagnostic screenshots
Pull a screenshot of what's actually on screen to troubleshoot remotely, or switch a screen to Privacy Mode to stop screenshots of it from being captured at all.
Managed from one dashboard
Every capability here is controlled from the same cloud dashboard used to schedule and publish content.
Three ways to get ScreenlyOS
They differ in how much is already done for you before the device is in your hands. The result is the same: a device running the whole Screenly stack.
On Screenly hardware
Our own players come with ScreenlyOS already on them, tuned together as one product. The most hands-off route there is.
Compare players
On a Sharp display
Sharp offers ScreenlyOS preloaded on its large-format displays, with a Raspberry Pi Compute Module built right into the screen.
Learn about Sharp x Screenly
On your own Raspberry Pi
We provide an image for it, so a standard Pi becomes a full ScreenlyOS device. The fastest way to try it before deciding on hardware.
See the install guideRelated tools
Free tools for setting up and installing ScreenlyOS.
Network Config Generator
Generate a network.yaml file to configure Wi-Fi and network settings for a headless Screenly Player or DIY Raspberry Pi player.
Generate a config fileRaspberry Pi Imager
The official Raspberry Pi tool for writing the ScreenlyOS image to an SD card or USB drive.
Get Raspberry Pi ImagerWant the deeper explanation of how ScreenlyOS thinks? Read ScreenlyOS in Screenly Concepts.
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