ApplPi OS v0.5.0

Images for older Raspberry Pis (32-bit, armhf; tested on a Pi 2). Write one with applpi flash v0.5.0, or update a Pi with applpi update <pi> v0.5.0. Both download the image and check it against SHA256SUMS.

Based on Raspberry Pi OS Lite, Trixie (Debian 13), armhf. It's built with pi-gen's 2026-10-06-raspios-trixie-armhf release, with packages as of the build day. Linux kernel 6.18.50, Python 3.13.

What's new

• Setup mode. A Pi with no settings starts a Wi-Fi hotspot, ApplPi-SETUP. Join it from a phone or laptop and the setup page opens. There you set the Pi's name, its Wi-Fi, the time zone and the SSH keys, so a Pi can be set up without applpi.
  • The page is HTTPS. Its certificate's fingerprint is shown on the Pi's screen and on the page at http://192.168.4.1, so you can check you're talking to your Pi.
  • It lists the Wi-Fi networks it can see. It can keep, paste or upload an SSH key, or make one for you to download.
  • When done, it shows the Pi's host key, and a known_hosts line to add, then restarts.
• The Wi-Fi fallback. If Wi-Fi doesn't connect after a while, the Pi restarts in setup mode for a while, then tries again. It's a setting, wifi_fallback: on or off, after how many minutes (5 by default) and for how many (10 by default). Set it in applpi.json or from the app.
• Apps can ask for setup mode through app-request:
  • setup restarts the Pi in setup mode, to rename it or change its Wi-Fi;
  • factory-reset forgets the Pi's settings and starts setup mode (the app and its settings are kept);
  • wifi-fallback changes the fallback setting.

Tested

• In QEMU: two boots and an update to the other slot, and a Pi with no settings set up through the setup page.
• On a Pi 2: the hotspot from a phone, the setup page, the Wi-Fi fallback, and setup mode started from an app's page.